David Croft and Jimmy Perry, legendary comedy writers and sitcom supremos, scooped a special BAFTA at the 2008 British Academy Television Craft Awards.
Croft and Perry were recognised for their outstanding work creating uniquely British sitcom hits like Dad’s Army, Hi-de-Hi! and ‘Allo ‘Allo at the ceremony on 17 May.
For everyone that works in TV, especially TV comedy, their tremendous output and quality make them two of the greatest writers of all time. Their hot streak of comedies kept audiences laughing throughout the sixties, seventies and eighties. And their last show together, You Rang M’Lord?, was aired from 1988-93.
Mining experience for laughs
Ex-actor and stage manager Perry came up with the idea behind Dad’s Army before he met Croft. It was his time in the Watford Home Guard that inspired the sitcom’s hapless but loveable soldiers. Michael Mills, head of BBC Comedy, brought the pair together. He suggested Croft write the series with Perry and changed his original title – The Fighting Tigers.
From then on the duo continued to mine their personal experiences for comedy. Perry’s job as a Butlin’s Redcoat in Yorkshire fed into Hi-De-Hi! while You Rang, M’Lord was fuelled by his grandfather’s experiences as a butler.
“I only wrote to put food on the table. But I’m proud of what we have done.”
– Jimmy Perry
