MOST people like to wind down when they retire but Harry Knight is getting his marching orders.

The pensioner from Locking Stumps has a part in the film adaptation of the classic 1960s and 70s sitcom Dad's Army which is being shot in Yorkshire.

Harry is part of a special platoon that supports the star-studded cast including Toby Jones, Tom Courtenay, Blake Harrison, Mark Gatiss, Michael Gambon and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The 73-year-old has been doing extra work for around five years and has appeared in Coronation Street, Peaky Blinders and Ripper Street.

But his role in Dad's Army could be his biggest part yet as he has humourous scene with Bill Nighy, who plays Sergeant Wilson.

Both are dragged off by their on-screen wives while trying to impress Catherine Zeta-Jones's Rose Winters.

Harry, whose first acting role was in Hollyoaks, also plays a part in a scene when Michael Gambon's character Private Godfrey turns the wrong way during a drill.

He said: "There’s only two ranks and I’m behind him and when he turned I burst out laughing and they’ve kept that in."

"We got to speak to all the cast and they were so accepting. Some of them are international stars and they were accommodating and friendly to us.

"It was funny because Catherine Zeta Jones came up to me and said: ‘Hello, I’m Catherine’ as if I didn’t know who she was.

"Tom Courtenay bumped into me and said: ‘You look like me!’ They wanted us to feel as much part of the scene as they did."

The original Dad’s Army BBC series ran from 1968 to 1977 and depicted The Home Guard, Britain's last line of defence in the event of an invasion during the Second World War.

In 2004 it was voted in fourth place in a poll to find Britain’s most popular sitcom.

Harry, who got 'enlisted' by Universal Extras at Pinewood Studios, added: "When they told me it was Dad’s Army I was delighted because it is so iconic.

"The cast have done a fantastic job. It’s an uphill battle to try and compete with the well loved actors that came before but it’s staggering to see them turn into these characters before your eyes.

"And they have to put up with the same things we do like retake after retake and 12 hour days."

Ian Lavender, one of the few surviving members of the original Dad's Army cast who played the hapless Private Frank Pike, is also to have a cameo role in the remake.

It seems he has gone up in the world, though, as he has a brief role as an officer.

Harry, who has been married to his wife Carole for 50 years, said: "Everyone was pleased to see him and I think he was delighted himself to be part of it.

"He saw Blake Harrison, the young man from The Inbetweeners, playing Pike as a way of passing on the baton.

"When they did the series it must have been just another job for a lot of people and now it’s there forever

"They do say it’s like an old person’s humour or for those who experienced the war as things are familiar.

"But it seems to have found a new younger audience with all the re-runs because when humour is well done it is always funny."

Harry was born in 1941 in Old Trafford – a year after The Home Guard was set up. His dad Harold was in the Merchant Navy and protected ships travelling to Russia.

"All I remember is being taken to the air raid shelters," he added.

"We had one in the garden so I have fleeting memories of just going into a hole in the ground."

- The Dad's Army film is due for release in cinemas in 2016

DAVID MORGAN