History Trivia / DadsArmy

* TheOtherDarrin: During the live stage show, several parts were recast while the TV actors had other commitments. Several parts were recast for Radio due to availability and money factors.

** Creator/JohnLaurie disliked Creator/ArnoldRidley, often needling him about his advanced age and frailty -- although Laurie was in fact only a year younger than Ridley. Laurie was also irritated that Ridley was let off from some of the more strenuous aspects of filming, while he was not.

* MissingEpisode: Until 2001, "Sgt Wilson's Little Secret" was the only known surviving episode from Series 2. Two episodes ("Operation Kilt" and "The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage") were subsequently recovered and remastered, but three ("The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker", "A Stripe for Frazer",[[note]] The audio for which was recovered in 2008.[[/note]] and "Under Fire") remain lost. One of the colour episodes only survived in black and white; it has since been recolourized, though the colour version has not yet been released on DVD. The BBC have also made an animated reconstruction of "A Stripe for Frazer". The three missing episodes were re-filmed with a new cast in 2019.

* ActorSharedBackground: Most of the cast were military veterans, some of both World Wars. Creator/JohnLaurie and Arnold Ridley were particularly affected by their experiences; Ridley suffered from blackouts and nightmares for most of his life.

* DisabledCharacterDisabledActor: While Private Godfrey's infirmity was played up for comic effect, Arnold Ridley actually had been very badly wounded during the Battle of the Somme and so, like Godfrey, was rather frail and fragile.

** Creator/JohnLaurie disliked Arnold Ridley, often needling him about his advanced age and frailty -- although Laurie was in fact only a year younger than Ridley. Laurie was also irritated that Ridley was let off from some of the more strenuous aspects of filming, while he was not.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Godfrey is revealed to have been a conscientious objector during the First World War. In RealLife, Arnold Ridley was a private with the Somerset Light Infantry Regiment and was heavily wounded at the Somme. He was medically discharged from the army with the rank of Lance Corporal in 1916. He was also a commissioned officer in the Second World War and, following his discharge, joined his local Home Guard.

* MoneyDearBoy: Part of Arnold Ridley's motivation for taking the role of Godfrey was because a series regular role would give him and his wife financial security after he lost his fortune financing a series of unsuccessful productions.

** As the platoon medic, Godfrey carries an aid bag rather than a heavy rifle. He also wears regular shoes instead of boots and puttees. This was all because Arnold Ridley was very frail and the production was trying to make shooting as comfortable as possible.

** Arnold Ridley ripped a cartilage in his leg meaning he had to be ferried by limo to and from the studio.

* CharacterOutlivesActor: When James Beck was taken into hospital, Walker got a WrittenInAbsence, leaving a note in his place on patrol to explain that he has gone to conduct "business" in London. Beck later died and Walker was never heard of again - at least on television, When the show was remade for radio other actors continued the role after Beck's death, and when the show got a radio sequel years after the end of its run, Walker was mentioned as alive and having returned to Walmington-on-Sea. He's also seen in the scene set in 1968 featuring several of the characters that opens the very first episode.

** The writers cleverly crafted various characters to be like the actors who portrayed them, giving them their own (exaggerated) character traits. Hence Mainwaring had Creator/ArthurLowe's pomposity and Wilson had Creator/JohnLeMesurier's carefree and absent-minded personality. Clive Dunn was known as a waffler, which led to Jones' long winded and rambling monologues. Frazer received Creator/JohnLaurie's sharp tongue and dour manner: when they were making the first series, he bluntly told Jimmy Perry that the show was "a lot of rubbish" and "doomed". Frazer's rivalry with Godfrey reflected the real-life enmity between the actors. Frazer's tendency to change his opinions to fit the prevailing winds was apparently also inspired by Laurie, as several of his colleagues noted that his views on the show's quality tended to change the more successful it became.

* DawsonCasting: Creator/IanLavender was 22 at the start of the series playing the 17- to 18-year-old Frank Pike and 31 when the series ended, while [[FrozenInTime Pike had not aged.]] Furthermore, Clive Dunn, in his 40s at the time of filming, plays Corporal Jones who is 20-25 years older than him.

** Creator/ArthurLowe and Clive Dunn didn't get on due to the two men's personal politics: Lowe was a staunch supporter of the Conservative Party whereas Dunn was an enthusiastic and committed socialist.

* ThrowItIn: Clive Dunn had a habit of ad-libbing in rehearsals that David Croft found genuinely funny and encouraged him to keep in. The only issue was Dunn would hardly ever be able to remember what he had ad-libbed come the recording.

* UnderageCasting: Corporal Jones was in his late seventies at the very least but was played by Clive Dunn who was only 48 when the series started. Meaning that, ironically, the oldest member of the platoon was played by one of the youngest members of the cast.

