Dad's Army star to sign book in Topsham

DON T be alarmed if you see people descending on a Topsham book store wearing military-style hard hats and making air raid siren noises next month. If this happens, it s because Bill Pertwee, star of the hit BBC comedy show Dad s Army will be attending Jo

DON'T be alarmed if you see people descending on a Topsham book store wearing military-style hard hats and making air raid siren noises next month.

If this happens, it's because Bill Pertwee, star of the hit BBC comedy show Dad's Army will be attending Joel Segal Books, in Fore Street, on Wednesday, October 28, at 6.30pm.

The actor, who lives in the town, will be signing copies of the revised edition of Dad's Army, The Making of A Television Legend which he produced. Bill played the part of ARP Warden William Hodges in the show.

Reprinted with new additions including appendices to cover recent museum openings and details of restored episodes, the book also features a biography of the 83-year-old.

Asked why he thinks the television show has still not lost its appeal among viewers, he said: "It still has a potency because it's about a real period in our history - life in the 1940s.

"There were people comparable to the programme's characters (the home guards) around.

"I suppose why even young children like it nowadays is it's silly. It's similar to the old silent films like Laurel and Hardy where people fall into things."

He added: "People I bump into in the street still say they get a laugh when they see the show."

Bill said he got the part in Dad's Army after first starting out in radio work.

"I went down to Plymouth to audition for a theatre production. I got the job which was for five months but I turned it down. I had a feeling, though, that something else would come up.

"And, a few days later I received a phone call when I was offered a small part in Dad's Army which turned into a regular thing and its popularity, as everyone knows, continued to grow.