Dad’s Army, Marching On And On
It’s almost 58 years old, enjoys regular repeats on U and GOLD and the radio series also repeats on BBC 4 Extra.
Dad’s Army is one of our most beloved sitcoms and it’s popularity all these years later is testimony to just what happens when the right scripts are matched with the right cast.
Although the series itself ended in 1977 there have been many stage adaptations of the scripts, an all new film, all be it with a different cast and re-creations of missing episodes.
For this post we are going to look back the original series, the movie and beyond to the recreation of missing episodes a complete legacy.
In the beginning
Originally to be called “Fighting Tigers” even the events that lead to the creation of the successful series have been subject to a BBC Comedy Drama
First parade
From that first episode the show would go on to create some of the finest comedy moments
And that famous saying!
After 4 series, in 1971, the show took a break from screens
This was to allow the release of the big screen version
Filmed ahead of the recording of series four, the film received mixed critical reviews and was not popular with the cast or David Croft and Jimmy Perry. however it performed well at the UK Box Office.
We saw them on the radio!
In 1974 Dad’s Army was granted another successful spin off…A radio adaptation. Broadcast originally on BBC Radio 4 Harold Snoad and Michel Knowles adapted 67 of Perry and Croft’s TV scripts for radio with the radio version running for 3 series.
Treading the boards
Not just Radio and big screen spin offs there was a Dad’s Army Stage Show, it premiered in Billingham, Teesside in 1975 before transferring London’s West End.
Signing Off
The TV series finally ended in November 1977 after 80 episodes on TV over 9 series
The show’s popularity did not diminish as the cast would pop up every now and then to mark anniversaries
Dad’s Army – The New Recruits?
In 2016, a second feature film was released featuring an all new cast as many of the original were no longer with us
Despite a strong cast it failed to live up to expectations, being savaged by critics.
An animated Stripe
In 2016 the BBC released an animated recreation of the lost episode “A Stripe For Frazer” through it’s online store. Using hand drawn animation it was coupled with the original TV soundtrack that had been returned to the BBC in 2008.
Bringing back the past
In 2019 UKTV announce they had plans to recreate three of the the show’s missing episodes with a new cast.
The recreations were broadcast in August 2019, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of their original broadcast by the BBC. This time the reception was more favourable.
More recreations from the past!
Following on from the 2016 animation In October 2023, UKTV announced that it had produced animated versions of the remaining missing episodes and would broadcast them on it’s GOLD channel alongside the BBC’s “A Stripe for Frazer”. These were produced using the same production team that was originally assembled for “A Stripe for Frazer”. The series ran to four episodes, with versions of the three missing episodes from Series 2, plus an additional episode containing the two missing sketches from Christmas Night with The Stars.
So we reach the end, sort of, of our Dad’s Army legacy post. The show continues to entertain audiences on TV via regular repeats on u and GOLD and streaming on ITVX premium. It also continues on stage with many a high profile production over the years.
Where Are They Now?
As you’d expect the age of the show there would be few if any cast members left. Sadly you’d be right Ian Lavender was the last remaining cast member he died in 2024, Frank Williams wasn’tthat long ago in 2022.