Meet Frank Williams: the great survivor of Dad's Army

He is the man whose face probably first comes to mind if one is asked to think of a fictional television vicar. Actor Frank Williams first put on his dog collar to play the part of the Reverend Timothy Farthing in Dad's Army 46 years ago. Now 83, he's still going strong, appearing in the new film of Dad's Army, released early next year and starring Catherine Zeta-Jones. He is touring the UK in a show in which he recalls his long career. Along with Ian Lavender, who played Private Pike, Frank is the only surviving regular cast member from the original series.

Ian Lavender reveals Pike's scarf is not Aston Villa

Ian Lavender has revealed his "deep shock" at an omission made by the makers of the forthcoming movie. The scarf worn by Private Pike in the star-packed new production is NOT in Aston Villa colours.

Ian Lavender to have cameo in new Dad's Army film

Original Dad's Army star Ian Lavender is making a cameo appearance in the new film.

Radio Times review

A chaotic whirl of flirtation and skirmish accompanies America's entrance into the war, as a deputation arrives in Walmington. A darts match in the Red Lion is arranged and a "Hi Buddy!" banner hung over the bar. But with the platoon's other halves donning gladrags for the occasion, noses are soon put out of joint.

An utterly untypical instalment gives fans plenty of incident and casting oddities to talk about. They include Pike's girlfriend Ivy, played here by Ian Lavender's then wife Suzanne Kerchiss, but in an earlier episode by Rosemary Faith. And Alan Tilvern plays the US colonel even though he had previously been a Spanish captain, Rodrigues.

Like Yanks in 30 minutes, the story is almost too eventful for its own good. I mean to say, Godfrey hitting a man over the head with a chair? That's just not on.

Ian Lavender: Dad's Army cost me a career in the movies

Ian Lavender was 22 when he was cast as mummy's boy Private Pike in Dad's Army. It was a role that would come to haunt his career, stopping him from getting meatier parts. His one-man Edinburgh show explains all.

Ian Lavender interview

Ian Lavender, 68 - aka Private Pike - talks remakes, shyness, and the "brilliant" cast of Dad's Army.

When are we going to call time on the panel-game format? Trawling through classic British sitcom clips and listening to Jo Brand, Rebbeca Front, Barry Cryer and this week's guest Tim Brooke-Taylor shooting the breeze is a jolly concept in itself; do we really have to pretend it's a quiz? Cryer and Brooke-Taylor should have spotted the danger given they've been playing "the antidote to panel games" since 1972 on Radio 4.

Dad's Army's Ian Lavender and dinnerladies' Anne Reid provide a vintage tint of comic triumphs past, but if this generation's trapped in squidgy sofas playing for points, who's going to be free to make the future comedy classics?

Eager to know why Manuel from Fawlty Towers had a moustache? The worst thing about being in Blackadder? Or maybe which actors had to bring their own clothes to film a hit pilot? The answers to these hot-button issues in Jo Brand's poorly disguised old-timey clip-show are perfectly pitched, provoking - if anything - the kind of weary, non-committal, slightly surly shrug that's engendered by watching the actual programme itself.

Brand presides over a genial half-hour of sitcom quizzery that sees team leaders Rebecca Front and Barry 'Mine's a Large One!' Cryer joined by Hugh Dennis and Tony Robinson for a trawl through some well-thumbed snippets from the BBC archives. Andrew Sachs and Ian Lavender deliver creaky old war stories and Cryer delves into his endless fund of Willie Rushton anecdotes, before a round where the guests all try on a variety of wigs puts the show out of its misery.

Brand and guests are very easy people to like, but this is the worst kind of filler; to damn it with even fainter praise, it's the sort of programme that Alan Partridge would consider 'classic broadcasting'.

There's a very good chance that you haven't have heard of Parsley Sidings - and there's a reason for that. Namely it was one of the comedy shows that fell victim to the BBC's tape wiping policy, which saw many shows being lost.

It's always a shame, but even worse when you learn more about the people involved. The leads are played by Arthur Lowe and Ian Lavender from Dad's Army; the other two regulars were Kenneth Connor and Liz Frazer, both noted Carry On actors; and on top of that, it was written by Jim Eldridge, the creator of the long-running Radio 4 series King Street Junior, the first comedy drama as we would recognise it today.

Luckily for us, most of the episodes have since been rediscovered and Radio 4 Extra is now giving them their first repeat run since their debut back in the early 1970s on Radio 2.

Anyway, back to the show. The series is set in a small railway station managed by station master Horace Hepplewhite (Lowe), whose family have managed the station for generations. He's keen on his idiotic son Bertrand (Lavender) to take over, though he really doesn't want to. The other staff consist of Gloria Simpkins (Frazer) - who is in love with Bertrand - cockney porter Percy Valentine (Connor) and 90-year-old signalman Mr. Bradshaw (Connor again).

Listening back on these missing recordings, there are still some laughs, despite the poor quality of the recordings. However, there's one big problem, which is that because we're so used to everyone involved doing much more famous (and superior) work, this fades in comparison. When you hear Lowe and Lavender acting as the Horace and Bertrand, you can't help but picture Mainwaring and Pike. Shame.

It's worth listening to Parsley Sidings of course, but it doesn't stand up in its own right. You're probably better off watching Dad's Army, a Carry On film, or listening to an episode of King Street Junior (once the BBC eventually get round to releasing it commercially, which they haven't yet).

Most episodes of this early 1970s sitcom by Jim Eldridge had been wiped and lost for good until a listener sent in some home recordings. Fans of Dad's Army or the Carry On films will want to tune in: Arthur Lowe plays the station master at a hopeless backwater railway stop where the trains always run late, with Ian Lavender as his son!

Kenneth Connor and Liz Fraser also star. It's Lowe's show, as he reprises his signature comic persona of a pompous bumbler authoring his own embarrassment, with a fair bit of help from his unreliable underlings.