Dad's Army cast to reunite for 40th birthday
The BBC is planning to celebrate the 40th birthday of the popular sitcom Dad's Army this summer with a special programme looking back at the show. Hosted by Jonathan Ross and filmed in front of a studio audience, the prime-time one-off special on BBC1 will reunite the surviving cast members and take a look back at some of the best moments from the nine series of the hit comedy. This special will also be supported by repeated episodes on BBC2.
However, it should be noted that the reunion part of the celebrations is likely to be fairly low-key, as only five of the main cast are still with us. Clive Dunn who played Cpl Jones is now 88; Colin Bean (Private Sponge) is 82; Bill Pertwee (aka Warden Hodges) is now 81 and Frank Williams, who played the Reverend Farthing, is 76. Meanwhile Ian Lavender, who played the young and naive Private Pike, is now 62.
The stars no longer with us include James Beck (aka Private Walker) who, although one of the youngest in the cast, died in 1973. He passed away of pancreatitis aged just 44. John Laurie (aka Private Frazer) died in 1980; Arthur Lowe (aka Captain Mainwaring) died in 1982; John Le Mesurier (aka Sergeant Wilson) passed away in 1983; and Arnold Ridley (aka Private Godfrey) died in 1984, aged 88.
Talking about the special, a BBC insider told The Sun: "Dad's Army was hugely popular so we wanted to commemorate its 40th birthday. Jonathan is a big fan so it will be an affectionate look back at what made it such a great show. Obviously we won't be able to chat to all of the stars as many of them are dead now. Let's face it, they were getting on a bit when the show was in its heyday. But they will be remembered through anecdotes and classic clips that will be shown as part of the programme. We also plan to show some entire episodes on BBC2 to coincide with it."
Dad's Army was created by veteran comedy writers Jimmy Perry and David Croft, both of whom will, it is believed, also take part in this special. The first episode of Dad's Army appeared on TV on the 31st July 1968. The comedy went on to notch up a total of 80 episodes over nine years, attracting audiences as high as 18 million in the process. The final episode was broadcast in November 1977. 'Never Too Old' saw Corporal Jones marry Mrs Fox, but their service was interrupted by an air-raid siren. The final scene saw the cast address the audience directly for the first time, turning to camera as they did to raise their glasses to Britain's real Home Guard.
The Dad's Army special will be broadcast this summer. Last year the BBC reunited the cast of 'Allo 'Allo for a similar reunion show.