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News Archive - 2004

Release of Classic Dad’s Army Related Material

A snippet of news for anyone interested in programmes in which Dad’s Army cast members have appeared. The British Archive Television Forum has announced that Granada, which now owns many programmes made by former ITV companies, is to release a large quantity of back-catalogue material. Amongst these will be episodes of vintage Coronation Street, and also The Army Game. Dad’s Army aficionados will know that these programmes were amongst the early successes of Dad’s Army’s own Arthur Lowe and Frank Williams.

Arthur Lowe played the fussy, tetchy shopkeeper Leonard Swindley in Coronation Street from 1960 to 1965, before reprising the role in comedy spin-off Pardon the Expression in 1965 and again in 1967 in Turn Out the Lights, shortly before taking up the role of Cpt Mainwaring.

Frank Williams, Dad’s Army’s vicar, sprang to fame in The Army Game between 1959 and 1961 as the dithering Captain Pocket. This popular series starred many actors who went on to become household names including William Hartnell, Bernard Bresslaw and Charles Hawtrey. It also spawned a spin-off entitled Bootsie and Snudge which featured none other than Dad’s Army’s Clive Dunn.

Full details of the releases have yet to be released, but DVDs should begin to appear in shops from 2005.

Ian Lavender Suffers Heart Scare

Ian Lavender is reported to have suffered a mild heart attack whilst undergoing surgery for a blocked valve. Ian, who recovered from bladder cancer more than 10 years ago is said to be fine and is recovering at home, though his filming schedule for Eastenders has been cut-back. You can read the East Anglian Daily Times' report here.

New Video and Audio Releases in Time for Christmas

The BBC have issued a number of new releases: one DVD and two new radio titles both on CD and audio cassette.

The DVD issue of series one and the existing episodes of series two is now available. This two disc set includes as special features the documentary Missing Presumed Wiped and also the radio episodes of the still missing episodes of series two. The full episode listing is: The Man and the Hour, Museum Piece, Command Decision, The Enemy Within the Gates, The Showing up of Corporal Jones, Shooting Pains, Operation Kilt, The Battle of Godfrey’s Cottage, Sergeant Wilson’s Little Secret, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker (radio episode), A Stripe for Frazer (radio episode), Under Fire (radio episode), Missing Presumed Wiped (BBC documentary).

For fans of the radio series who can’t run to the costs of the CD box sets there have been two additional releases on cassette and CD. Dad’s Army volume 15 consists of the episodes We Know Our Onions, The Royal Train, A Question of Reference and The Recruit - classic stuff.

And if that isn’t enough a special release of the rare Christmas special episode Present Arms is also available on cassette and CD. This episode was unusual in that it mixed elements from a number of the TV episodes to come up with a whole new hour-long story.

New Dad’s Army DVD Due for Release

The BBC have announced the release of a new DVD consisting of the whole of the first series and those episodes of series two that are not lost. Breaking their 'best of' strategy this is the first time the BBC have made an entire series of the programme available in one release. This is also the first time the lost-and-found episodes from series two have been put on general release. Let's hope this is the start of a set of series-by-series disks. The DVD will be available in September - more details can be found and pre-orders placed here.

David Croft Criticises BBC For Unresponsiveness

David Croft has spoken of his frustration at being ignored by the BBC. Reported by Yahoo Croft said:

"I've been firing off letters for some years now suggesting why not repeat such and such a show. But I very rarely receive a response and I just can't understand it. You'd think they would have the decency to at least reply.

"I recently drew their attention to the fact that eight episodes of Dad's Army have been remastered and yet they have not been shown," he said.

"That was two weeks ago and I still haven't received a reply. It's such a pity because I think fans of Dad's Army would enjoy seeing these episodes in their restored glory."

As both a writer and producer David Croft was a mainstay of BBC light entertainment being responsible for shows such as Hugh and I, Dad’s Army, Hi-De-Hi and ‘allo ‘allo. Speaking of his frustration he complained that layers of BBC bureaucracy mean that shows of this type would never be made nowadays.

David Croft’s autobiography You Have Been Watching has recently been published.

Dad’s Army Appreciation Society Announces 2004 Events

The Dad’s Army Appreciation Society (UK branch) has announced details of its 2004 programm of events. The annual Bressingham event (9th May) will be modified slightly to focus on some of David’s Croft’s other work in addition to Dad’s Army - tying in with the release of his autobiography. The following day there will be a formal launch of the Thetford Dad’s Army Trail. They are also hoping to run a tour of the Dad’s Army locations in the south of England. More details can be found the the society’s website which has recently moved to www.dadsarmy.co.uk.

Third CD Box Set to Include Missing Pilot of Dad’s Army Spin-Off

The third and final boxed set of Dad’s Army radio episodes is released and includes the long missing original pilot episode of the Dad’s Army sequel It Sticks Out Half a Mile. This pilot, featuring Arthur Lowe in one of his last performances was missing from the BBC archive for nearly 20 years and has never been broadcast or widely heard. Returned to the BBC by writer and producer Harold Snoad during the BBC Treasurehunt the return of this radio episode plugs an important gap in the Dad’s Army archive. The CD box-set is due for release in April and is available from Amazon.

Walmington-on-Line Makes the Top Ten

We were delighted to find ourselves in the top-ten rated comedy sites at The Comedy Zone web site. Okay, it was on the basis of only ten votes, but its good to know someone loves Walmington-on-Line; and more importantly its a great vote of confidence in Dad’s Army.

David Croft Autobiography Published

David Croft’s autobiography is to be published on 8th April 2004. David Croft was born into a show business family. His autobiography gives an insiders perspective on the golden-age of British situation comedy - the 1960s to 1980s, as well as insights into his earlier experiences in the second world war.

With the warmth and humour that characteristically comprise a Croft sitcom You Have Been Watching will delight fans of David’s programmes with anecdotes about some of the stars of his shows and behind-the-scenes snippets of many of Britain’s best loved and most popular television series.

You can-pre-order your copy from Amazon.co.uk at a reduced price of £13.29

Bill Pertwee Celebrates 50 Years in Showbiz

In February the Heritage Foundation will be celebrating Bill Pertwee's 50 years in Showbusiness. Bill will be joined by many of his friends from Dad's Army, Jimmy Perry, David Croft, Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn, Pamela Cundell, Frank Williams, Phillip Madoc, Bernard Cribbins and many more. The luncheon will take place on Sunday 15th February 2004 at the Marriott Hotel Regents Park. If you would like tickets for this event please telephone 01494 714388. Bill embarked on his showbusiness career by writing for Beryl Reid in 1954, this led to many appearances on stage, screen and television.

Whispers From Walmington to Close

Seminal Dad’s Army web site Whispers From Walmington is to close in the New Year after four years in operation. The site, run by Dave Coventry, has grown to a huge size and is by far the most comprehensive site dedicated to Dad’s Army. That size is the cause of the site’s demise, as the costs of hosting have become too large.

However all is not lost as much of the site content will continue to be available on Dave’s new site DaveCov Comedy Classics - although many of the 5,500 pictures and 50 sound files will no longer be available. We wish Dave all the best for the new site. Walmington-on-Line visitors will be pleased to hear that this site will be running as normal in 2004.

Perry and Croft Stars to Appear in New Sketch Show

John Inman, Gordon Kaye and Melvyn Hayes are among a host of comedy veterans making their comeback in a risqué new BBC ONE sketch show.

Revolver, which starts on January 13, employs a cast of familiar faces from classic sitcoms in situations written by a younger generation of writers.

Last Updated 01 Feb, 2005