Dad's Army Podcast

Welcome to a very special episode of the Dad’s Army podcast. This month we are joined by none other than Frank Williams – the Reverend Timothy Farthing, to discuss the often controversial film version of Dad’s Army. The whole podcast team were present for this one – and Frank shares his experiences of being part of the production and talks about his many talented co-stars.The film has always divided fan opinion – some believing the series made a seamless transfer from TV to the silver screen whilst others believe it a travesty of the telly series. Why not have your say? E-mail us at james@dadsarmypodcast.comEnjoy the show.

Welcome to Episode 32 of the Dad's Army podcast. This month we go through the latest Dad's Army news, sift through the podcast's mailbag and bring you an exclusive interview with Oliver Crocker - the Producer of Frank Williams new documentary, 'Dad's Army and Beyond, the Frank Williams story'. Oliver talks about filming with Frank and tells some fantastic stories.Episode 33 will feature Frank himself as he joins the entire podcast team talking about the sometimes controversial, Dad's Army movie. As always, please send in your feedback to james@dadsarmypodcast.com and enjoy the show.The cover photo for this podcast was taken by Andrew Ruff - reproduced with his kind permission.

Welcome to another episode of the Dad’s Army podcast and yes, I know it’s a bit late, but Happy New Year! Hope you have a fantastic 2009. Episode 31 of the podcast is a little different from the usual format – Paul Carpenter from the Dad’s Army Appreciation Society brings you a review (featuring several wonderful clips) from the recently recovered audio versions of the 1968 Christmas Night with the Stars sketch and the off-air recording of Series 2’s A Stripe for Frazer. Thanks to Paul for putting together such a fantastic piece of audio and giving our listeners the opportunity to hear what is in effect, brand new Dad’s Army.If that wasn’t enough, Clare returns to the podcast and reviews the classic Christmas Special, My Brother and I.Podcast 32 will be the long promised feedback episode, and I have yet to record it – so if you have any comments about the podcast, a particular episode of Dad’s Army or anything else at all really, send in your e-mails or MP3s to james@dadsarmypodcast.comEnjoy the show.

Merry Christmas to all of our listeners - have a wonderful festive period and don't forget - Dad's Army is on BBC2 on Christmas Day and Boxing Day!This is just a little something from the Warden and the Vicar...enjoy!We'll be back with Episode 31 in January.

Welcome to Episode 30 of the Dad’s Podcast. Normal service is resumed with a return to the tried and tested format of the podcast.We have a wealth of news to talk about this time around – with previously lost Dad’s Army material being found and an old black and white episode being restored to full colour, there’s a lot to discuss!! It's been a truly fantastic last couple of months for Dad's Army fans.Our featured episode this podcast is about season three’s Menace from the Deep – Angela makes a return to podcast and joins me in discussing this highly regarded early episode.Please feel free to get in touch, feedback is always very welcome and usually makes it onto a future podcast – contact me at james@dadsarmypodcast.com. I am particularly interested in hearing from listeners who have seen the colour version of Room at the Bottom - we'll be talking about this news item in more detail in a future episode.Thanks for listening and enjoy the podcast.

Welcome to the much delayed episode 29 of the Dad’s Army podcast. Our little daughter, Natasha was born on the 11th October and has rather inconveniently thrown the podcast’s recording schedule into disarray! This is another commentary this time of series five’s The King was in his Counting House. If you can, pop your Dad’s Army DVD into your computer's CD/DVD drive and start the commentary at the same time.For the first time, my wife Angela joins me in this podcast but by her own admission, is not the biggest Dad’s Army fan. Hopefully the two of us are listenable, but I’m not too sure how interesting or informative we are!! The King... is very much a dialogue based episode so is a little tricky to discuss all the time so we do digress from time to time. The commentary was requested by one of our listener’s, so Ivan, this is for you! Please feel free to get in touch with us at james@dadsarmypodcast.com with your comments and enjoy the podcast.

Hello and welcome to well, an experiment is probably the best way to put it! This edition of the podcast is a commentary to season eight’s Ring Dem Bells. In a nutshell, this is a recording of me, watching the episode and talking about my thoughts in real time. So this podcast is the closest to a ‘live’ podcast we’ve ever been.Hope you enjoy my observations – please let me know if you think if the experiment is a success – let me know at james@dadsarmypodcast.com – and if you do like it then feel free to suggest episodes that you would like to hear me talk about in the future.Enjoy the podcast.

