Fairly Secret Army

Fairly Secret Army, made by Channel 4 in 1984 was a weird and wonderful indirect spin-off from the BBC's The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin.

See Here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ-9R6NCZ0A&NR=1.  

But this thought provoking comedy series failed to gel with viewers in the same manner and never became a mainstream success.

Ghost of a Ne’er do Well enjoyed the series as a teenager as it seemed to be a reaction to Secret Army which was an earnest balls ache of a television drama made by the BBC and the Belgian national broadcaster BRT (now VRT).  


 Secret Army chronicled the history of a Belgian resistance movement during the Second World War dedicated to returning Allied airmen, usually having been shot down by the Luftwaffe, to their home country. The series was made in the United Kingdom and Belgium and broadcast on BBC1 for three series from 1977 to 1979.

Its antidote, Fairly Secret Army, shot on film and without an audience, stands apart from other sitcoms of the era and the fact that it is character rather than plot driven means that it will not be to everybody's tastes.

It does have considerable appeal however, as Geoffrey Palmer gives a typically superb performance in the lead role. There are also several memorable supporting characters and writer David Nobbs concocted many novel and amusing situations. The main character's idiosyncratic and absurd use of the English language is also a joy to listen to and these factors combine to make a show which is certainly worth seeing for anybody who likes their comedy to be slightly out of the ordinary.

Geoffrey Palmer as Truscott

The chief protagonist, the former soldier Major Harry Kitchener Wellington Truscott, who desired to protect Britain from forces of anarchy and the threat of a local Marxist cell is the most interesting aspect of Fairly Secret Army.  

Fairly Secret Army is now generally forgotten by most viewers and is not currently commercially available. The small cult following that the series has is leading to calls for a DVD release but this has yet to occur as, according to Nobbs, there would not be enough interest to make it financially worthwhile. Awkward coves, the British public, most especially in respect of the continued support for the profit system of capitalism which exploits us to the core of of our Humanity. 

Ghost of a Ne’er do Well regards Fairly Secret Army as a situation comedy ahead of its time.