What’s on TV – 24 August 2019

O

ver 5 0 years after

audiences first

tuned into the

wartime antics of the

hapless Walmington-

on-Sea Home Guard

in Dad’s Army, three

missing episodes of the

beloved sitcom are being

brought back to life.

Gold’s Dad’s Army:

The Lost Episodes

sees Kevin McNally as

Captain Mainwaring and

Robert Bathurst as

Sgt Wilson as they head

up a new cast using

original scripts to

recreate instalments

that initially aired in 1969
but have since vanished.

Big shoes

‘There were nerves on

the set. But we’re not

treading on the A team’s

performances – we’re

understudies!’ says

Unforgotten star Kevin.

‘You can’t see the

originals any more so

we’re just giving our

loving recreation.’

The episodes, which

also star Mathew Horne

and Timothy West, find

Mainwaring and his

platoon involved in

a variety of scrapes.

‘They have a different

style but they’re just as

funny as 5 0 years ago,’

says Kevin. ‘And I tried

to slip in a “You stupid

boy!” in one episode.’

Kevin was thrilled to

step into the shoes of

the original Captain

Mainwaring, Arthur

Lowe, and play such an

iconic character, and he

experienced an odd but

comforting coincidence.

‘For one scene they

brought out this suit for

me,’ he smiles, ‘and the

last person who’d hired

it was Arthur Lowe for

the Dad’s Army movie

in 19 7 1!’ Q

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15

E

than’s really been through the

wringer in the past couple of

years, with his brother Cal’s

death, Alicia’s departure and a

Huntington’s disease diagnosis to

come to terms with. It’s no wonder

that last week’s terrorist attack has

tipped him over the edge.

‘He certainly struggles after the

event,’ says George Rainsford, who

plays the doctor. ‘It’s Ethan, so of

course he thinks the way to fix

everything is to throw himself back

into work and help people. Rather

than wallowing in the attack he’s got

something to do – but that means he

is ignoring the underlying issue of

probable PTSD and he doesn’t deal

with what has happened.’

Crossing a line

This week, Ethan becomes more

involved with a patient than he

should when his old university friend,

Theo, arrives at the ED alongside

his grown-up daughter, Effie, who

has been diagnosed with cystic

fibrosis. Theo hopes Ethan might

be able to get her on to a special

clinical trial and, as often happens

with Ethan, he finds himself

getting emotionally involved.

‘He goes out of his way to help

Theo and Effie, which is Ethan’s way

of trying to forget what’s happened

to him,’ says George. ‘But, this being

Casualty, there are various twists

and turns along the way!’

It’s the start of a busy time for

Ethan in the emergency department,

as part of a series that will portray

how the pressures of the modern

NHS take their toll on the staff.

‘A huge workload is being put on

Dylan, who’s running the department;

and Dylan’s putting it on Ethan,

below him,’ says George. ‘There’s a

big storyline coming up about how

everyone is passing on their duties

and struggling under the weight

of their responsibilities. It’s a true

reflection, I suspect, of what it’s

like working for the NHS.’ Q

CASUALTY

Saturday, 9.10pm BBC1 Drama

More at whatsontv.co.uk/casualty

Pushed to

the limit

Ethan’s struggling to cope in the

aftermath of the terrorist attack

Reporting

for duty!

Kevin McNally plays Captain

Mainwaring in a recreation of

missing Dad’s Army episodes

In command...

Kevin takes on

the iconic role

Risky... Ethan’s state

of mind leads to an

emotional decision

Losing control... Dylan is

in charge, but not coping

DAD’S ARMY:

THE LOST

EPISODES

Sunday-Tuesday, 8pm

Gold Comedy

new

Roll call... The new

cast are remaking

three lost episodes