Lads' Army

Lads' Army
Also known as	Bad Lads' Army (2004) Bad Lads' Army: Officer Class (2005) Bad Lads' Army: Extreme (2006)
Genre	Reality Game show
Voices of	Kevin Whately (2002) Dennis Waterman (2004–06)
Composer	Daniel Pemberton
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	32
Production
Running time	60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company	Twenty Twenty
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	3 June 2002 (2002-06-03) – 29 August 2006 (2006-08-29)

Lads' Army (known in later series as Bad Lads' Army, Bad Lads' Army: Officer Class and Bad Lads' Army: Extreme) was a reality game show that constitutes a historically derived social experiment. Shown on ITV, the series is based on the premise of subjecting today's delinquent young men to the conditions of conscripts to British Army National Service of the 1950s to see if this could rehabilitate them.

The programme was derived from an earlier one called simply Lads' Army (a play on Dad's Army) in which a number of volunteers underwent four weeks of basic training for 1950s National Service. Unlike the three sequel series (the ones whose titles began with "Bad"), the original programme's experiment was merely to see if 18- to 24-year-old members of the modern British public could cope with the 1950s training, and how they compared to the public of that period. The success of the original series led to the experiment being repeated with the recruits having committed criminal offences, often given the option to undergo the training by courts as an alternative to serving pending sentences, to explore the proposition that it would be beneficial to reinstate National Service for petty criminals and delinquents as an alternative to more conventional sentences. Series 4 raised the maximum age to 26.

The narrator for the first series was Kevin Whately, then Dennis Waterman took over until the show ended in 2006. Within each series a small number of the recruits have either walked out (after a 24-hour cooling off period), or been ejected. The majority of the remainder claim some benefit from the experience and some have chosen the regular British Army as a career at the end of it.

Format

Browndown Training Camp in Hampshire, home of Lads' Army and Bad Lads' Army: Officer Class

The programme format is relatively simple. The recruits are issued period uniforms and equipment and fed, quartered and trained according to the standards of the era. Their free time is limited to visits to the NAAFI with period refreshments and facilities. The recruits form a single platoon made up of two sections, each under the care of a section commander, either Richard Nauyokas or Joe Murray (in series 3 Nauyokas was replaced by Glenn Thomas [who appeared as the Company Sergeant Major in series 2], although he still appeared as a relief corporal). During training the sections compete against each other, building a sense of competition but also of teamwork and loyalty. Success brings modest rewards. Praise is given for whole-hearted attempts at tasks. The NCOs and officers running the training are all, or have been, professional British soldiers.

Each series had a slightly different format to its predecessors, although the theme of 1950s military training is common to all series. The 3rd series (known as Bad Lads' Army: Officer Class) had the volunteers train to become officers while the 4th series (known as Bad Lads' Army Extreme) had the volunteers train to become paratroopers.

Series 1 to 3 included interviews with celebrities who had completed National Service in the 1950s, including Joss Ackland, Michael Aspel, Brian Blessed, Richard Briers, Paul Daniels, Frederick Forsyth, Bernard Manning, Nosher Powell, William Roache, Andrew Sachs and Brian Sewell. During re-airings of the first series, the interviews were edited out.

Contestants

Series 1 (Lads' Army, 2002)

Waterloo Platoon NCO's and Officers

Rank/Name:	Role:	Experience:
LCPL Andy Thurgood	Platoon Medic	Royal Army Medical Corps
CPL Richard Nauyokas	1 Section NCO	Royal Army Ordnance Corps
CPL Joe Murray	2 Section NCO	Parachute Regiment
CPL Taff Gillingham	Q/M NCO	Logistics
CPL John Goodwin	PTI	PTI
CPL Neil Sawell	PTI	PTI
SGT John Roberts	Drill SGT/"3 Section NCO"	British Army Infantry
SGT Mark Sullivan	Platoon SGT	Recruit Instructor
WO2 Colin Coull	Company SGT Major	Scots Guards
CAPT Richard Owen	Platoon Commander	Parachute Officer
Padre David Rindell	Padre	Royal Army Chaplain's Department

