---
name: "David Croft"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-croft"
roles: ["Creator","Director","Producer","Writer"]
born: "7 September 1922"
died: "27 September 2011"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 78
updated: "2026-09-16T18:08:40.920492+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Croft

Creator and director. Born 7 September 1922 in Sandbanks. Died 27 September 2011.

## Details

- **Work:** Creator, Director, Producer, Writer
- **Born:** 7 September 1922, Sandbanks
- **Died:** 27 September 2011
- **Active:** 1962–1980
- **Works often with:** Bob Spiers, Harold Snoad, Jimmy Perry

## Fi1m on David Croft

> David Croft builds his comedies around familiar types and performers worth spending time with. We value their warmth, but repeated quarrels can become wearing, and the reliance on stereotypes is not always repaid in laughs.

The cast shots at the end of a David Croft programme give the performers a last moment of attention. They suit a director who repeatedly worked with ensembles drawn from repertory and variety. We rate the care given to comic characters, with a reservation about how often familiarity is expected to do the work of a fresh joke. Recognisable types help us get our bearings quickly; they can also make it too easy to know what comes next.

In *Steptoe and Son* (1962), Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell make the father-and-son quarrelling funny enough to hurt. We laughed, then felt worn down by the repetition of the arguments. The performances are the reason we recommend it, and the repeated friction is the reason for our caveat. It would be unfair to give Croft all the credit for what those actors achieve, but the programme offers a useful test of his kind of comedy. However familiar the dispute, the people having it must remain worth watching.

*Dad's Army* (1968), co-created with Jimmy Perry, was Croft's breakthrough as a writer and director. That partnership continued with *It Ain't Half Hot Mum* (1974), while Jeremy Lloyd co-wrote the department-store comedy *Are You Being Served?* (1972). Croft also directed and produced his own scripts, helping to keep the tone consistent across a series. The warmth associated with the Perry partnership matters to our view of the work. When the Lloyd collaborations offer less of it, the dependence on stereotypes becomes harder to overlook.

The pleasure of *Steptoe and Son* is that Corbett and Brambell make the quarrels worth enduring, even when we could do with fewer of them. We would not recommend watching too many episodes together: the repeated arguments risk wearing away the pleasure of the performances. Croft's ensembles need actors who can find something funny in a character after the audience has learnt what to expect. Start with Corbett and Brambell, and leave a little peace between the arguments.

## Biography

David Croft was an English television writer, producer and director. Born David John Andrew Sharland on 7 September 1922 in Sandbanks, Dorset, he came from a theatrical family and began his career in the theatre and as a writer of pantomimes before moving into television in the 1950s.

He joined the BBC as a producer of comedies and collaborated with Jimmy Perry on *Dad's Army* (1968–1977), for which he served as writer, producer and director on most episodes. He later worked with Jeremy Lloyd on series including *Are You Being Served?* (1972–1985) and *'Allo 'Allo!* (1982–1992). He also produced episodes of *Steptoe and Son*.

Croft received the OBE in 1978 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Comedy Awards in 2003. He died on 27 September 2011 in Tavira, Portugal.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, screenonline.org.uk, bbc.co.uk, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Are You Being Served?* (1972), Fi1m 72, Creator, Director, Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/are-you-being-served.md)
- *Steptoe and Son* (1962), Fi1m 83, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/steptoe-and-son.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *Hi-de-Hi!* (1980), Creator, Director, Producer, Writer
- *Dad's Army* (1968), Director, Producer, Writer

## Also known for

- *'Allo 'Allo!* (1984), Writer, Director, Creator
- *Dad's Army* (2016), Characters
- *Dad's Army* (1971), Screenplay

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-croft