David Croft

Overview

Born
September 7, 1922 · Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset, England, UK
Died
September 27, 2011 · Tavira, Portugal (natural causes)
Birth name
David John Sharland
Height
1.73 m

Biography

Family

Spouse

Trademarks

His TV shows end with the caption: "You have been watching"

Trivia

In 2004 he expressed his great disappointment with the BBC for their not answering letters from people such as himself who wrote many of their most classic sitcoms of the past.
He was the father of Penny Croft. His other daughter, Rebecca Croft, was married to Simon Cadell.
He had a strong dislike of what he called "vomit comedy", which he believed started with The Young Ones (1982).
He often referred to You Rang, M'Lord? (1988) as the jewel in his sitcom crown.
He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1978 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to television.

Quotes

I've been accused many times of writing stereotypes and I'm happy to say yes, I do.
[on the BBC in 2004] I've been firing off letters for some years now suggesting why not repeat such and such a show. But I very rarely receive a response and I just can't understand it. You'd think they would have the decency to at least reply. I recently drew their attention to the fact that eight episodes of Dad's Army (1968) have been remastered and yet they have not been shown. That was two weeks ago and I still haven't received a reply. It's such a pity because I think fans of Dad's Army (1968) would enjoy seeing these episodes in their restored glory.
[on Bill Cotton] Without him I don't think the show (Dad's Army (1968)) would have gone on. He undoubtedly had a nose for a hit. He was a wonderful showman and a great believer in his producers and he backed us absolutely to the hilt. He was an entrepreneur... and there's not many of his type about any more, I'm afraid. We shall miss him terribly. I loved him.
[on the discovery in 2001 of two missing episodes of Dad's Army (1968), Operation Kilt (1969) and The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage (1969)] This is excellent news. I always wanted my shows to be kept, but in those days video tapes were usually re-used, and that's what happened to five episodes from series two. For years I have tried to work out how to get them back and I even did a television appeal a few years ago. It's been a long time, but I always knew they would turn up some day. Dad's Army (1968) is still finding new fans among younger viewers, and I think the public will be as happy as I am if they get a chance to see these two episodes.
[on The Young Ones (1982)] It was an innovation but it wasn't progress.