Ian Lavender makes the unsure young man funny without asking us to despise him. We rate his Private Pike for the precise timing and attention to other actors that give a broad comic character some tenderness.
Fi1m perspective
In Dad's Army (1968), Ian Lavender's Private Frank Pike brings uncertainty into exchanges dominated by more forceful men. As the youngest member of the Home Guard platoon, he supplies a different comic pace, which Lavender makes useful without pushing for attention. We warmed to Pike because his uncertainty makes him seem vulnerable among those louder personalities. The characterisation is broad, but the performance leaves room for affection. Lavender gives us good reason to care about someone who might otherwise be there simply to look foolish.
Clive Dunn gives Jack Jones physical insistence, while John Laurie makes James Frazer's severity part of the rhythm; Lavender adds something neither supplies. The actors listen to one another, and their differences in pace keep the exchanges lively. Our reservation about the series is that some episodes ask familiar behaviour to do too much of the work. Pike is not exempt from that, and the performance is most rewarding when we watch how it fits with the others rather than wait for a routine we know. That is a substantial skill in an ensemble comedy.
Lavender played Pike throughout the series' 1968–1977 run and in Dad's Army (1971); the success also brought typecasting that restricted later opportunities. Later comedies included the short-lived Come Back Mrs Noah (1977–1978), but an unsuccessful programme tells us little by itself about an actor's ability. His theatre work included The Merchant of Venice (1989) alongside Dustin Hoffman. That wider working life deserves acknowledgement, even if Pike remains the clearest evidence of what made him valuable on screen.
EastEnders offered a later change, with Lavender playing Derek Harkinson from 2001 to 2005 and returning in 2016–2017. As Pauline Fowler's friend, he had a sympathetic dramatic role after so much youthful comedy. His cameo as Brigadier Pritchard in Dad's Army (2016) returned him to the familiar title without asking him to play the same part. Start with the original series, though, and watch how much its conversations gain from having one man who sounds less sure of himself.
Biography
Ian Lavender was an English stage, film and television actor. Born Arthur Ian Lavender on 16 February 1946 in Birmingham, he trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He played Private Frank Pike in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 to 1977, appearing in all 80 episodes as well as the 1971 feature film adaptation.
Lavender was the last surviving main cast member of Dad's Army. His other television work included a guest role in Rising Damp (1975), appearances in EastEnders as Derek Harkinson (2001–2005 and 2016–2017), and parts in series such as Yes Minister, Keeping Up Appearances and Casualty. He also worked extensively in theatre.
