Dad's Army treads the boards...

[Pip Madeley]

Nearly everyone from the series is long dead, but...

Dad's Army to be revived on stage

Classic sitcom Dad's Army is to be revived on stage with its first major theatrical production. The cast for the UK tour will feature former EastEnders star Leslie Grantham as shady wheeler dealer Private Walker.

The show will include two 1969 episodes which went missing from the BBC's archives and have yet to be uncovered. The edition in which pompous platoon leader Captain Mainwaring uttered the famous line "don't tell him, Pike" will also feature in the production.

The pivotal role will be played by actor Peter Martin, who has appeared in ITV1 soap Emmerdale since 2001 and was in The Royle Family as neighbour Joe Carroll.

The lost episodes, for which only the scripts now survive, see the platoon trying to give Private Walker flat feet to avoid being drafted into the regular army, as he supplies them with cigarettes and alcohol. The second sees maudlin Scotsman Private Fraser given a promotion, which turns him into a power-mad despot.

Ed O'Driscoll, the show's producer, said: "We have worked very carefully to stay true to the scripts and the spirit of the show. With the cast we weren't searching for mimics or lookalikes, but actors to reinterpret the roles. He added they are "delighted" to bring the lost episodes to life for fans who would only have been able to read scripts previously.

The stage show will open in Stevenage, Hertfordshire on 3 September, and will visit venues around the UK - including Manchester and Cardiff - until spring 2008. The programme has been adapted for a number of amateur theatrical productions in the past.

Not for me, but someone might want to go...

[Paul Monk]

I love Dads Army but I can't imagine this will be the same as those characters are far too linked to the actors that played them.

[Alex]

Leslie Grantham as shady wheeler dealer Private Walker

I know it's unfair, but I just can't help feeling a little nauseous when seeing Leslie onscreen, it was those photo's in the News of the World during the webcam scandal that are responsible. Hence I will never, ever see this.

[Darren]

Sacriliege!

[The Secretive Bus]

Maybe its first "major" theatrical version but Dad's Army has been taken to the stage without the original cast before. I saw a good stage version a few years ago performed here in Portsmouth, probably put on by the same chaps and chappettes who do the Doctor Who plays (Web of Fear, Evil of the Daleks etc.) Nick Scovell (sp? - played the Doctor in the Who plays) played Mainwaring.