1st February: Dad's Army

On this date in 1939 A British White Paper proposing the formation of the Home Guard (which became better known as ‘Dad’s Army’ because of the average age of the volunteers) was published. In the late 1960s they made a TV series about a fictional unit, called Dad's Army. 10 things you might not know about the show, which ran for 80 episodes.

1. Dad's Army was created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. Jimmy Perry was an actor who'd hoped that by writing his own show, he could create for himself the kind of part he wanted to play. He fancied the role of spiv Private Walker, until he was advised that both writing and performing might cause problems, so another actor, James Beck, was hired to play Walker.
2. The character Perry based most on himself, though, was Private Pike. Perry's mother used to worry about him catching cold just like Pike's did, although she stopped short of making him wear a scarf. Ian Lavender, the only surviving member of the main cast, still has the scarf he wore on the show.
3. The writers originally came up with the name "Fighting Tigers" for the show, and set it in Brightsea-on-Sea, but Michael Mills, head of comedy at the BBC at the time, didn't like the title or the name of the location - so came up with Dad's Army and Walmington-on-Sea instead. Mills also vetoed Croft's suggestion that actual newsreel footage of bombings and combat be used for the opening sequence. The BBC deemed that inappropriate for a comedy show.
4. The theme tune, Who do you think you are Kidding Mr. Hitler? wasn't an actual 1940s song but a pastiche of the music of the era, written by Jimmy Perry and David Taverner. The singer, Bud Flanagan, was a wartime entertainer and one of Perry's childhood idols. He was paid 100 guineas to record the song. Other songs heard during the episodes were genuine wartime recordings.
5. The actors playing the roles could have been very different, too. Captain Mainwaring could have been Jon Pertwee or Leonard Rossiter, and Corporal Jones could have been David Jason or Jack Haig (LeClerc in 'Allo 'Allo). The BBC weren't keen on casting Arthur Lowe, because he'd been in Coronation Street. Arthur Lowe only agreed to take the part on condition that he would never have to appear on screen without his Trousers.
6. The very first episode was called The Man and The Hour, and the first scene was set in 1968. In it, an even older Captain Mainwaring is giving a patriotic speech in which he recalls his time in the Home Guard, which means everything we see after that is technically a flashback.
7. Several of the cast were actual WWII veterans. Arthur Lowe had served as a Sergeant Major, John Le Mesurier as a Captain. The actor who played Private Godfrey, Arnold Ridley, had served in the first world war, and been a member of the Home Guard during the second.
8. The filming location for outdoor scenes was Thetford in Norfolk. Today, there is a statue there of Captain Mainwaring sitting on a bench.
9. A pre-screening to gauge audience reaction to the proposed new show didn't go well. The sample who saw it hated it and the comments were pretty negative. However, the comments were quietly filed away and the show broadcast anyway - and people loved it. Only months after the show became a hit were the initial comments made public. Initial concerns that WWII veterans would find it offensive were soon put to rest when some of the most positive letters came from those people. Another belief was that only people who remembered the war would appreciate the show, but it proved a hit with children, too. To this day, it is an episode of Dad's Army that waits in the wings in case something goes wrong and a show fails to broadcast. When a power cut made it impossible to broadcast the news in 2000, they showed Dad's Army instead.
10. It is often hinted at that Sergeant Wilson and Pike's mother are in a relationship. Pike calls Wilson "Uncle Arthur," but it was eventually confirmed by Jimmy Perry that Pike is actually Wilson's son.

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