Welcome to the first new episode of the Dad's Army podcast for over a month. In a last minute change to the content, Paul Carpenter and Tony Tarran of the Dad's Army Appreciation Society take over the featured episode segment and provide inside information on Is There Honey Still For Tea? In addition, we review the recent Jonathan Ross and Comedy Connections programmes that formed part of the 40th anniversary celebrations.Enjoy the podcast and remember to let us know what you think - james@dadsarmypodcast.com

Eric Longworth, who played the Town Clerk in Dad's Army, passed away peacefully on Monday 18 August 2008. Eric was 90 years of age.Eric was a fantastic ambassador for the programme, and his loss will be felt throughout the Dad's Army community. It's hard to imagine another actor bringing as much feeling into the single word, 'fleshings' - a line Eric was only too pleased to repeat at Dad's Army events he frequently attended.Rest in peace Eric, and thank you for all the times you have made me laugh - both in the past and whenever I pop a Dad's Army DVD in the future.

Welcome to episode 26 of the Dad’s Army podcast. A slight change in to the podcast we talked about a fortnight ago – this time around we discuss season nine’s A Miser’s Hoard. In addition, Clare talks about her feelings of an absolute classic – Mum’s Army.No news or feedback this time around – that’s because my house is currently upside down and overrun with workmen. We’ll catch up on the news – and there’s been loads of it – and talk about your feedback on the next podcast which should be online at the beginning of September. I’ll attempt to keep the blog up-to-date in the meantime though – www.dadsarmypodcast.blogspot.com As always, we’d love to hear from you – please get in touch with us at james@dadsarmypodcast.com

Hooray! Dad's Army is officially 40 years old today. The first episode entitled 'The Man and the Hour' was first broadcast on the BBC on 31st July 1968. Since then, 80 full length episodes were made and broadcast over the next nine years - not to mention a feature film and a radio series. The affection Dad's Army generates simply has not faded since the programme went of air in 1977. Repeats are regularly shown on the BBC and many other cable channels (now how exactly would you have explain multi-channel telly to Corporal Jones?!) and has always achieved very respectable ratings. Even today, the programme continues to attract young viewers and the recent stage play has helped Dad's Army gain a whole new audience.

Welcome to a special edition of the Dad’s Army Podcast. This week’s podcast comes to you from the Imperial War Museum in London. The 40th Anniversary of Dad’s Army was celebrated in style by a group of fans and stars alike on the 9th July 2008. This podcast features interviews with Clive Dunn, Frank Williams, Ian Lavender, Bill Pertwee, Jeffrey Holland and Dame Vera Lynn. Don’t forget to check out the photos of the event, and indeed details about the massive media coverage the event received on the podcast’s blog – www.dadsarmypodcast.blogspot.com Enjoy the podcast – I have really enjoyed putting this one together as the stars speeches are great. And yes, the ‘Explicit’ tag is deliberate – Clive Dunn’s speech contains some, shall we say, some colourful language – so please skip forward three minutes when you get to Clive’s speech if you’re offended by the use of such words. As alway

Welcome once again to another edition of the Dad’s Army Podcast. This week we catch up on the latest Dad’s Army news, talk about It Sticks Our Half a Mile - the 1980’s Dad’s Army spin-off currently airing on BBC7 and have a rummage through the mailbag and read some e-mails that you have sent us. We also welcome Clare back to the podcast – she joins me to discuss the series four episode, The Two and Half Feathers. Don’t forget to check out the podcast’s blog – take part in polls, read the most recent news, check out photos of the locations used in the series and of the recent Croft and Perry Day – www.dadsarmypodcast.blogspot.com As always, we’d love to hear from you – send your e-mails to james@dadsarmypodcast.com.

