Seeing such a well-known programme transferred to the stage is a peculiar experience at first; despite the company's assertions that this new cast would not be doing impressions of the originals, Timothy Knightley and David Warwick were remarkably close to the Captain Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson of old, with the latter borrowing John Le Mesurier's gentlemanly pregnant pauses and nervous tics.

It wasn't long, however, before the strangeness of the situation gave way to total immersement.

The so-called 'lost' episodes – mistakenly wiped by the BBC after their first broadcast – were a joy to watch, and came without the baggage of overfamiliarity.

Naturally, these mined a similar comic vein as the repeated episodes, with Mainwaring and Wilson's bitter, unspoken class friction a constant.

Leslie Grantham – known to many as Lazarus-like landlord Dirty Den – was excellent as fast- talking spiv Private Walker, and his understated performance pointed to a shrewd casting choice.

Much of the fun for the audience relied on the more familiar "episodes", notably The Deadly

Attachment (the one in which the boys must deal with the captured German U-boat crew). The audience roared, cheered and clapped at the lines that have become as famous as the characters themselves: "don't panic", "stupid boy" and of course, "don't tell him your name, Pike".

The packed audience at the Key was testament to the enduring popularity of the programme and it seemed very few of them were left disappointed.

Dad's Army will be at the Key until Saturday, May 17. Tickets, costing between £15 and £20, are available by calling 01733 552439 or at www.peterboroughkeytheatre.co.uk.

8 out of 10

Related: Play actors meet the real Dad's Army stars
Play actors meet the real Dad's Army stars The cast of the Dad's Army play met former Peterborough Home Guard members in Peterborough's Rivergate Centre. 14 May 2008

Ian Ray interviews Jimmy Perry, co-creator of Dad's Army 09 May 2008

Factfile: Home Guard

• The Home Guard ran from 1940 until 1944, and comprised of 1.5 million local volunteers,otherwise ineligible for military service, usually owing to age, who acted as a secondary defence force.


• The hit BBC comedy series ran for nine years from 1968 until 1977.


• The village of Walmington-on-Sea was a fictional south coast town based on writer Jimmy Perry's experiences.


• The play is running until Saturday at the Key Theatre.


• A privately funded website dedicated to researching the history of The Home Guard - www.home-guard.org.uk


• BBC: Dad's Army pages