Waterloo Platoon recruits

1 Section CPL Richard Nauyokas	Ages	Occupation	Status	2 Section CPL Joe Murray	Ages	Occupation	Status
Ade Adebayo	21 (1981)	University Student	PASSED OUT	Paul Claydon	20 (1982)	Unemployed	LEFT
William Bate	19 (1982)	Computer Engineer	PASSED OUT	Steve Daly	21 (1981)	Sales Manager	PASSED OUT
John Cooke	23 (1979)	Construction Site Manager	PASSED OUT	Paul Eagle	22 (1980)	Labourer	PASSED OUT
Jodie Copeland	24 (1977)	Customer Service Executive	PASSED OUT	Tony Ellis	22 (1980)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT
Jamie Dodd	23 (1978)	Musician/Pub Cellarman	LEFT	David Gardner	20 (1981)	Gardener	PASSED OUT
Matthew Faulkner	21 (1981)	Finance Administrator	PASSED OUT	Gordon Hamilton	21 (1981)	Club Bouncer	PASSED OUT
Michael Honzick	18 (1984)	Design Student	PASSED OUT	Chris Hampson	21 (1981)	Genetics Student	LEFT
Ross Pitman	21 (1980)	Research Executive	PASSED OUT	Daniel Harrison	24 (1978)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT
Kenny Poulter	19 (1983)	Postman	PASSED OUT	Nicholas Holbrook	22 (1980)	Business Researcher	PASSED OUT
Thomas Rossiter	18 (1984)	School Student	PASSED OUT	Alex Kingsy	19 (1983)	Law Student	PASSED OUT
Nicholas Sandford	23 (1979)	Personal Trainer	LEFT	Aaron Larson	20 (1982)	Actor	LEFT
John-Paul Watts	24 (1977)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT	Peter Leyland	23 (1978)	Mechanical Engineer	PASSED OUT
Tom Woolfe	22 (1979)	Rugby Coach	LEFT	Dan Neal	22 (1979)	Bartender	PASSED OUT
William Wood	22 (1980)	University Student	LEFT	Thomas O' Hanlon	21 (1980)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT
Lee Wooten	21 (1981)	University Student	LEFT	Adam Spires	20 (1981)	Needlecrafter	PASSED OUT
James Willingham	20 (1982)	University Student	PASSED OUT	Samuel Webb	23 (1978)	Warehouse Technician	PASSED OUT

Key:

• PASSED OUT = Recruit was present at the final stages of training, at the Passing Out Parade.
• LEFT = Recruit quit or was discharged before making it to the final parade.

Series overview

David Gardner received the "Best Recruit" award, James Willingham was awarded the platoons "Most Improved Recruit". 2 Section won "Best Section".

During the series, Tom Woolfe was dishonourably discharged/back squadded from the camp. Paul Claydon, Lee Wooten, and Chris Hampson chose to leave voluntarily. Nicholas Sandford deserted the base and never returned to camp. Jamie Dodd and Aaron Larson were medically discharged from the camp. William Wood's exit is unknown as his exit never aired.

After William Wood and Paul Clayden left, William Bate and Paul Eagle were drafted in as replacement recruits.

Captain Richard Owen, Waterloo Platoon's CO, died after the filming of the series in 2014, at age 48. He is said to have died from cancer.

The main filming location for series one was Browndown Training Camp at Lee-on-Solent.

