''Fairly Secret Army'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

which ran to thirteen episodes over two series between 1984 and 1986. Though not a direct

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

from ''

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' is a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role. Three series were produced from 1976 to 1979, based on a series of novels written by David Nobbs. Nobbs adapted the screenplay for the fi ...

'', the lead character, Major Harry Truscott, was very similar to Geoffrey Palmer's character of Jimmy Anderson from that series, who himself featured in a scene where he tried to recruit Reggie to a secret army with very similar aims to Truscott's (a scene repeated, near verbatim, in episode 2 of ''Fairly Secret Army''). The scripts were written by Reginald Perrin's creator and writer

David Nobbs David Gordon Nobbs (13 March 1935 – 8 August 2015 ...

. Harry Kitchener Wellington Truscott (ex ''Queen's Own West Mercian Lowlanders'') is an inept and slightly barmy ex-army man intent on training a group of highly unlikely people into a secret paramilitary organisation. This idea first emerged in an episode of Perrin when Jimmy confided the plan to Reggie (who rubbished it) and was based on persistent rumours in the 1970s press that several generals were secretly planning a coup to "rescue" Britain from trade union militancy. The character's name was changed because ''Fairly Secret Army'' was broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, and the television rights to ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' and its characters were held by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The first series was script edited by

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

, whose training films company was responsible for the series. The series did not have a laughter track. Nobbs only started work on the show when he turned down an offer to write a spin-off sitcom for Manuel of ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...

''.

Cast

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, member of parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pal ...

as Major Harry Truscott *

Michael Robbins Michael Anthony Robbins (14 November 1930 – 11 December 1992) was an English actor best known for his role as Arthur Rudge in the television sitcom '' On the Buses'' (1969–73) and its film spinoffs. Early life Michael Robbins was born in ...

as Sgt. Major Throttle *

Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of b ...

as Doris Entwisle *

Jeremy Child Sir Coles John Jeremy Child, 3rd Baronet (20 September 1944 – 7 March 2022) was a British actor. Early life Coles John Jeremy Child was born on 20 September 1944 in Woking, Surrey, son of Foreign Office diplomat Sir Coles John Child, 2nd B ...

as Beamish *

Diane Fletcher Diane Fletcher (born 17 April 1944) is an English actress. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1966. Fletcher was born in Derby, England. She played Nancy in '' Fairly Secret Army'', and has appeared in other popular British ...

as Nancy *

Richard Ridings Richard John Ridings (born 19 September 1958) is an English actor. He portrayed Alan Ashburn in the ITV television drama '' Fat Friends'', Mr. Lipa in the Academy Award-nominated World War II drama ''The Pianist'' (2002), Bernard Green in the ...

as Ron Boat *

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage, and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is known ...

as Stubby (Series 1) * John Nettleton as Smith (Series 2) * Gareth Forwood as Professional Man

References

External links

''Fairly Secret Army''
at

bbc.co.uk BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

via

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

*{{IMDb title, id=0086709, title=Fairly Secret Army
''Fairly Secret Army''
at British TV Comedy
Off The Telly on ''Fairly Secret Army''
via

Channel 4 sitcoms Military comedy television series 1984 British television series debuts 1986 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms British English-language television shows

Cast

See also

References

External links