Pardon The Expression. Leonard Swindley (Arthur Lowe). Copyright: Granada Television

Arthur Lowe was an actor with a particular adeptness for slightly blustering, comic roles. First seen on stage in 1945, he soon established himself as a reliable theatre actor and appeared across the country. Enjoying a consistent string of guest roles on both television and in film, he became a national star during the 1960s and 70s, first in Coronation Street and his own character's two spin-off sitcoms (Pardon The Expression, Turn Out The Lights), and later in the iconic BBC series Dad's Army.

Year Production Role
2023 Dad's Army: The Animations
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Walker
  2. E2 - Under Fire
  3. E3 - A Stripe For Frazer
  4. E4 - The Animated Christmas Specials
Captain Mainwaring (Voice)
2020 We Love...
  1. E3 - We Love Dad's Army
Self (Archive Material)
2016 Dad's Army: A Stripe For Frazer Captain Mainwaring
2014 Morecambe & Wise In Pieces
  1. E4 - Leading Men
Self (Archive Material)
1983 It Sticks Out Half A Mile - Pilot
  1. Loyal Support
George Mainwaring
1982 A.J. Wentworth, B.A.
View episodes
  1. E1 - A Day In The Life Of.....
  2. E2 - Mud Larks
  3. E3 - Problems, Problems
  4. E4 - IIIA Goes To War
  5. E5 - Founder's Day
  6. E6 - The Outsider
A J Wentworth
1982 Britannia Hospital Guest Patient
1981 Bless Me, Father - Series 3
View episodes
  1. E1 - Things Are Not What They Seem
  2. E2 - Women
  3. E3 - Beddings And Weddings
  4. E4 - Fire & Brimstone
  5. E5 - A Legend Comes To Stay
  6. E6 - Porgy & Bess
  7. E7 - A Mixed-Up Marriage
Father Charles Clement Duddleswell
1980 Potter - Series 2
View episodes
  1. E1 - Episode One
  2. E2 - Episode Two
  3. E3 - Episode Three
  4. E4 - Episode Four
  5. E5 - Episode Five
  6. E6 - Episode Six
  7. E7 - Episode Seven
Redvers Potter
1979 The Plank Smaller Workman
1979 Bless Me, Father - Series 2
View episodes
  1. E1 - Blessings From Heaven
  2. E2 - Father Neil's First Miracle
  3. E3 - Fatal Lady
  4. E4 - The Heart Of A Curate
  5. E5 - All At Sea
  6. E6 - The Season Of Goodwill
  7. E7 - A Back To Front Wedding
Father Charles Clement Duddleswell
1979 Potter - Series 1
View episodes
  1. E1 - Episode One
  2. E2 - Episode Two
  3. E3 - Episode Three
  4. E4 - Episode Four
  5. E5 - Episode Five
  6. E6 - Episode Six
Redvers Potter
1978 Bless Me, Father - Series 1
View episodes
  1. E1 - Baptism Of Fire
  2. E2 - The Bells Of St. Jude's
  3. E3 - The Parish Bazaar
  4. E4 - The Doomsday Chair
  5. E5 - Father And Mother
  6. E6 - The Tennis Match
  7. E7 - The Seal Of Confession
Father Charles Clement Duddleswell
1977 Dad's Army - Series 9
View episodes
  1. E1 - Wake-Up Walmington
  2. E2 - The Making Of Private Pike
  3. E3 - Knights Of Madness
  4. E4 - The Miser's Hoard
  5. E5 - Number Engaged
  6. E6 - Never Too Old
Captain Mainwaring
1977 The Strange Case Of The End Of Civilisation As We Know It Dr. W. Watson
1977 Car Along The Pass Henry Duckworth
1977 The Diary Of A Nobody Narrator
1976 Dad's Army - The Love Of Three Oranges Captain Mainwaring
1976 Dad's Army - Series 3
