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TV Quickfire: Star Kevin McNally on recreating lost episodes of Dad's Army

Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes sees a starry line-up recreate three episodes of the much-loved sitcom. We found out more from star Kevin McNally, who plays the snooty Captain Mainwaring

Kevin R McNally as Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes
Kevin R McNally as Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes Kevin R McNally as Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes

CAN YOU TELL US WHAT TO EXPECT?

We were very lucky, in a way, that the three episodes were three very different versions of what Dad's Army could be. One of them is a beautiful show about Frazer [played by David Hayman], one is about Walker [played by Matthew Horne], but the third one is physical comedy at its best – it's about them dealing with incendiary devices hitting the wall and their inept efforts at trying to deal with it.

DID YOU HAVE ANY RESERVATIONS TAKING ON SUCH A BELOVED CHARACTER?

Kevin Eldon [who plays Lance-Corporal Jones] and I had experienced recreating Hancock on the radio with The Missing Hancocks on BBC Radio 4, and in fact one on the television with Hancock's Half Hour: The New Neighbour, so I think we sort of arrogantly thought we had an angle on how you recreate loved shows.

The difference with this though was that the people who loved Dad's Army are slightly younger, and you can see Dad's Army all the time – it's never not been on the television. So, there was a sense of a bit of a challenge.

But certainly, we got an idea of how there's a balance between leaning into the characters and not being a slavish impression. You want to suggest the originals to the audience but also, as an actor, you respond to the material and make it fresh.

Ultimately, we're performing it with a love of the original. And I think people who really like the original can watch it in that spirit, because this is their only chance to see these three episodes. So, we've done our absolute best to enjoy it, but also be respectful of the material and the original actors.

SO, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE WORRIED IT WON'T LIVE UP TO THE ORIGINAL?

We're not trying to reinvent it. We're trying to say, OK, we've got the best team we can get together, if you love Dad's Army and you've gone all these years going, 'I'd love to see those three episodes', well, we've tried to recreate those three episodes so that you can see them. If you don't like them, stay off social media, and you can go and watch the originals. But if you'd like to have a look at what our guess was that they might have looked like, then we offer this to you with love.

IT'S A REALLY GREAT CAST. DID YOU ALL SOCIALISE OFF SET?

We had some lovely nights. We were out at Pinewood Studios, so they put us up in a hotel. When this job works well, you get really brief moments of comradeship. And you sort of need it because you've got to trust each other, you've got to have each other's backs – sitcom in front of an audience and on camera is really hard and intense.

WILL YOU CHECK SOCIAL MEDIA TO SEE THE RESPONSE WHEN THE EPISODES AIR?

I won't, because I remember when I first got social media, the first Pirates Of The Caribbean film had come out, and my stepson said to me, "You know you can go on social media and find out what people are saying about you?", and I went, "Great, show me that".

The first thing I saw – and the last thing I ever saw – was "Kevin McNally has got to be the worst actor I've ever seen in anything, ever!".

:: Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes is airing on Gold now