Series 2 (Bad Lads' Army, 2004)

Montgomery Platoon NCO's and Officers

Rank/Name:	Role:	Experience:
CPL Richard Nauyokas	1 Section NCO	Royal Army Ordnance Corps
CPL Joe Murray	2 Section NCO	Parachute Regiment
CPL Taff Gillingham	Q/M NCO	Logistics
CPL Mark Sheridan	PTI	PTI
CPL John Goodwin	PTI	PTI
CPL Kevin Smith	Platoon Medic	Royal Army Medical Corps
CPL Timothy Dean	Provost CPL	Military Police
CPL James Lance	Provost CPL	Military Police
SGT Jeff Edwards	Provost SGT	Royal Army Ordanance Corps
SGT Alistair Rae	Platoon SGT	Royal Army Ordanance Corps,Training Instructor
SGT Mark Sullivan	Drill SGT	Recruit Instructor
WO2 Glen Thomas	Company SGT Major	Sandhurst Officer
CAPT Henry Dodds	Platoon Commander	Royal Engineers
Padre David Rindell	Padre	Royal Army Chaplain's Department

Montgomery Platoon recruits

1 Section CPL Richard Nauyokas	Ages	Occupation	Status	2 Section CPL Joe Murray	Ages	Occupation	Status
Tjobbe Andrews	22 (1982)	Website Designer	PASSED OUT	Chris Andrew	21 (1982)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT
Marcus Birks	23 (1981)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT	Michael Blackham	19 (1985)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT
David Butler	21 (1983)	Joiner	PASSED OUT	Alan Brown	23 (1981)	Unemployed	LEFT
Shaun Carr	18 (1986)	Student	PASSED OUT	Luke Brown	23 (1981)	Unemployed	LEFT
Peter Cray	23 (1980)	Actor	PASSED OUT	Chris Davis	18 (1986)	Student	PASSED OUT
Ashley Cummings	18 (1986)	Student	LEFT	Damien Ellis	23 (1980)	Graduate	PASSED OUT
Matthew Gilks	21 (1982)	Builder	PASSED OUT	Daniel Kett	21 (1982)	Civil Engineer	LEFT
Robert Grundy	19 (1984)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT	Michael Lowes	22 (1982)	Salesperson	PASSED OUT
Chris Harkin	18 (1986)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT	Alex Rennie	24 (1979)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT
John Kyprianou	23 (1980)	Barman	PASSED OUT	Shingi Sekerama	19 (1985)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT
Mark Lamont	20 (1985)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT	Robert Shutler	22 (1983)	Student	PASSED OUT
Ashley Morton	21 (1983)	Landscape Gardener	LEFT	Scott Simpson	18 (1986)	Unemployed	LEFT
Wil Moynihan	20 (1983)	Barman	PASSED OUT	Wayne Spiller	24 (1980)	Student	PASSED OUT
Hassan Murtada	24 (1979)	Scaffolder	PASSED OUT	Christopher Townsend	20 (1983)	Barman/Student	LEFT
Robert Pembrook	19 (1984)	Unemployed	PASSED OUT	Richard Weaver	20 (1984)	Cinema Team Leader	PASSED OUT
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Stilianos Xidakis	18 (1985)	High School Student	PASSED OUT

Key

• PASSED OUT = Recruit was present at the final stages of training, at the Passing Out Parade.
• LEFT = Recruit quit or was discharged before making it to the final parade.

Series overview

Tjobbe Andrews, Matthew Gilks and Robert Shutler were given Officer Recommendations. This would be the goal of the following series. John Kyprianou received the Platoon's Top Shot (the highest score in the shooting range). Marcus Birks received the Best Recruit award at the Pass Out Parade, with Robert Pembrook receiving the Most Improved award. 2 Section won Best Section. With 2 Section winning best section, CPL Murray was promoted to SGT at the Passing Out Parade.

Luke Brown and Ashley Morton were dishonourably discharged. Morton was the only recruit to receive a dishonourable discharge for committing a criminal offence, namely an unprovoked assault on John Kyprianou, who decided not to press charges. Scott Simpson, Daniel Kett and Chris Townsend chose to leave voluntarily. Ashley Cummings and Alan Brown's status' are unknown, as how they were discharged was never specified. Alan Brown also did not turn up on the first day due to a scheduled court appearance; he received a conditional discharge in connection with a fight that he had previously been involved in, with the requirement that he complete National Service.

