Bill Nighy

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".

Based on one of the nation's favourite love songs, this smart romantic comedy by AL Kennedy offers witty dialogue, warm characters and heartfelt performances. After 23 years as a self-proclaimed corpse in a suit, Oliver Beecham (Bill Nighy) is fired for punching his boss. Disheveled, hungry and feeling very sorry for himself, he climbs a tree to spy on heartthrob Jo (Amelia Bullman) as she passes on her way to work.

What begins as a series of comic encounters with bothersome passers-by Mrs Henderson and park keeper Leonard Craft, ends in a confession of madness, inner turmoil and love. Nighy is particularly in his element here as the stuttering office worker, hoping for one last shot at redemption.

Bill Nighy stars as Oliver, jobless, nervy, utterly deracinated, and in love with Jo (Amelia Bullmore). He is scared of telling her, so he climbs a tree in a garden that he knows she will visit. Why? Because he thinks that if he's up a tree he won't be able to back out of confessing his passion. AL Kennedy's summery romance is a bit of a departure for this writer, but wry comedy is becoming her forte (witness her recent reflections on adventures in America on Radio 4). Does the brilliant casting mean this could presage a series?

Richard Curtis plunges headfirst into the Swinging Sixties with this flimsy comedy about a pirate radio station. This colourful period of history should have provided a wealth of rich material but Curtis fails to pull it together with any coherence. There are funny moments though, with flamboyant personalities including Rhys Ifans and Bill Nighy.

Video: Bailey 'horrified' at appearing nude by accident

Bill Bailey has described his horror on learning that a moment when he accidentally dropped his towel during filming had been included as a nude scene in his new romantic comedy, Chalet Girl.

The comedian was joined on BBC Breakfast by actress Felicity Jones, who plays Bill's daughter Kim in their film about a young woman who leaves home to work on a ski resort.

Chalet Girl, which also stars Sophia Bush, Ed Westwick and Bill Nighy, is released in the UK on 16 March 2011, rated 12A.

Richard Curtis's winsome romcom seems to be becoming a Christmas staple. Featuring a host of Britain's favourite actors including Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Bill Nighy, it delves into the personal lives of 10 very different individuals whose lives become loosely entangled in the run-up to the holiday.