By Elliott West
“There was me, wet behind the ears, trying not to let my jaw go slack. And of course I’d sit in Eric Morecambe’s dressing room listening to his stories too, because we recorded on the same night. This doesn’t happen to 22-year-old actors very often. If necessary, I would have paid them to be allowed to do the job”.
Ian Lavender
Introduction
Ian Lavender was a very intelligent man, a genial and generous actor who never got tired of his part as Private Pike in the hit Croft/Perry comedy Dad’s Army. A comedy that he continually promoted years after the episodes aired on BBC television. Ian’s own home was not that far removed from a location in the series itself. A timber-framed house in a leafy Suffolk village, complete with tea rooms and a 12-century church. A location that was only a stone’s throw away from where the German airmen scene was filmed. A scene where their plane had crashed into a reservoir and the hilarious memory of Corporal Jones hanging from a windmill.
So imagine what it was like for a 22-year-old budding actor to be offered the opportunity of a lifetime to star alongside so many great actors. Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, Bill Pertwee, Frank Williams, James Beck and John Laurie whose filmography included working with Will Hay. Yet this hit comedy that ran for 80 episodes from 1968 to 1977 and had a viewing high of 18.6 million viewers wasn’t a hit from the start. In fact, the BBC were dubious about commissioning it. After watching the first black-and-white episode in 1968, Lavender, then living in London, took a walk down the North End Road the next morning, expecting to be mobbed by adoring fans. Yet there was no one, a rude awakening to the fact that success isn’t instant. The reviews were not that good either. It was only the Radio Times who praised the show saying “The fun itself is timeless” and within eight months the viewing figures had doubled.
A Dream Come True
For many of the actors involved, Dad’s Army was a last-swan song, now in their twilight years, the writers gave them an opportunity to shine. Arthur Lowe wanted to shed his persona of Arnold Swindley in Coronation Street and Clive Dunn was given the space to portray a First World War veteran who was double his age. Ian Lavender was the innocence of the cast, a bank clerk whose origins were constantly questioned in the programme. His father was obviously Sergeant Wilson but Croft and Perry continued to run the joke, leaving the audience in the dark, preferring to label him as Uncle Arthur.
Pike was a lanky, cheeky and slightly daft man who provided many of the belly laughs. He often got things wrong and looked like he had always gotten dressed in his uniform in a rush. Yet behind the scenes, Ian cherished the chance to work with a stellar cast and while they sat sipping tea from a metal tea urn, eating Family Circle biscuits and playing cards, Lavender was soaking up their experience. Like the Carry On team, this was a family affair where friends gathered for a few months of the year to do something that was a pleasure to do. A harking back to a time when an aged force was called upon to protect the Germans from invading the UK shores. A cumbersome bunch who defended themselves with a primitive arsenal.
Although John Le Mesurier should have played the Captain part and Arthur Lowe the Sergeant, their parts were flipped, producing hilarious consequences. A henpecked Lowe whose wife was only ever heard on the end of a telephone. A bank manager of the Warmington On Sea branch whose only chance to have some authority was through his made-up title of Captain. Bumbling, pompous and short-tempered, Mainwaring loved his troop but was too proud to say so. His annoyance often vented on Lavender’s character who created the catchphrase “Stupid boy”.
In an era where there were so many comedies that today are not politically correct, Dad’s Army has stood the test of time, timeless and still fresh. A comedy that was perfected and described by Ian.
“It’s TV pantomime really, where there’s something for every gender and every age group to enjoy. And for the kids who keep joining the repeat audiences, there’s a lot of silly old men making fools of themselves.”
Ian Lavender
The Innocence of Youth
Despite being 50 years their junior, Ian Lavender did have some knowledge of the war. His father was a station sergeant with the police liaising with both the Home Guard and Army bomb disposal unit. An actor who had appeared in school dramas and his first his first TV role was an ITV play called Flowers at My Feet in 1968. Lavender auditioned with David Croft three times before he got the part of Private Pike. Reading a script with his lines that were condensed on three sheets of foolscap paper. A part that was only supposed to last for one series. Ian got the audition because his agent was Ann Callender, the wife of David Croft, although he didn’t know it at the time. A break that he fondly remembered.
She said, ‘David Croft is my husband. You got the interview because of me; you got the part because David wants you. But remember one thing: he can always write you out!’ So, I have been able to say all along that my agent was sleeping with the director. Quite successfully – they had seven children!”
lan Lavender
When filming began, Lavender used to sit cross-legged on the floor between filming. Around him sat a circle of 30 to 40 people whose stories and experiences he listened to for hours. He described John Laurie as “dour” on their first meeting but warmed to him. He became his closest friend in the cast. A man who told him to bin his Telegraph crossword, saying it was “crap” and made him buy The Times. He then taught him how to do the crossword in the café. It was like a father teaching you how to ride a bike. An absolutely glorious experience that led to Lavender later asking John to be the godfather to Ian’s sons.
Learning from the Best
Ian also had a very close friendship with Arthur Lowe. He encouraged his junior to dress in funny costumes and stand by him so he got the laugh. Lavender took Arthur’s advice and searched for a costume item that would make him stand out from the crowd. He picked an Aston Villa scarf that reminded him of his childhood allegiance to the football team. A scarf that every time it was produced, got a round of applause then and for years after. Lowe and Lavender created the joke of the wonky glasses and the skewed cap on Mainwaring. A gag that changed Pike from an eager guy to a fool guy. Pike wasn’t stupid, he was naive but more often than not he was right in what he said in his outbursts. David Croft would often add layers to his character. Suddenly making him suck his thumb because it was funny and created a laugh. I was a set where he would meet his future wife Michele (Miki) Hardy, whom he later married in 1993. . She was choreographing as Sheila O’Neill’s assistant and she said, ‘Why have we got all these old men?’ She’d never seen it!”.
A Family Affair
Ian Lavender always rebuked any suggestions there were any feuds in the cast. He paints a lovely picture of John Laurie and Arnold Ridley in the hotel, sitting at a table reminiscing about their terrible experiences in the First World War. Both were involved in the carnage of the Battle of the Somme telling Ian stories that they hadn’t even said to their wives and children. A camaraderie that lasted to the end but after the loss of James Beck and Edward “Teddy” Sinclair who played the Verger, dying a month after the filming of the last episode, Never Too Old in 1977, the cast, writers and crew knew it was time to call it a day.
Life after Dad’s Army
Ian would go on to appear in musicals such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Mikado. He also worked with Dustin Hoffman in The Merchant of Venice and appeared in Rising Damp, Yes Minister and Casualty. He also got to work in Eastenders, playing alongside his Dad’s Army pal, Wendy Richards as Derek Harkinson, a gay friend of Pauline Fowler. Undoubtedly Lavender was typecast after the end of Dad’s Army but how could you ever show this liquid gold comedy any malice? The last thing Ian did before leaving the set was to ask David Croft if Uncle Arthur was his father. His response was simple. “Of course he is!”.
Fond Memories
Ian Lavender had very fond memories of his time in Dad’s Army. Arthur Lowe ordering crispy bacon every morning at the hotel for breakfast, John acting like a naughty boy, David Croft having to persuade Arthur Lowe to take his script home at night and David’s loud and colourful wardrobe. The creaky effects and fluffed lines were part of the programme’s charm. A charm that Lavender got angry about when they digitised the programme and cut parts out. It was a hit because the cast got on and that made the magic and the priceless comedy.
