Dad's Army star slams TV comedy

Dad's Army star, Bill Pertwee, has criticised modern TV comedy for being too agressive and overrelying on four-letter words.

Speaking at the relaunch of his autobiography A Funny Way To Make A Living, he commented: "I only watch something I really want to watch. I had the best of it in the early years. Now they try to make their point by being too aggressive. If they can't fit a joke in a line they put a four-letter word there."

"We (actors) can make the lines come off the page, but the lines have got to be there in the first place. I don't think the writers have learnt the trade like they used to. Dad's Army used to take five months to get together, now they do shows in three weeks." he added. "I just wonder why they don't concentrate more on characters and situations. Steptoe and Son, Dad's Army, and Till Death Do Us Part had marvellous situations - the jokes got there themselves."