You stupid boy, Pike..
DAD’S ARMY SECRET IS OUT AFTER 50YRS!
PRIVATE Pike and the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard would never have spilled secrets to the Germans.
But Dad’s Army creator David Croft wasn’t as good at resisting interrogation.
For years people have speculated about who was Frank Pike’s father. But yesterday Ian Lavender, 72, who played Pike, revealed he got the truth from David on his last day on set. Now, on the 50th anniversary of the show, Ian has confirmed it was “Uncle Arthur” – Sgt Arthur Wilson.
Ian, the last surviving star of the show, said of his chat with David: “He looked at me and said, ‘Of course he is!”’
Sgt Wilson was played by the late John Le Mesurier. For decades it seemed fans would never have confirmation of what they always suspected, especially after David, died aged 89, in 2011. Ian was 22 when he started playing Pike in the BBC show, running originally from 1968 to 1977. Janet Davies played Pike’s mum Mavis.
The show, written by David and the late Jimmy Perry, was watched by nearly 20 million at its height. In his interview with the Radio Times on sale today, Ian admitted: “I was typecast. I wasn’t character-cast. I was expected to be funny; I wasn’t expected to be Pike.” Ian later appeared in EastEnders.