In this podcast James and Tony discuss Croft and Perry Day 2008, interview the delightful Pamela Cundell (who played Mrs Fox in the programme, and in the last episode Never Too Old, became Mrs Jones when she married Corporal Jones) and talk about the BBC’s plans to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the show. Our featured episode this week is series four’s The Test. The sound quality is not so good in this podcast I'm afraid - mainly because I am in the middle of decorating my office at home - it's floor-boarded and therefore very echoey. Hope this doesn't spoil your enjoyment too much. We’ll be back with podcast 24 in three weeks or so when we’ll be discussing The Two and Half Feathers – feel free to let us have your comments on this episode and we’ll include them in the show. Enjoy the pod

Welcome to Episode 22 of the Dad’s Army Podcast. This week sees the second and final of the Croft and Perry Weekend Specials and features speeches made by Pamela Cundell, Harold Snoad, Michael Knowles, Jimmy Perry and David Croft at the Dad’s Army Appreciation Society’s annual member’s meal. The cover-art this week is of David and Ann Croft at the event – with me at the same table! If you like the sound of the event and would like to attend in future years, then you will need to join the Appreciation Society to be in with a chance of getting a ticket. Joining is ludicrously cheap – take a look at www.dadsarmy.co.uk for details. We’ll be back in two or three weeks time with a ‘regular’ episode of the podcast and Tony and I will be discussing ‘The Test’. F

Welcome to a special edition of the Dad’s Army podcast. This fortnight we make the biggest departure yet from our regular format. Join us as we tour around the locations used in the series in and around Thetford. We were lucky enough to be accompanied by Frank Williams and Harold Snoad who share many of their memories filming in this beautiful part of the country. This week’s cover-art is of Frank looking at the green used for the pageant in Knights of Madness.The tour was organised by the Dad’s Army Appreciation Society who kindly invited us at the podcast to come along. Check out their webpage at www.dadsarmy.co.ukEnjoy the show and please let us know what you think – our e-mail address is james@dadsarmypodcast.com

This week we bring you a special podcast and take a sneak preview of Croft and Perry Day 2008 taking place on Sunday 11th May. Tony Pritchard of the Dad's Army Appreciation Society takes a well earned break from the making the final preparations to join us and talks about what attendees can expect.Don't forget that we will be at the event for the whole day, so if you see us around the DAAS tent, or out and about recording interviews with fans then please come up and say hello.Hope you enjoy the preview and look forward to seeing you at the event!

James brings you Episode 19 of the podcast. Lots of news this week about the programmes 40th anniversary and the events that are being held to celebrate the milestone.There's the Appreciation Society' Croft and Perry Day on the 11th May, and Thetford Council are planning an whole weekend of celebration. We talk about what in store for those who pay Thetford a visit on either the 26th or the 27th July.Paul Carpenter of the Dad’s Army Appreciation Society joins us once again, this time to discuss the season five story, Time on my Hands. Be warned – we had a nightmare recording this section of the podcast and the quality does dip considerably. It is far more listenable if you listen to this part through speakers rather than using headphones. Hope it doesn’t spoil your enjoyment too much.We will be back in one week’s time with a special podcast previewing the Bressingham event.As always, please send you feedback to us at james@dadsarmypodcast.com

Welcome to Episode 18 of the Dad’s Army Podcast. This week James brings you a brief round up of the recent goings-on in the world of Dad’s Army, sifts through the Podcast’s mailbag and introduces a new voice to the show. Don’t forget to nominate your favourite Dad’s Army episode before 9th May and be in with a chance of winning the bumper prize draw. This week’s featured episode is season one’s The Enemy Within the Gates - just the fourth episode of Dad's Army to be made. To read all the latest Dad’s Army News log onto the podcast’s blog at www.dadsarmypodcast.blogspot.com The Dad’s Army Appreciation Society website is www.dadsarmy.co.uk and the MySpace tribute to James Beck is at www.myspace.com/jamesbeck29 We will be back in two weeks time with podcast 19 - in the meantime, please get in touch with us at james@dadsarmypo

This fortnight we catch up on all the latest Dad’s Army news, discuss the ever-increasing amount of feedback we’ve received from listeners and finally get around to discussing the series three episode, Branded. Thanks to everyone who sent in their comments about this episode.We also have a brief update from the Dad’s Army Appreciation Society on the preparations for the Perry and Croft Day at Bressingham this May. The majority the news articles we discuss can be found on our blog – www.dadsarmypodcast.blogspot.com – don’t forget to check it out soon.Podcast 18 will be on-line in a couple of weeks time when we’ll be discussing the series one episode, The Enemy Within The Gates - so if you e-mail us your feedback on that story then we’ll try to include your comments in the podcast. Email your comments or MP3s to james@dadsarmypodcast.com or walmingtononsea333@yahoo.co.ukEnjoy the podcast.