19a. Secret Army

An A to Z of UK Television Drama

There were so many series we could have covered for ‘S’ but quite honestly it was only ever going to be the BBC’s Secret Army, after all Andy devoted four years of his life to researching and celebrating this exceptional wartime drama. Rather than trying to explore all three series and 42 episodes, in this episodes we have decided to turn our attention to the last four instalments of the nail-biting third and final series. Those episodes are: Collaborator, in which Albert is reunited with Monique, and Reinhardt discovers that Lifeline has been running out of the Candide; Days of Judgement in which Natalie seeks to save Albert and find Monique, while Kessler goes on the run with Madeleine; Bridgehead in which Monique faces the mob and falls in love, while Van Broecken meets his tragic end; and The Execution in which Kessler tries to have Reinhardt court martialled, Lifeline helps one last person, the war comes to an end and Monique says goodbye. We explore the set-up of the third series, key scenes, the performances of the regulars, its place in the best Saturday night line-up in history and how, more than perhaps any other series, Secret Army manages to go out on a total high. Martin teaches us how to spell restaurateur as well. We’re just too good to you, non? All this and Andy’s exclusive new interviews with Monique (Angela Richards), Natalie (Juliet Hammond-Hill) and Kessler himself (Clifford Rose), specifically recorded to coincide with this review of the series, which are available as separate podcast episodes. Signed copies of Andy’s book The Complete Secret Army – a comprehensive celebration of the series, which details the behind-the-scenes story of the series creation and production, as well as all the real-life historical events that inspired its storylines – are still available for just £20. http://www.classictvpress.co.uk/completesecretarmy.htm And all of Angela Richards wonderful songs from the series are available on a music CD entitled An Evening at Le Candide that was professionally recorded back in 2006 and costs £9.99 http://www.classictvpress.co.uk/secretarmymusic.htm Next Time: Tenko