Dad's Army vicar spills the secrets

Frank Williams, who played the Walmington-on-Sea Vicar, is touring the UK with his popular chat show, More Tea Vicar, in which he reveals many of the secrets behind the legendary BBC series.

Now aged 85, Frank said: “I think one of the reasons why it has lasted so long is that the characters that Jimmy Perry and David Croft created, such as Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson and Lance-Corporal Jones, were so brilliant. People just enjoy watching them.

“Dad’s Army is tremendously well written and Jimmy and David were also very clever in setting all their sitcoms in the past so they don’t date.”

As part of his show, Frank will screen his rarely seen backstage footage of the original cast on tour during the hugely successful stage show.

Frank, who was cast as the slightly tetchy vicar, said: “We were all the conspirators against Captain Mainwaring but not in real life, as I got on well with Arthur Lowe. We had an idyllic time on location in Norfolk and also great fun together on the stage tour.”

While best known for Dad’s Army, during his career Frank has worked with many of the greats including Tommy Cooper, Harry Worth, Dick Emery and Morecambe and Wise, as well as appearing in more than 30 feature films.

He said: “Although I have spent many years in various film and television roles, being part of Dads Army is hard to beat.”

More Tea Vicar is at Olney’s Carlton House Club at 4pm on Sunday. Call 01234 241357.