Growing up, one of my favourite things to do was sit at my grandparents house and tuck down for an episode of the brilliant BBC sitcom Dad’s Army on a Saturday night. Week in. Week out. I think it was one of the first shows that I watched religiously, from beginning to end content lay, and absolutely loved sharing the many laughs contained throughout with my Grandad.
A new film is in the works, and today the full cast for it was revealed. Bill Nighy will head up a 2015 version of DAD’S ARMY as Wilson, along with Catherine Zeta Jones (Rose), Toby Jones (Manwaring), THE INBETWEENERS star Blake Harrison (Pike), Tom Courtenay as Corporal Jones, Michael Gambon as Godfrey, Danny Mays as (Walker), Bill Paterson (Fraser), Sarah Lancashire , Alison Steadman, Mark Gatiss and Annette Crosbie.
Shooting on the project is set to start this month in Yorkshire, England.
Check out the full casting announcement below.
LONDON, 8th October 2014 – BAFTA nominated director Oliver Parker will direct a stellar, award-winning British cast based on characters from the much loved British comedy, DAD’S ARMY, originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. The feature film is written by Hamish McColl and produced by Damian Jones. The film was packaged by Wiggin EP and is backed by Screen Yorkshire through the Yorkshire Content Fund.
It is 1944 and World War II is reaching its climax. The Allies are poised to invade France and finally defeat the German army. But in Walmington-on-Sea morale amongst the Home Guard is low. Their new mission then – to patrol the Dover army base – is a great chance to revive spirits and reputation, that is until glamorous journalist Rose Winters arrives to write about their exploits, setting the pulses racing and putting the local women on red alert. MI5 then discover a radio signal sent direct to Berlin from Walmington-on-Sea. There’s a spy on the loose! The outcome of the war is suddenly at stake, and it falls to our unlikely heroes to stand up and be counted.
DAD’S ARMY’S all-star British cast includes Bill Nighy as Wilson (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Love Actually), Catherine Zeta Jones as Rose (Side Effects, Chicago, The Legend of Zorro), Toby Jones as Captain Mainwaring (The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Tom Courtenay as Corporal Jones (Quartet), Michael Gambon as Godfrey (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The King’s Speech), Blake Harrison as Pike (The Inbetweeners), Danny Mays as Walker (Atonement), Bill Paterson as Fraser (Miss Potter), Sarah Lancashire (Last Tango in Halifax, Lark Rise to Candleford) , Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacey) , Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Doctor Who) and Annette Crosbie (What We Did on Our Holiday). Shooting commences in October entirely on location in Yorkshire.
Directed by Oliver Parker (Johnny English Reborn, St Trinian’s, The Importance of Being Earnest) and written by Hamish McColl (Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Johnny English Reborn), the film is a Universal Pictures presentation of a DJ Films production, supported by Screen Yorkshire’s Yorkshire Content Fund, in association with British Film Company, Worldwide Theatrix Ltd and Jimmy Perry Productions . Produced by Damian Jones, DAD’S ARMY has Jimmy Perry, Ann Croft, Penny Croft, Hugo Heppell, Steve Milne, Christian Eisenbeiss, Josephine Rose and Miles Ketley serving as executive producers.
Universal Pictures International, through its division Universal Pictures International Production (UPIP) has acquired worldwide rights to the film.
Source: Universal