View episodes
  1. E1 - A Man Of Action
  2. E2 - The Honourable Man
  3. E3 - The Godiva Affair
  4. E4 - Keep Young And Beautiful
  5. E5 - Absent Friends
  6. E6 - Round And Round Went The Great Big Wheel
  7. E7 - The Great White Hunter
  8. E8 - The Deadly Attachment
  9. E9 - Things That Go Bump In The Night
  10. E10 - My British Buddy
  11. E11 - Big Guns
  12. E12 - The Big Parade
  13. E13 - Asleep In The Deep
  14. E14 - We Know Our Onions
  15. E15 - The Royal Train
  16. E16 - A Question Of Reference
  17. E17 - High Finance
  18. E18 - The Recruit
  19. E19 - A Jumbo Sized Problem
  20. E20 - The Cricket Match
  21. E21 - Time On My Hands
  22. E22 - Turkey Dinner
  23. E23 - The Captain's Car
  24. E24 - The Two And A Half Feathers
  25. E25 - Is There Honey Still For Tea?
  26. E26 - Ten Seconds From Now
Captain Mainwaring
1976 The Bawdy Adventures Of Tom Jones Actor
1975 Dad's Army - Series 8
  1. Special - My Brother And I
Barry Mainwaring
1975 Dad's Army - Series 8
View episodes
  1. E1 - Ring Dem Bells
  2. E2 - When You've Got To Go
  3. E3 - Is There Honey Still For Tea?
  4. E4 - Come In, Your Time Is Up
  5. E5 - High Finance
  6. E6 - The Face On The Poster
  7. Special - My Brother And I
Captain Mainwaring
1975 Dad's Army - Series 2
View episodes
  1. E1 - Don't Forget The Diver
  2. E2 - If The Cap Fits...
  3. E3 - Put That Light Out!
  4. E4 - Boots, Boots, Boots
  5. E5 - Sergeant Save My Boy
  6. E6 - Branded
  7. E7 - Uninvited Guests
  8. E8 - A Brush With The Law
  9. E9 - A Soldier's Farewell
  10. E10 - Brain Versus Brawn
  11. E11 - War Dance
  12. E12 - Mum's Army
  13. E13 - Getting The Bird
  14. E14 - Don't Fence Me In
  15. E15 - The King Was In His Counting House
  16. E16 - When Did You Last See Your Money?
  17. E17 - Fallen Idol
  18. E18 - A. Wilson (Manager)?
  19. E19 - All Is Safely Gathered In
  20. E20 - The Day The Balloon Went Up
Captain Mainwaring
1974 Dad's Army - Series 7
View episodes
  1. E1 - Everybody's Trucking
  2. E2 - A Man Of Action
  3. E3 - Gorilla Warfare
  4. E4 - The Godiva Affair
  5. E5 - The Captain's Car
  6. E6 - Turkey Dinner
Captain Mainwaring
1974 Dad's Army - Series 1
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Man And The Hour
  2. E2 - Museum Piece
  3. E3 - Command Decision
  4. E4 - The Enemy Within The Gates
  5. E5 - The Battle Of Godfrey's Cottage
  6. E6 - The Armoured Might Of Lance Corporal Jones
  7. E7 - Sgt. Wilson's Little Secret
  8. E8 - A Stripe For Frazer
  9. E9 - Operation Kilt
  10. E10 - Battle School
  11. E11 - Under Fire
  12. E12 - Something Nasty In The Vault
  13. E13 - The Showing Up Of Corporal Jones
  14. E14 - The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Walker
  15. E15 - Sorry, Wrong Number
  16. E16 - The Bullet Is Not For Firing
  17. E17 - Room At The Bottom
  18. E18 - The Menace From The Deep
  19. E19 - No Spring For Frazer
  20. E20 - Sons Of The Sea
  21. Special - Present Arms
Captain Mainwaring
1974 Man About The House Spiros
1973 Bunclarke-With-An-E Bunclerke
1973 Dad's Army - Series 6
