Ian Lavender's Private Pike from Dad's Army wasn't a 'stupid boy', he was a very funny one – Scotsman comment

Ian Lavender’s death at the age of 77 means the last main cast member of Dad’s Army has passed away

At its core, Dad’s Army was a sitcom about elderly men who joined the Home Guard at a time when the UK was facing the threat of invasion by Nazi Germany. However, it simply would not have been the same without the youthful Private Frank Pike.

Ian Lavender, who played Pike, was 22 when the show was first broadcast in 1968, but audiences of up to 18 million saw it continue on our screens until 1977, when he was 31. His death at the age of 77 means the last remaining main cast member is no longer with us.

Dad’s Army co-writer Jimmy Perry, who served in the Home Guard as a 16-year-old, once revealed that Pike was based partly on his own experiences. Captain Mainwaring’s catchphrase of “you stupid boy”, directed at Pike, was what Perry’s father told him when he talked about wanting to be in showbusiness.

Lavender may have been an outsider in terms of age, but he was definitely one of the stars who made us laugh for so many years. We will miss you, you funny boy.