- Memorabilia from some of David Croft's television creations - Andy Howells
TV producer, director and writer David Croft OBE was the driving force behind many of the jewels of classic television comedy. His passing on September 27 2011 at the age of 89 reminded many of the wonderful legacy of classic TV shows he helped create during what has now been defined as the golden age of TV comedy.
His writing collaborations with writers Jimmy Perry, Jeremy Lloyd and Richard Spendlove brought many enduring situation comedies to the television screen, all of which were designed to entertain the family without having to be rude or smutty.
In several cases these sitcoms were set in the past, genius in itself as none of the series have ever dated. Here’s a brief rundown of the cream of the finest Croft Originals...
Dad’s Army (1968-1977)
The adventures of a Home Guard Platoon posted in the small market town of Walmington on Sea entertained TV audiences for 9 years and became an indisputable television classic. Aspiring actor Jimmy Perry, whom David had cast in the TV series Beggar My Neighbour, originally presented the idea to David Croft as a script entitled The Fighting Tigers.
David liked the idea, which was inspired by Jimmy’s own experience as a young Local Defence Volunteer, and presented the show to the head of the BBC Michael Mills. Mills changed the title of The Fighting Tigers to Dad’s Army and also suggested the title sequence featuring footage of wartime refugees and Nazi invaders should be replaced.
David co-wrote over 80 episodes of Dad’s Army with Jimmy Perry between 1968 and 1977 starring Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn. The series spawned several spin-offs including a feature film, radio series, and a stage show.
Since the last episode was broadcast, Dad’s Army’s popularity has endured with regular repeats on television, releases on DVD, and in recent years, two stage show adaptations starring Leslie Grantham as Private Walker.
Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
David Croft produced and co-wrote ten series of Are You Being Served? with actor Jeremy Lloyd between 1973 and 1975.
Consisting of 69 episodes, the series starred John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton and Wendy Richard. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of a large London department store called Grace Brothers and based on the series writers' own experiences of working in department stores.
BBC bosses deemed the first episode unsuitable due to the effeminate nature of one of the main characters, Mr. Humphries (played by John Inman). Humphries remained in the series after the pilot episode was placed in the TV schedules following free airtime created by the tragic events in Munich.
Are You Being Served? subsequently spawned a stage show, a film, and in 1992, a sequel series entitled Grace and Favour. The series also gained a huge following in the United States and Australia where a further 16 episodes of Are You Being Served? were made starring John Inman.
It Ain’t Half Hot Mum! (1973-1981)
Set in British India and Burma, towards the end of the Second World War, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum! follows the adventures of the Royal Artillery Concert Party. The series was inspired by experiences of Jimmy Perry and David Croft who had both been members of concert parties themselves in the 1940s.
It Ain't Half Hot Mum! starred Windsor Davies, George Layton, Michael Bates and Melvyn Hayes and ran for eight series between 1973 and 1981 totaling 56 episodes.
The series also helped propel two of the show's stars, Windsor Davies and Don Estelle, to the top of the charts in 1975 with their rendition of the song Whispering Grass, which in turn was taken from a cast album inspired by the TV series.
Despite It Ain’t Half Hot Mum!’s popularity, it has rarely been repeated since its original broadcast because the shows creators are often criticised for casting white actors to play the roles of Indians.
Hi-De-Hi! (1980-1988)
David Croft and Jimmy Perry yet again pooled on their own real life experiences as young entertainers when creating a TV series based around the happenings of a holiday camp in the 1950s.
Hi-De-Hi! was set at Maplins, holiday camp in the seaside town of Crimpton-on-Sea, and starred Simon Cadell, Paul Shane, Ruth Madoc and Jeffrey Holland. The series, which ran for 58 episodes broadcast between 1980 and 1988, was a regular ratings success winning a BAFTA award in 1984.
Allo Allo (1982-1992)
Created by David Croft, Allo Allo was a parody of the wartime-based drama series Secret Army. It starred Gorden Kaye as René Artois, a French café owner in the German occupied French town of Nouvion during the Second World War.
René frequently found himself caught up between the corrupt plans of the Gestapo, who have stolen all the towns artifacts, including a painting of The Fallen Madonna and the first cuckoo clock ever made, and the French Resistance, who have hidden two British aircraft pilots in René’s café.
As well as writing and directing, David Croft wrote the first six series with Jeremy Lloyd before relinquishing writing duties to Paul Adam from the seventh series.
You Have Been Watching
All of David Croft's TV shows ended with the customary on-screen caption, "You Have Been Watching," followed by an on-screen image and name of each actor featured within the programme.
The expression "You Have Been Watching" has applied to many viewers who have continued to enjoy many of these wonderful television shows over the decades since Dad's Army began in 1968.
We have been watching, and we will continue to watch.
Sources:
- You Have Been Watching... The Autobiography Of David Croft, David Croft, BBC Books, 2004.
- Radio Times Guide To TV Comedy, Mark Lewisohn, BBC Books, 1998.
