Don’t panic! A film first as Brid twins with ‘Walmington-on-Sea’

Members of the Old Town Association in Bridlington, where the forthcoming blockbuster was shot, are planning to become the first in the UK to twin with a fictional place, that being Walmington-on-Sea, the setting for both the original sitcom and the new movie.

They hope to have the link in place by the time the film is released in February. Indeed, some of the places used as locations still have not removed their fake place names - the Black Lion pub, for example, has retained its ‘Royal Oak Inn’ sign and is already picture hotspot for tourists.

Although the twinning idea has been mooted previously, town officials told the Yorkshire Post they were now seriously considering it a reality.

A picture of the film poster was unveiled late last night and features some of the cream of British acting talent, including Sir Michael Gambon, playing the vague Private Godfrey, Toby Jones in the role of the constantly flustered Captain Mainwaring, Bill Nighy playing the wry Sergeant Wilson and Tom Courtenay as Lance-Corporal Jones, not to mention Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Coun John Copsey, Mayor of Bridlington, who came up with the idea, said: “I think it’s quite a fun idea, a lot of people are already coming to Bridlington old town to see places where the film was shot, I think we need to take this idea forward.”

Brighton’s town crier David Hinde, speaking as publicity officer for Bridlington Old Town Association, said: “Having the film shot here was wonderful for us and we want to make the most of it. We’re aiming to become the first town in Britain to be twinned with a fictional place, that being Walmington-on-Sea, the setting for Dad’s Army. York managed to pair with its historical twin and we want to do something similar.”

Mr Hinde, who was an extra in the film and was chosen to lead a procession of around 400 people down the high street, added: “We’ve already seen that shooting the film here has had a big economic impact because bookings are up 134 per cent but we want to capitalise on that.

“Once the film opens in February, we expect to see more visitors, especially to the old town. We’re already consulting on creating a new Dad’s Army trail to co-incide with that.”

Mr Hinde, 59, who has been in post since 2012, also holds the record for the loudest town crier, at 114.8dB and of course, as his position warrants, he is a member of both the Loyal Company of Town Criers and the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers.

He added: “I’m very proud of the town and I’m proud to be able to represent it.”

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Bridlington has had a great year, with the filming of Dad’s Army with international superstar actors as well as the town being the host for the start of the first ever Tour de Yorkshire in May.

“The town can be rightly proud of its role in both events, and the idea for the Old Town to be twinned with the fictional setting of Dad’s Army, Walmington-on-Sea, would be a great way to mark this point in history. Plus, it would be another great reason for visitors to come to Bridlington.”

A spokeswoman for York City Council said the twinning of the city with Jorvik, one of its historical names, was “fanciful and jolly” and had been designed to boost tourism.

The PR agency behind the UK’s first ‘temporal twinning’, Pyper York, said the move had been well received all round and after the Yorkshire Post informed them of the Bridlington bid, they promised to ‘get in touch’ with officials to share their experience.

The film will be released on February 5, 2016.

FACTFILE

• ‘Dad’s Army’ ran for nine years from 1968 to 1977 - and parodied the British Home Guard

• The Home Guard comprised volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service

• In 2004, Dad’s Army was voted fourth in a BBC poll to find Britain’s Best sitcom

• The sitcom’s working title was The Fighting Tigers and it was set in Brightsea-on-Sea

• Catchphrases made famous by the programme include “Don’t panic!”, “They don’t like it up ‘em” and talk about the “Fuzzy-Wuzzies”, the latter being a reference to fierce rebels who resisted British rule in Sudan in the late 19th Century.

• In October, York ‘twinned’ with its historical predecessor, Jorvik