John Sessions: A life on screen

Some of the comic and actor's memorable appearances.

John Sessions - a life in pictures

Comedian and actor John Sessions has died aged 67. Here's a look back at his many career highs, from Whose Line is it Anyway? to Stella Street.

The spin-offs and remakes of Dad's Army

It's unlikely to have escaped any Dad's Army fan's attention that all three of the lost episodes are being remade for UK Gold. But then, Dad's Army is no stranger to remakes and spin offs, so let's have a look at them now...

The danger of constantly celebrating the past

Nostalgia. Easy promotability. A blend of old and new. Low risk. Lots of press. And a brand new half hour to be written by Clement and Frenais, writers of the near-perfect Porridge. What's not to like? As a consumer of comedy, I'm fine with all of the above obviously. As a writer of comedy, my feelings are slightly more mixed.

We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story review

BBC Two's We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story is very like the show that inspired it.

We're Doomed: The Dad's Army Story dramatises the tale of jobbing actor Jimmy Perry (Paul Ritter) who together with his agent's husband David Croft (Richard Dormer) wrote one of the nation's favourite sitcoms. When I first started watching We're Doomed I thought that writer Stephen Russell's work would be up there with other making of dramas such as The Road to Coronation Street and An Adventure in Space and Time. However I gradually realised that We're Doomed lacked the bite of both of those shows and it was a little bit too light for its own good. One of the main problems with We're Doomed was that Dad's Army wasn't beset with many problems aside from a sceptical BBC Boss and an audience who may not have been ready for a comedy about a recently fought war. But what We're Doomed lacked in edge it made up for in two sympathetic lead characters who were played by a couple of fine performers. Paul Ritter perfectly portrayed Perry as the wannabe star who became an accidental sitcom writer after trying to net himself the role of Walker. Ritter's animated turn was perfectly balanced by Richard Dormer's very dry interpretation of the grounded David Croft. The action started to pick up when the familiar faces of the actors started to appear on screen most notably Arthur Lowe who was convincingly portrayed by John Sessions. Sessions made Lowe the star of the show both on and off camera especially when Croft and Perry worried that he'd struggle to remember any of his lines. The humour of the piece was perfectly offset by a couple of more emotional moments such as when Perry realised he wasn't going to play Walker and when later he watched his hero Bud Flanagan perform the iconic Dad's Army theme tune. Even though it was a little rushed, I felt that We're Doomed told its story well primarily due to its combination of wit and sympathetic characters. Ultimately the drama was the perfect fit for the festive schedules and also provided the perfect taster for the upcoming Dad's Army film.

We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story: review

A BBC drama about a great BBC success story of the past could have been unbearable. But it's much more than a Dad's Army luv-in.

We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story, BBC Two, review

Touching comedy drama tells of a near miss for a national institution.

We're Doomed: The Dad's Army Story, BBC2 - TV review

We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story was more Batmainwaring Begins, and ended as the first episode started in 1968. But not before considerable off-camera drama, gently warmed with the same style of comedy that would sustain 80 (highly repeatable) episodes.

TV review: We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story

As we saw the underdogs of Dad's Army assemble, this was a rather jolly dramatisation.