** The writers cleverly crafted various characters to be like the actors who portrayed them, giving them their own (exaggerated) character traits. Hence Mainwaring had Creator/ArthurLowe's pomposity and Wilson had John Le Mesurier's carefree and absent minded personality. Clive Dunn was known as a waffler, which led to Jones' long winded and rambling monologues. Frazer received Creator/JohnLaurie's sharp tongue and dour manner: when they were making the first series he bluntly told Jimmy Perry that the show was "a lot of rubbish" and "doomed". Frazer's rivalry with Godfrey reflected the real life enmity between the actors. Frazer's tendency to change his opinions to fit the prevailing winds was apparently also inspired by Laurie, as several of his colleagues noted that his views on the show's quality tended to change the more successful it became.

** In a positive example, BBC Head of Comedy Michael Mills changed the title from ''The Fighting Tigers'' to ''Dad's Army'' and suggested that David Croft co-write the series with Jimmy Perry. He also cast John Le Mesurier as Sgt Wilson, changed the town's name to Walmington-on-Sea and renamed a few characters: Jim Jones became Jack Jones, James Duck became James Frazer (and also became Scottish), and Joe Fish became Joe Walker.

** Lowe's refusal to take scripts home with him ("I'm not having that rubbish in the house") also rankled with his co-stars, as it meant he could never remember his lines. At one point, John Le Mesurier called David Croft at home and complained, "Can't you make Arthur learn his ruddy part?".

** In the broadcast series, still set in 1948, Hodges approaches Pike, now 22 years old, with a proposal to renovate the near derelict pier, costing £5,000, at Frambourne. In order to finance this plan Pike has to approach Wilson for a loan. Wilson is blackmailed by Pike (who is no longer the young innocent of the series) over past indiscretions with a woman named Smith and Wilson suspects the only reason Hodges approached Pike was to get to the bank's money through him. Nevertheless, Pike and Wilson put aside their wartime quarrel with Hodges - more or less - and the renovation begins. Following John Le Mesurier's death, it was retooled ''again'' for TV with original characters as ''High & Dry'', which ran for a single seven-episode series on Creator/{{ITV}} in 1987.

** John Le Mesurier looked thin and ill as he was suffering from liver failure brought on by excessive drinking.

** The role of Captain Mainwaring was originally offered to Thorley Walters, but he declined as he didn't like performing in front of live audiences. Leonard Rossiter was also considered, as was Creator/JonPertwee, who turned it down as he was in the middle of a theatrical tour.[[note]] Had he taken the role, he would likely not have been cast as the Third Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho''.[[/note]] Head of comedy Michael Mills suggested John Le Mesurier, but Jimmy Perry preferred Creator/ArthurLowe, who was lined up for Sergeant Wilson. In the end, Lowe was cast as Captain Mainwaring and Le Mesurier was cast as Sergeant Wilson.

** A sequel series titled ''It Sticks Out Half a Mile'' was created for radio in 1981. It was originally meant to star Creator/ArthurLowe and depicted Mainwaring embarking on a passion project to restore an old pier that had been partly demolished during the war, with John Le Mesurier's Wilson being dragged along for the ride. However, Lowe passed away after recording the pilot so the series was retooled to have Hodges and Pike partnering together to restore the pier and blackmailing Wilson into loaning them the money necessary.

* YouLookFamiliar: Creator/WendyRichard played Edith Parish in "The Two and a Half Feathers" and "Mum's Army", but was billed as Shirley in "The King Was in His Counting House" and "My British Buddy".

** Like Mainwaring, Creator/ArthurLowe's was largely in a non-combat role during WW2, working as a radar technician before entering the entertainment services out of boredom with his role.

* DeletedRole: Gordon Peters was in "The Man and the Hour" as an accident-prone fireman but his role was edited out before transmission.

** Creator/JohnLaurie disliked Arnold Ridley, often needling him about his advanced age and frailty -- although Laurie was in fact only a year younger than Ridley.

* HostilityOnTheSet: Although the cast generally got on well with each other, there were problems between some actors.

** Lowe's refusal to take scripts home with him ("I'm not having that rubbish in the house") also rankled with his co-stars, as it meant he could never remember his lines.

** The role of Captain Mainwaring was originally offered to Thorley Walters, but he declined as he didn't like performing in front of live audiences. Leonard Rossiter was also considered, as was Creator/JonPertwee, who turned it down as he was in the middle of a theatrical tour.[[note]] Had he taken the role, he would likely not have been cast as the Third Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho''.[[/note]]

* WriteWhoYouKnow: Jimmy Perry based Corporal Jones on an elderly Lance Corporal in the 10th Hertfordshire often referred to fighting under Kitchener against the "Fuzzy Wuzzies".

