Frankie Howerd.

I was listening to a 'repeated' radio interview recently, with David Croft.

Croft was responsible for either writing or producing Dad's Army, Are You Being Served, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Allo Allo, Hi-Di-Hi, etc, etc. A remarkable life's work.

When talking about Frankie Howerd, Croft claimed that he was a devil to work with. He hated rehearsals, was always late, and never seemed to learn his lines. Yet, when time came to record the shows 'live', Howerd was always totally professional, and word-perfect.

My own favourite of Howerd's shows was, without question, Up Pompeii (produced by Croft). Here is a very small extract. I apologize for the quality of both sound and picture.