Dad's Army (2016)

Who do they think they are kidding?

A glance at the names will tell you that this wrong-headed remake by Universal Pictures is certain to fail, because of their very celebrity. Egos will clash; instead of chemistry there will be only friction.

What we know about the new Dad's Army movie

Other recognisable British thespianss being lined up for parts include Richard Wilson, playing another member of the Home Guard, and roles have also been set aside for Michael Gambon and John Hurt.

Dad's Army: A box office battle?

Dad's Army looks set to invade the big screen - for the second time. How much of a challenge does the TV comedy classic face finding a modern audience?

A new film of Dad's Army is to be made, which is a brave move on the part of all involved. Few TV programmes are so inextricably associated with the people who played the main characters rather than with plot or place. To imagine someone other than Arthur Lowe playing Captain Mainwaring is hard, though Bill Nighy stepping into John Le Mesurier's shoes as Sergeant Wilson is less difficult to envisage. Jimmy Perry, whose co-author David Croft died three years ago, said he was letting the film-makers "get on with it". But in the mid-Seventies, the show was a national institution, with audiences sometimes in excess of 18 million. A sympathetic reworking of the original will be a considerable achievement given the special place that Dad's Army has in the nation's heart. As Corporal Jones might have said (and presumably will say again): "Don't panic".