* DevelopmentHell: BBC executives were ''not'' confident that the public would react well to a comedy about UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and constantly tried to squash the project. Jimmy Perry and David Croft had to fight tooth and nail to even get a pilot approved and had trouble casting the role of Mainwaring -- their early choices refused to participate because of issues like the subject matter and the low salary[[note]]Creator/ArthurLowe was furious to learn he was getting paid less than his co-stars.[[/note]]. After the pilot was completed, the executives constantly asked for changes, with Perry and Croft having to walk a very fine line in order to make sure that the show would be transmitted in a reasonable time slot. To add to their woes, the pilot was allegedly nearly killed off by an early version's demographics testing saying that the sample audience didn't like the concept.

** An [[TransAtlanticEquivalent American remake]] was piloted in 1976 for Creator/{{ABC}} called ''The Rear Guard'', adapting "The Deadly Attachment". It never made it to series; you can see a clip [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q1ToUWu3Cc here.]]

* UnderageCasting: Corporal Jones was in his late seventies at the very least, but was played by Clive Dunn who was only 48 when the series started. Meaning that, ironically, the oldest member of the platoon was played by one of the youngest members of the cast.

** In a positive example, BBC Head of Comedy Michael Mills changed the title from ''The Fighting Tigers'' to ''Dad's Army'' and suggested that David Croft co-write the series with Jimmy Perry. He also cast John Le Mesurier as Sgt Wilson, changed the town's name to Walmington-on-Sea and renamed a few characters: Jim Jones became Jack Jones, James Duck became James Frazer and Joe Fish became Joe Walker.

* TroubledProduction: David Croft considered the filming of Series 9 to be, in his own words, "an ordeal":
** John Le Mesurier looked thin and ill as he was suffering from liver failure brought on by excessive drinking.
** Creator/ArthurLowe's trouble remembering his lines was getting worse, to the point where Captain Mainwaring's office drawer was constantly full of bits of script for him to read.
** Arnold Ridley ripped a cartilage in his leg meaning he had to be ferried by limo to and from the studio.
* UnderageCasting: Corporal Jones was in his late seventies at the very least but was played by Clive Dunn who was only 48 when the series started. Meaning that, ironically, the oldest member of the platoon was played by one of the youngest members of the cast.

** Creator/JackHaig was offered the role of Corporal Jones, but he turned it down after being led to believe it would flop. (Croft later cast him as Monsieur [=LeClerc=] in the first five series of ''Series/AlloAllo''.) Creator/DavidJason was also considered, as he had a knack for playing older characters.

* UnderageCasting: Corporal Jones was in his late seventies at the very least, but was played by Clive Dunn who was only 48 when the series started. Meaning that, ironically, the oldest member of the platoon was played by one of the youngest members of the cast.

** Like Mainwaring, Creator/ArthurLowe's eyesight kept him out of the army, while John Le Mesurier, like Wilson, had been a Captain in the Second World War.

** Neither the writers nor the cast liked the 1971 film.

* TheOtherDarrin: Mrs Pike was recast with Creator/LizFraser for TheMovie because the studio felt Janet Davies wasn't high-profile enough. During the live stage show, several parts were recast while the TV actors had other commitments. Several parts [including Mrs Pike again] were recast for Radio due to availability and money factors.

* WagTheDirector:
** Captain Mainwaring was originally going to have a grenade dropped down his trousers in "The Deadly Attachment", but Creator/ArthurLowe had a clause in his contract that he would not be filmed without his trousers on, so it went to Jones. Ironically, the finished episode never actually showed Jones without his trousers; only opened enough to get the grenade in at the start and then just enough for Frazer to fit his hand down to find it at the end. He looks fully-clothed the whole way through.
** Mainwaring is noticably absent in the sequence in the 1971 film where the Platoon are walking in longjohns because of this as this inspired the 'never film without trousers' clause in his contract!

** Discussions were held about a possible sequel to the 1971 film, to be called ''Dad's Army and the Secret U-Boat Base'', but the project never came to fruition.

** Worried that the sitcom would be criticised for ridiculing the Home Guard, the BBC insisted on adding an opening scene to the first episode. It shows a 'future' Mainwaring, in 1968, giving a speech at a formal dinner in which he explains how he and his men "backed Britain" in 1940. The scene lasts a minute-and-a-half, has no jokes whatsoever, and has no relation to the rest of the story. Had it been broadcast in an age when there were more than just three TV channels in the UK, it could well have killed the series before it even began, and co-writer Jimmy Perry suspected it was responsible for the overwhelmingly negative feedback from the test audience who got a preview screening of the first episode. Ironically, it also retroactively confirms that Walker survived the war, since he disappears from the show to go to London and doesn't come back (as his actor tragically died yoing) but the character appears as a rich businessman in the opening scene.