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Deadly Attachment
  2. E2 - My British Buddy
  3. E3 - The Royal Train
  4. E4 - We Know Our Onions
  5. E5 - The Honourable Man
  6. E6 - Things That Go Bump In The Night
  7. E7 - The Recruit
Captain Mainwaring
1973 Parsley Sidings - Series 2
View episodes
  1. E1 - Pass The Parcel
  2. E2 - The Flower Show
  3. E3 - The Entente Cordial
  4. E4 - A Night Out
  5. E5 - The Goods Train
  6. E6 - A Bird in the Hand
  7. E7 - The Purity League
  8. E8 - The New Level Crossing
  9. E9 - The Film Makers
  10. E10 - The Secret Agent
Horace Hepplewhite
1973 No Sex Please - We're British Mr. Bromley
1973 Theatre Of Blood Horace Sprout
1972 Dad's Army - Series 5
View episodes
  1. E1 - Asleep In The Deep
  2. E2 - Keep Young And Beautiful
  3. E3 - A Soldier's Farewell
  4. E4 - Getting The Bird
  5. E5 - The Desperate Drive Of Corporal Jones
  6. E6 - If The Cap Fits....
  7. E7 - The King Was In His Counting House
  8. E8 - All Is Safety Gathered In
  9. E9 - When Did You Last See Your Money?
  10. E10 - Brain Versus Brawn
  11. E11 - A Brush With The Law
  12. E12 - Round And Round Went The Great Big Wheel
  13. Special - Broadcast To Empire
  14. E13 - Time On My Hands
Captain Mainwaring
1972 The Last Of The Baskets - Series 2
View episodes
  1. E1 - It's A Living
  2. E2 - Since Then I Have Used No Other
  3. E3 - Good Queen Bess Slept Here
  4. E4 - A Chip Off The Old Block
  5. E5 - The Hound Of The Baskets
  6. E6 - Nice Work If You Can Get It
  7. E7 - A Tisket, A Tasket
Redvers Bodkin
1972 It's Murder. But Is It Art? Phineas Drake
1972 Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall Major Drysdale
1971 Dad's Army - Battle Of The Giants! Captain Mainwaring
1971 Parsley Sidings - Series 1
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Market Special
  2. E2 - The Postal Express
  3. E3 - The Beauty Queen Contest
  4. E4 - The Inspector Calls
  5. E5 - The 1890 Rocket
  6. E6 - The Excursion
  7. E7 - Cricket, Lovely Cricket
  8. E8 - Who'll Be Mother?
  9. E9 - The Concert
  10. E10 - Goodbye Parsley Sidings
Horace Hepplewhite
1971 The Last Of The Baskets - Series 1
View episodes
  1. E1 - End Of The Peer
  2. E2 - Well Done Good And Faithful Servant
  3. E3 - I Gotta Horse
  4. E4 - For I'm To Be Queen Of The May
  5. E5 - For Richer, For Poorer
  6. E6 - Do Unto Others ...
Redvers Bodkin
1971 Dad's Army Capt. Mainwaring
1971 Doctor At Large
  1. E3 - You Make Me Feel So Young
  2. E4 - Doctor Dish
  3. E5 - Modernising Major
  4. E6 - Congratulations It's A Toad
  5. E7 - Change Your Partners
Dr Maxwell
1971 Parsley Sidings - Pilot Horace Hepplewhite
1970 Dad's Army - Series 4
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Big Parade
  2. E2 - Don't Forget The Diver
  3. E3 - Boots, Boots, Boots
  4. E4 - Sgt - Save My Boy!
  5. E5 - Don't Fence Me In
  6. E6 - Absent Friends
  7. E7 - Put That Light Out!
  8. E8 - The Two And A Half Feathers
  9. E9 - Mum's Army
  10. E10 - The Test
  11. E11 - A. Wilson (Manager)?
  12. E12 - Uninvited Guests
  13. E13 - Fallen Idol
  14. Special - The Cornish Floral Dance
