TV
David Croft: Five of his best TV shows - video
Published Tuesday, Sep 27 2011, 15:56 BST | By Alex Fletcher | 3 comments
David Croft, one of Britain's best loved and most popular sitcom writers, passed away aged 89 today. Croft teamed up with Jimmy Perry, Jeremy Lloyd and Richard Spendlove to create some of the greatest family comedies TV history.
Digital Spy celebrates Croft's incredible back catalogue by picking our five favourite Croft shows and some of their finest moments.
Dad's Army
Croft's biggest hit and most would argue his finest hour. Still a ratings hit 43 years after it originally aired, the Home Guard farce included an incredible cast and some of the most quoted lines in sitcom history.
Watch the infamous Dad's Army 'Don't tell him Pike' scene:
Are You Being Served?
Department store Grace Brothers provided the setting for some of Croft's finest double entendres and biggest laughs. Featuring Mrs Slocombe's pussy and the ever-so-slightly camp Mr Humphries, it was one of the biggest comedy series of the '70s.
'Allo 'Allo!
Voted 13th in a Britain's Best Sitcom poll in 2004, 'Allo 'Allo! was a hilarious World War II mockery that brought us the unforgettable characters Herr Flick, Arthur Bostrom's bumbling Officer Crabtree and cafe owner and womaniser René Artois.
Hi-de-Hi!
Based around the craze for British holiday camps in the 1950s and '60s, Hi-de-Hi! was a great teatime romp. Paul Shane and Su Pollard became major UK TV stars thanks to Croft and Jimmy Perry's sharp comic pens.
Oh, Doctor Beeching!
Featuring many of the actors who had proved successful in previous Croft hits You Rang M'Lord? and Hi-de-Hi?, Oh, Doctor Beeching! was Croft's last major work for the BBC. Teaming with Richard Spendlove for the first time, it proved that Croft still had the magic touch when it came to laughs and big TV ratings.
What was your favourite David Croft sitcom? Share your memories below.
Digital Spy celebrates Croft's incredible back catalogue by picking our five favourite Croft shows and some of their finest moments.
Dad's Army
Croft's biggest hit and most would argue his finest hour. Still a ratings hit 43 years after it originally aired, the Home Guard farce included an incredible cast and some of the most quoted lines in sitcom history.
Watch the infamous Dad's Army 'Don't tell him Pike' scene:
Are You Being Served?
Department store Grace Brothers provided the setting for some of Croft's finest double entendres and biggest laughs. Featuring Mrs Slocombe's pussy and the ever-so-slightly camp Mr Humphries, it was one of the biggest comedy series of the '70s.
'Allo 'Allo!
Voted 13th in a Britain's Best Sitcom poll in 2004, 'Allo 'Allo! was a hilarious World War II mockery that brought us the unforgettable characters Herr Flick, Arthur Bostrom's bumbling Officer Crabtree and cafe owner and womaniser René Artois.
Hi-de-Hi!
Based around the craze for British holiday camps in the 1950s and '60s, Hi-de-Hi! was a great teatime romp. Paul Shane and Su Pollard became major UK TV stars thanks to Croft and Jimmy Perry's sharp comic pens.
Oh, Doctor Beeching!
Featuring many of the actors who had proved successful in previous Croft hits You Rang M'Lord? and Hi-de-Hi?, Oh, Doctor Beeching! was Croft's last major work for the BBC. Teaming with Richard Spendlove for the first time, it proved that Croft still had the magic touch when it came to laughs and big TV ratings.
What was your favourite David Croft sitcom? Share your memories below.
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