After Scott Simpson quit before even being issued a single item of kit or his uniform, Alex Rennie was drafted in as a replacement recruit. At the time of the series release, there was speculation that Tom Woolfe from the first series who was back squadded was set to return but never did for unknown reasons. This is heavily suspected, as there was no replacement for 1 Section after Ashley Cummings left and Woolfe was in 1 Section during the first series, however, to this date, nothing has been confirmed.

After the filming of the series, Michael Lowes suffered from clinical depression after facing indecent exposure charges, and was found dead in his home from an apparent suicide in 2010, at age 28. SGT Alistair Rae, the platoon sergeant for Montgomery, Churchill and Pegasus Platoons, died in November 2020 due to complications from COVID-19, as did contestant Marcus Birks in 2021, at the age of 40.

The main filming location for series two was at New Zealand Farm Camp on Salisbury Plain.

Series 3 (Bad Lads' Army: Officer Class, 2005)

Churchill Platoon NCO's and Officers

Rank/Name:	Role:	Experience:
CPL Glenn Thomas	1 Section NCO	Sandhurst Officer
CPL Joe Murray	2 Section NCO	Parachute Regiment
CPL Taff Gillingham	Q/M NCO	Logistics
CPL Richard Nauyokas	Relief NCO	Royal Army Ordnance Corps
CPL John Goodwin	PTI	PTI
CPL Gary Nash	PTI	PTI
CPL Joseph Hoodless	Platoon Admin	Royal Marines
CPL Kevin Smith	Platoon Medic	Royal Army Medical Corps
CPL Timothy Dean	Provost CPL	Military Police
CPL James Lance	Provost CPL	Military Police
SGT Timothy Weston	Provost SGT	Grenadier Guards
SGT Alistair Rae	Platoon SGT	Training Instructor
WO2 Julian Whatley	Company SGT Major	Regimental SGT Major
CAPT Harry Lort Phillips	Platoon Commander	Officer
MAJ Henry Dodds	Company Commander	Royal Engineers
Padre David Rindell	Padre	Royal Army Chaplain's Department

Churchill Platoon recruits

1 Section (Blue) NCO – CPL Glen Thomas	Ages	Occupation	Officer Potential	2 Section (Red) NCO – CPL Joe Murray	Ages	Occupation	Officer Potential
Tim Bailey	22 (1983)	Unemployed	YES	Darren Adams	19 (1986)	Student	NO
Carl Bedford	20 (1985)	Unemployed	NO	Ross Barrett	20 (1984)	Unemployed Novelist/Barman	NO
Chris Danns	24 (1981)	Unemployed	NO	Steven Bedford	20 (1984)	Unemployed	LEFT
Aaron Groom	23 (1981)	Unemployed	NO	Ben Hains	21 (1984)	Painter Decorator	NO
Les Harvey	18 (1987)	Royal Marine Dropout/Stock Taker	NO	Darren Hardman	22 (1982)	Unemployed	YES
Jack Kendall	21 (1984)	Scaffolder	NO	Rifat Hassan	22 (1982)	Security Guard	YES
Simon Magil	22 (1982)	Unemployed	YES	David Johnstone	24 (1980)	Web Designer	NO
Garry Miller	20 (1985)	Office Junior	YES	Jonathan McDade	18 (1987)	Student	YES
Adam Oakley	19 (1986)	Royal Mail Sorter	LEFT	Simon Pietkewitz	23 (1983)	Unemployed	YES
Robert Page	20 (1984)	Drivers Mate	YES	Benjamin Priestman	22 (1982)	Unemployed	NO
Simon Pinkney	23 (1981)	Actor/Dancer	LEFT	Matthew Rawlings	24 (1980)	Boxer	NO
James Roberts	20 (1984)	Tyre Fitter	YES	Haydn Russell	21 (1984)	Sales Temp	NO
Robert Schofield	21 (1983)	Unemployed	NO	Rocco Scalercio	20 (1985)	Unemployed	NO
Dale Tate	22 (1983)	Unemployed	LEFT	Taisen Coree-Smith	24 (1981)	Unemployed	NO
Matthew Tate	24 (1980)	Unemployed	LEFT	Adrian Turton	24 (1980)	Technician	LEFT
Wesley Worrall	21 (1983)	Unemployed	LEFT	Kirk Woodend	21 (1984)	Stripper/Porn Actor	LEFT

