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'Don't tell him, Pike': Ian Lavender’s most memorable Dad’s Army scene
Dad's Army, BBC
Ian Lavender has died at the age of 77. He was best known for playing Private Frank Pike in BBC sitcom Dad’s Army, having been cast in the show back in 1969.
The actor died on Friday February 2. He first rose to fame after appearing in the first series of the show at the age of 22 and starred on the show for the preceding decade.
During that time, he managed to make his beloved Aston Villa a part of the role – thanks to the introduction of a claret and blue scarf.
The prop became synonymous with the character, with Private Pike made to wear the scarf by his mother “to protect him from the croup”.
Speaking about the famous prop back in 2018, Lavender said: “It’s treated like a sort of relic now.”
He also spoke about the time he brought out the scarf for a one man show he was performing, saying: “The scarf got a round of applause. I have to work an hour to get a round of applause, but I just bring the scarf out and it gets one straight away!”
BBC
When the show was adapted for film in 2014, Lavender also spoke about the choice to add yellow stripes to the scarf in the new version.
The scarf worn by Blake Harrison, who played Pike in the film, featured yellow as well as claret and blue.
“It looked like a banana split to me,” Lavender told the Birmingham Mail at the time. “I’m colour blind so I’m not sure what colours it was, but there was definitely a yellow in there. It certainly wasn’t an Aston Villa scarf. I was deeply shocked.”
However, he also said at the time that he still had the scarf in his possession at the time and he wore it to an Aston Villa match.
“I went with a friend in April to see Villa lose to Fulham. It was a totally private visit – I just thought I would take the scarf to the ground and christen it. I sat quietly wearing it and nobody really noticed,” the actor said.
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