Captain Mainwaring
1970 Ben Travers Farces Various
1970 The Bed Sitting Room Father
1970 Tommy Cooper
  1. E3 - Episode Three
Guest
1970 The Rise And Rise Of Michael Rimmer Ferret
1969 Dad's Army - Series 3
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Armoured Might Of Lance Corporal Jones
  2. E2 - Battle School
  3. E3 - The Lion Has 'Phones
  4. E4 - The Bullet Is Not For Firing
  5. E5 - Something Nasty In The Vault
  6. E6 - Room At The Bottom
  7. E7 - Big Guns
  8. E8 - The Day The Balloon Went Up
  9. E9 - War Dance
  10. E10 - Menace From The Deep
  11. E11 - Branded
  12. E12 - Man Hunt
  13. E13 - No Spring For Frazer
  14. E14 - Sons Of The Sea
  15. Special - Resisting The Aggressor Down The Ages
Captain Mainwaring
1969 Dad's Army - Series 2
View episodes
  1. E1 - Operation Kilt
  2. E2 - The Battle Of Godfrey's Cottage
  3. E3 - The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Walker
  4. E4 - Sgt. Wilson's Little Secret
  5. E5 - A Stripe For Frazer
  6. E6 - Under Fire
Captain Mainwaring
1969 A Hole Lot Of Trouble Mr. Whitehouse
1968 Dad's Army - Series 1
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Man And The Hour
  2. E2 - Museum Piece
  3. E3 - Command Decision
  4. E4 - The Enemy Within The Gates
  5. E5 - The Showing Up Of Corporal Jones
  6. E6 - Shooting Pains
  7. Special - Present Arms
Captain Mainwaring
1967 Turn Out The Lights
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Boyhood Haunt
  2. E2 - Hail To Thee, Aunt Shelmadine
  3. E3 - A Big Hand For A Little Lady
  4. E4 - The Happy Medium
  5. E5 - You Can't Get The Wood
  6. E6 - One For Yes, Two For No
Leonard Swindley
1966 Pardon The Expression - Series 2
View episodes
  1. E1 - The Economy Drive
  2. E2 - The January Sale
  3. E3 - The Resignation
  4. E4 - Self-Defence
  5. E5 - The Annual Stocktaking
  6. E6 - The Home Help
  7. E7 - The Big Hotel
  8. E8 - The Gaol Birds
  9. E9 - The Host With The Most
  10. E10 - Whose Baby Are You?
  11. E11 - The Take Over Bid
  12. E12 - Between The Covers
  13. E13 - Who's Been Sleeping In Our Beds?
  14. E14 - A Sheik In The Night
  15. E15 - Rustle Of Spring
  16. E16 - The Ghost Of Batsworth Castle Walks
  17. E17 - The Sailor Home From The Sea
  18. E18 - The Dinner Party
  19. E19 - Man's Best Friend
  20. E20 - Thunderfinger Pt 1
  21. E21 - Thunderfinger Pt 2 - Swindley Strikes Back
  22. E22 - The Switched-On Scene
  23. E23 - The Cup That Cheers
  24. E24 - Down On The Health Farm Something Stirred
Leonard Swindley
1965 Pardon The Expression - Series 1
View episodes
  1. E1 - The First Day
  2. E2 - The Headmistress
  3. E3 - The Trouble With Ada
  4. E4 - Mannequin Parade
  5. E5 - The Dance
  6. E6 - The Wedding
  7. E7 - The Pensioner
  8. E8 - The Visitor
  9. E9 - Birthday Present
  10. E10 - Little Boy Lost
  11. E11 - The Old One-Two
  12. E12 - The Brain Drain
Leonard Swindley
1962 Go To Blazes Bert the Warder
1961 Three Live Wires
  1. E9 - The Ring
Actor
1956 Who Done It? Tank Operator
1956 The Green Man Radio Salesman
1949 Kind Hearts And Coronets Titbits Reporter