** Worried that the sitcom would be criticised for ridiculing the Home Guard, the BBC insisted on adding an opening scene to the first episode. It shows a 'future' Mainwaring, in 1968, giving a speech at a formal dinner in which he explains how he and his men "backed Britain" in 1940. The scene lasts a minute-and-a-half, has no jokes whatsoever, and has no relation to the rest of the story. Had it been broadcast in an age when there were more than just three TV channels in the UK, it could well have killed the series before it even began, and co-writer Jimmy Perry suspected it was responsible for the overwhelmingly negative feedback from the test audience who got a preview screening of the first episode.

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: Averted. When Jimmy Beck suddenly died, Walker was phased out -- one episode explained his absence by having Mainwaring reading a note saying that he'd gone to London to do a deal. Rather than recast the role, his spot was filled by other characters. The radio series straight up continued his role with TheOtherDarrin.

* RealSongThemeTune: Averted, though the Dad's Army theme is often mistaken for a real wartime song. It was actually written by Jimmy Perry and performed by Bud Flanagan, who was a popular singer in the 1930s and 1940s.

** Jack Haig was offered the role of Corporal Jones, but he turned it down after being led to believe it would flop. (Croft later cast him as M. Leclerc in the first five series of ''Series/AlloAllo''.) Creator/DavidJason was also considered, as he had a knack for playing older characters.

** According to some sources such as Bill Pertwee however, he did actually like the show, or at least became a lot fonder of it the more successful it became. His flip flopping inspired Frazer's habit of lambasting Maninwaring's latest scheme, only to say 'he never doubted him for a moment' when it succeeded.

** Bill Pertwee said that he was looked down upon by some of the other actors because of his background in variety rather than "serious" theatre.

* SequelInAnotherMedium: The 1981 BBC Radio series ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Sticks_Out_Half_a_Mile It Sticks Out Half a Mile]]'' by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles (who had adapted some of the television episodes for radio), told what happened to some of the characters after the war.

* ActingForTwo: In the 1975 Christmas Special "My Brother and I", Arthur Lowe starred as both George Mainwaring and Mainwaring's estranged brother.

** The writers cleverly crafted various characters to be like the actors who portrayed them, giving them their own (exaggerated) character traits. Hence Mainwaring had Arthur Lowe's pomposity and Wilson had John Le Mesurier's carefree and absent minded personality. Clive Dunn was known as a waffler, which led to Jones' long winded and rambling monologues. Frazer received Creator/JohnLaurie's sharp tongue and dour manner: when they were making the first series he bluntly told Jimmy Perry that the show was "a lot of rubbish" and "doomed". Frazer's rivalry with Godfrey reflected the real life enmity between the actors. Frazer's tendency to change his opinions to fit the prevailing winds was apparently also inspired by Laurie, as several of his colleagues noted that his views on the show's quality tended to change the more successful it became.

* DevelopmentHell: BBC executives were ''not'' confident that the public would react well to a comedy about UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and constantly tried to squash the project. Jimmy Perry and David Croft had to fight tooth and nail to even get a pilot approved and had trouble casting the role of Mainwaring -- their early choices refused to participate because of issues like the subject matter and the low salary[[note]]Arthur Lowe was furious to learn he was getting paid less than his co-stars.[[/note]]. After the pilot was completed, the executives constantly asked for changes, with Perry and Croft having to walk a very fine line in order to make sure that the show would be transmitted in a reasonable time slot. To add to their woes, the pilot was allegedly nearly killed off by an early version's demographics testing saying that the sample audience didn't like the concept.

** Arthur Lowe's wife, Joan Cooper, [[TheOtherDarrin took over]] the role of Godfrey's sister Dolly towards the end of the show's run and played other guest roles during the course of the series.

** The original pilot episode, set in 1948, involved Mainwaring deciding to renovate a decrepit seaside pier in the fictional town of Frambourne-on-Sea, only to find when applying for a bank loan that the manager of the local branch is none other than Wilson. Following Arthur Lowe's death, it was retooled (the original pilot was aired many years later on Radio 4 Extra).

** A sequel series titled ''It Sticks Out Half a Mile'' was created for radio in 1981. It was originally meant to star Arthur Lowe and depicted Mainwaring embarking on a passion project to restore an old pier that had been partly demolished during the war, with John Le Mesurier's Wilson being dragged along for the ride. However, Lowe passed away after recording the pilot so the series was retooled to have Hodges and Pike partnering together to restore the pier and blackmailing Wilson into loaning them the money necessary.

* YouLookFamiliar: Wendy Richard played Edith Parish in "The Two and a Half Feathers" and "Mum's Army", but was billed as Shirley in "The King Was in His Counting House" and "My British Buddy".