Dad's Army - The Boy Who Saved England

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Nearly 20 years after the final radio episode of "Dad's Army" was recorded at the BBC Paris Studio's, three of the surviving actors reunited for this special 10 minute sketch.

"The Boy Who Saved England" was recorded as part of the Radio 2 "Last Night at the Paris" evening compered by Bob Hoskins and broadcast on the 3rd June 1995. The programme to feature the sketch was "Full Steam A-Hudd" and was included as an insert amongst many other radio show's which had also been recorded at the same studio's years before.

The sketch featured Ian Lavender as Private Pike (left to guard HQ while Captain Mainwaring and the platoon are on a secret mission), Bill Pertwee as ARP Warden Hodges and Frank Williams as the Vicar.

Writer, Jimmy Perry also featured as General Haverlock-Seabag who enlists Pike on a secret mission and temporarily drafts Hodges and The Vicar into the Home Guard to enable him to save England from the Nazi menace and an army of Winston Churchill robots.

Although the story starts off well, the plot gets lost when the team embark on the secret mission. It is never exactly explained what the German's plan is and an army of Winston Churchill robots fighting on the beaches of Walmington-on-Sea is just too much "getting into the realm's of fantasy" (as a certain Captain Mainwaring would have put it) , even for "Dad's Army".

Written, researched and designed by Andy Howells (c) 2002