The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker is a missing episode in the British comedy series Dad's Army. It was originally transmitted on 15 March 1969. One of the three missing Dad's Army episodes, only a few short clips and screenshots survive in the archives.
| "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker" | |
|---|---|
| Dad's Army episode | |
| Episode no. | Series 2 Episode 9 |
| Directed by | David Croft |
| Story by | Jimmy Perry and David Croft |
| Produced by | David Croft |
| Original air date | 15 March 1969 |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker" | |
|---|---|
| Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes episode | |
| Episode no. | Series 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Ben Kellett |
| Story by | Jimmy Perry and David Croft |
| Produced by | Candida Julian-Jones |
| Original air date | 25 August 2019 |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
Synopsis
To his complete surprise, Walker receives his call-up papers. Mainwaring tries his best to get them to reconsider.
Plot
When Walker is called up, he applies to the Military Service Hardship Committee, who reject him on the grounds that he does not keep books for his business. After Jones' attempts to sabotage his medical test fail, Walker is invalided out because he's allergic to corned beef.
Cast
- Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring
- John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson
- Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jones
- John Laurie as Private Frazer
- James Beck as Private Walker
- Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey
- Ian Lavender as Private Pike
- Anthony Sharp as Brigadier (War Office)
- Diana King as Chairwoman
- Patrick Waddington as Brigadier
- Edward Evans as Mr Rees
- Michael Knowles as Captain Cutts
- Gilda Perry as Blonde
- Larry Martyn as Soldier
- Robert Lankesheer as Medical Officer
- Colin Bean as Private Sponge
Remake
- Kevin McNally as Captain Mainwaring
- Robert Bathurst as Sergeant Wilson
- Kevin Eldon as Lance Corporal Jones
- David Hayman as Private Frazer
- Mathew Horne as Private Walker
- Timothy West as Private Godfrey
- Tom Rosenthal as Private Pike
- Christopher Villiers as Brigadier (War Office)
- Sam Phillips as Captain Cutts
- Julia Deakin as the Chairwoman
- Andrew Havill as the Brigadier
- Jerry-Jane Pears as Judy
- Gareth Benjamin as Mr Rees
- Lee Barnett as the soldier
Notes
- This episode was originally planned for transmission on 20 January 1969.
- Known as one of the three missing Dad's Army episodes, after the tape was wiped by the BBC for reuse. The other two are A Stripe for Frazer and Under Fire.
- UKTV Gold commissioned recreations of all three missing episodes. The remake of this episode was first broadcast on 25 August 2019.
- In the remade episode, two cast members have a link to David Croft, Julia Deakin was in Oh Doctor Beeching! and Andrew Havill was in the 2016 film of Dad's Army.
Radio episode
The radio episode still exists and was released on Series 1 DVD, along with the other 2 missing episodes.
| "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Walker" | |
|---|---|
| Dad's Army episode | |
| Episode no. | Series 1 Episode 14 |
| Story by | Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles |
| Produced by | John Dyas |
| Original air date | 22 April 1974 |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
Further reading
- Croft, David; Perry, Jimmy; Webber, Richard (2000). The Complete A-Z of Dad’s Army. Orion. ISBN 0-7528-4637-X.