batman

There was a stage version .... and there is another one currently on tour. The only name in it AFAIK is Leslie Grantham as Pte Walker.

"Do you know why fattries are called fattries .... it's because they are big and people make things in them."

homeguard

Yes, oh yes! The antithesis of Windsor Davies in It Ain't Half Hot Mum, another classic. Poor old Mainwaring, did he ever raise his voice in anger?

Regards,
HG

smiffy

What Is wrong with the Beeb ?

Jonathan bloody Woss Hosting a Dads Army special

I detest the man ,and he Is to present a special dedicated to a piece of our national heritage

No doubt at some point he will put his own unmistakeable mark upon the programme . It Is Ross and his Ilk that are responsible for the North/South divide , he portrays himself as the typical londoner,but the only thing typical about him is that he Is an a**hole

I May be getting older ,but I refuse to grow up

Modular

I would think it's just the BBC making as much use of him as possible to justify the obscene amount of money his current contract cost the licence payers.

samkydd

In the creative and performing arts circles Ross is seen as a parasite, leeching on other people's talents to try and make himself appear to be on the same level as his guests. Danny Baker is another "hanger-on" who doesn't have an original thought or idea in his head!

There is a lot of jealousy though usually regarding the amounts of money such people earn. It is baffling how these types come to the fore and suddenly become huge celebrities, when on the face of it they have nothing really to offer over the next man on the street. On what basis do TV chiefs select them? As I've mentioned before JR has had an autocue installed in his hall so he can greet his family when he gets home!

I would like a tribute to Dad's Army to be hosted by either a genuine fan of the series, or someone who knows something about comedy acting or writing. With Ross it will be jumping-on-the-bandwagon phoney admiration of the series, and no doubt he will get his team of ad-lib writers to furnish him with enough obvious and unfunny quips to turn the focus quickly away from the subject matter and back on to Ross!

Sad really, it should be a dignified retrospective of a well loved institution. Alan Bennett would be my choice to present it.

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Marky B

He did a good job presenting a programme about Morecambe & Wise on New Year's Day.
Ta Ta
Marky B

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

Marky B

I am proud to say I saw the lads in Dad's Army at the Billingham Forum in the 1970's,and met the wonderful John Le Mesurier - what a gentleman!
Ta Ta
Marky B

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

EHV_Emmetts

At £6M per year the BBC have to justify that vast amount of our money. It could be argued that at least Ross is doing something, as opposed to Norton who when he first arrived at the BBC did literally nothing in his first year and still received circa £600K.

Modular

Isn't that exactly what I said...

tanith65

I loved the series..... have them all on DVD, but agree, the ones with James Beck were by far the best. The key cast worked so well together, timing was brilliant.

Amanda

Modular

Actually, the mention of James Beck was in relation to the radio series rather than the broadcast television series, but yes you're right, the series did lose a little something after Private Walker's sudden 'disappearance'.

The decision not to replace James Beck after his untimely death and instead just alter the scripts to explain his absence was by far a sound one. They got away with a replacement in the radio series, but (in my opinion) it would have looked wrong on television.

bhowells

I remember there was a stage version, I think it either went on tour or played for at a seaside resort theatre.

samkydd

I've got the radio series and James Beck was in it until his death, as the series was being made around the same time as the first colour TV series. It was adapted for radio by Michael Knowles and Harold Snoad and they rewrote some of the visual gags in the original scripts for audio. After James Beck died the radio character of Walker was taken up first by Graham Stark and then by Larry Martin.

The stage show was a huge success and ran for about two years around The Provinces and also London. The only member of the main cast who didn't want to do a stage run was John Laurie as Fraser, and he was replaced, but I can't remember by whom. When other commitments made Clive Dunn go AWOL from the stage show he was substituted by Jack Haig.

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Modular

The full cast was as follows:

Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring
John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson
Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jones
Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey
Ian Lavender as Private Pike
John Bardon as Private Walker
Hamish Roughead as Private Frazer
Bill Pertwee as ARP Warden Hodges
Frank Williams as The Vicar
Edward Sinclair as The Verger
Joan Cooper as Miss Godfrey
Pamela Cundell as Mrs Fox
Janet Davies as Mrs Pike
Jeffrey Holland as the Mad German Inventor

Rob Compton

I saw the current touring stage show when it played locally - sadly, I didn't enjoy it - all I kept thinking that the cast weren't the originals, though they did their best. I imagine my opinion was shared by a number of the audience, which shrank noticeably after the interval...

The TV series, however, remains for me the very best series there has ever been on television, for its wonderful cast, writing and staging. Also a point that isn't made often - how very close to real life of small town politics and characters it was.

rgds
Rob