AT THE DOUBLE, CHAPS ‘Lost’ episodes of Dad’s Army are recreated with new cast NEW
DON’T panic... it’s a faithful remake, not a makeover. This is the new Dad’s Army line-up and they bear a striking resemblance to the original stars.
They have fallen in to recreate three episodes of the sitcom from 50 years ago that were wiped by the BBC shortly after screening.
Using the original scripts by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the new cast finished filming at Pinewood Studios last week and lined up to copy a famous pose from 1971.
In the shows, for TV channel Gold, Kevin McNally, 62, takes Arthur Lowe’s role as pompous bank manager George Mainwaring, who captains the platoon of mostly elderly volunteers making up the Home Guard protecting Walmington-on-Sea from the Nazis.
Robert Bathurst, 62, replaces John Le Mesurier as Arthur Wilson and Timothy West, 84, is the bumbling Private Godfrey, first played by Arnold Ridley. Kevin Eldon, 59, takes Clive Dunn’s role as butcher Jack Jones, while David Hayman, 71, is coffin maker James Frazer, originally played by John Laurie.
Gavin And Stacey star Mathew Horne, 40, takes James Beck’s role as the spiv Joe Walker, while Tom Rosenthal, 31, is ‘stupid boy’ Frank Pike, portrayed in the original Dad’s Army by Ian Lavender.
Lavender, 73, who recently had a recurring role in EastEnders, is one of only two surviving members of the original cast, with Frank Williams, 87, who played the vicar. Both appeared in the 2016 Dad’s Army feature film.
Beck died in 1973 after five series, Laurie in 1980, Lowe in 1982, Le Mesurier in 1983, Ridley in 1984 and Dunn in 2012.