Non-comedy TV and film credits may be found here:
Arthur Lowe on IMDb

Born
Wednesday 22nd September 1915
Died
Thursday 15th April 1982 (aged 66)
Nationality
English

Arthur Lowe was an English actor born in Hayfield, Derbyshire. His father worked for a railway company and organised the logistics of moving theatrical touring troupes across Northern England.

Originally, Lowe had wanted to pursue a career in the Merchant Navy, but poor hindsight disadvantaged him and he had to seek a different path. He began work at an aircraft factory, joining the British Army on the eve of the Second World War. However, he had already experienced his first Tate of acting, working as a stage-hand at the Manchester Palace of Varieties. Lowe served in the Middle East and took part in several entertainment shows organised for the troops. When discharged from the army at the end of the war, having served as a radar technician in the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, he had reached the rank of Sergeant.

Lowe made his onstage debut in 1945 at the Manchester Repertory Theatre, paid £5 per week for twice-nightly performances. Soon he was being booked for parts in West End musicals Call Me Madam, Pal Joey, and The Pajama Game, and took on a brief role towards the end of classic Ealing comedy Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949).

Lowe married Joan Coper in 1948, having met when she was his leading lady at the Manchester Repertory Theatre, and they remained together until his death.

Lowe's television breakthrough arrived with a regular role as draper/lay preacher Leonard Swindley in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street. So popular was his character that viewers demanded spin-off series Pardon The Expression and its sequel Turn Out The Lights.

In 1968 Lowe was cast as Captain Mainwaring in BBC sitcom Dad's Army (1968-1977). Famously, Lowe had a clause written into his contract that specified that he would never have to lose his trousers. In the 1975 Christmas special of the sitcom, entitled "My Brother And I", Lowe also played Mainwaring's drunken brother Barry Mainwaring. Lowe would repeat the much-loved role of captain in the radio version of the show, a stage play, and a feature-length film Dad's Army=1447], released in 1971. His character is well-known for his catchphrases 'Oh do be quiet, boy', 'I think I'm losing the will to live', and 'Now listen everyone, I have some very important news'.

Lowe was also an accomplished stage actor, appearing in plays at the National Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre. In 1968 he was invited by Laurence Olivier to act at the National Theatre and at the Old Vic.

In cinema, Lowe took on several important roles in films directed by Lindsay Anderson, including if... and O Lucky Man!. He also featured in Spike Milligan's absurdist, surrealist film The Bed Sitting Room, in which he mutates into a parrot,

Lowe featured twice as a guest performer on The Morecambe And Wise Show (1971 and 1977), and in 1973 joined forces with Dad's Army colleague Ian Lavender on BBC radio comedy Parsley Sidings. In 1974 he gave his voice to a plethora of characters on the BBC animated television series Mr. Men (1974), in which he narrated as well as giving life to all the characters.

In 1972 Lowe recorded the novelty musical songs "How I Won The War" and "My Little Girl, My Little Boy".

When Dad's Army came to an end in 1977, Lowe remained in high demand in the comedy circuit, appearing in major roles in the television comedies Bless Me, Father and Potter. In 1981 he reprised the role of Captain Mainwaring for a pilot episode of It Sticks Out Half A Mile, a radio sequel to Dad's Army. His last film role would be in Lindsay Anderson's Britannia Hospital (1982).

Lowe and his wife both suffered terribly from alcoholism, and towards the end of his career he could do little more than act in pantomimes and touring theatre productions. On 14 April 1982, he appeared in a live televised interview on Pebble Mill At One but later collapsed from a stroke in his dressing room at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham. He died in hospital the next morning, aged 66. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at Sutton Coldfield Crematorium, and a memorial service was held in May 1982 at St Martin-in-the-Fields. His last sitcom, A.J. Wentworth, B.A., in which Lowe played a boys' prep-school master, was broadcast during July and August 1982.

BAFTA Television Awards 1978
Best Light Entertainment Performance (Nominee)
BAFTA Television Awards 1975
Best Actor (Nominee)
Best Light Entertainment Performance (Nominee)
BAFTA Film Awards 1974
Best Supporting Actor (Winner)
BAFTA Television Awards 1973
Best Light Entertainment Performance (Nominee)
BAFTA Television Awards 1971
Best Light Entertainment Performance (Nominee)
BAFTA Television Awards 1970
Best Actor (Nominee)
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