Mainwaring, Wilson and Godfrey have been cast

Some of the actors remaking three lost episodes of Dad’s Army have been named.

Kevin McNally – who has played Tony Hancock in remakes of the dour comedian’s shows on radio TV and stage – will be stepping into Arthur Lowe’s shoes as Captain Mainwaring.

Cold Feet’s Robert Bathurst will be playing Sergeant Wilson, originally played by John Le Mesurier.

Bathurst previously played Le Mesurier himself in the 2011 BBC biopic Hattie, about the actor’s second wife Hattie Jacques.

And veteran comedy star Bernard Cribbins, 89, is to play the doddery Private Godfrey, as made famous by Arnold Ridley.

The casting is revealed by Baz Bamigboye in his Daily Mail column tomorrow. Other roles have yet to be cast, but he suggests Matthew Horne may also be appearing.

The missing Dad’s Army episodes have not been seen on TV since  they were first broadcast in 1969, as the BBC wiped or destroyed the tapes at the time.

All of the episodes to be remade come from the second series: The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Walker, A Stripe for Frazer and Under Fire.

Now, with the blessing of the estates of the original writers, Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the shows will be recreated for the Gold channel to air next year, to mark their 50th anniversary.

Dad’s Army was remade as a film two years ago with Toby Jones as  Mainwaring, Bill Nighy as Wilson and Michael Gambon as Godfrey

Published: 8 Nov 2018