Key

• YES = Recruit was selected for officer training.
• NO = Recruit was not selected for officer training.
• LEFT = Recruit left the series, either voluntarily, due to being dishonourably discharged or a medical discharge.

Series overview

The Passing Out Parade never stated who received "Best Recruit", or "Most Improved Recruit", as well as which Section were the winners overall. This is the only series that had no contestants born in the 1970s.

Wesley Worrall, Steven Bedford, and Matthew Tate were dishonourably discharged from the camp, Kirk Woodend chose to leave voluntarily and Adam Oakley was medically discharged. Dale Tate (Matthew Tate's brother) deserted the section and never returned to the Platoon; his brother deserted with him, but later returned. Matthew Tate was dishonorably discharged for hiding 8 shillings (the remainder of his wages from the second week), and trying to frame the rest of the platoon for stealing said money. Simon Pinkney and Adrian Turton left the camp, however their exits were never aired.

After Wesley Worrall and Steven Bedford were discharged, Chris Danns and Matthew Rawlings were drafted in, as replacement recruits.

Robert Page initially was selected for officer training but quit before training began and was forced to return to unit.

At the end of the final episode, the narrator stated that 11 of 24 who passed out had subsequently applied to join the regular British Army.

Robert Page died after the filming of the series in 2020 at age 36. His cause is unknown.

The main filming location for series three was again at Browndown Training Camp at Lee-on-Solent.

Series 4 (Bad Lads' Army: Extreme, 2006)

Pegasus Platoon NCO's and Officers

Rank/Name:	Role:	Experience:
LCPL Susan Tucker	Company Clerk	Royal Army Ordnance Corps
LCPL JJ Adams	Assistant Medic	Royal Air Force
CPL Richard Nauyokas	1 Section NCO	Royal Army Ordnance Corps
CPL Joe Murray	2 Section NCO	Parachute Regiment
SGT Taff Gillingham	Q/M NCO	Logistics
CPL John Newton	PTI	Parachute Regiment
CPL Jim Bush	PTI	Parachute Regiment
CPL Alex Bohanna	Platoon Medic	Royal Army Medical Corps
CPL Kevin Smith	Assistant Medic	Royal Army Medical Corps
CPL Timothy Dean	Provost CPL	Military Police
CPL James Lance	Provost CPL	Military Police
SGT Taff Gillingham	Q/M NCO	Logistics
SGT Timothy Weston	Provost SGT	Grenadier Guards
SGT Alistair Rae	Platoon SGT	Training Instructor
WO2 Julian Whatley	Company SGT Major	Regimental SGT Major
CAPT Henry Dodds	Platoon Commander	Royal Engineers

Pegasus Platoon recruits

Blue Section NCO – CPL Richard Nauyokus	Ages	Occupation	Final Jump Selection	Red Section NCO – CPL Joe Murray	Ages	Occupation	Final Jump Selection
Jamie Brooks	21 (1984)		NO	James Bourne	23 (1983)	Unemployed	YES
Samuel Bruce Angland	21 (1984)	Security Guard	NO	Chris Coad	22 (1984)	Unemployed	NO
Keith Burke	19 (1987)	Unemployed	LEFT	Aiden Chaffe	18 (1988)	Unemployed	NO
Colin Elliot	23 (1983)	Unemployed	LEFT	Andrew Findlay	24 (1981)	Teaching Assistant	NO
Mark Grimes	26 (1979)	Unemployed	NO	Luke Howard	18 (1987)		LEFT
Sebastian Judd	21 (1985)		YES	Kyle Jensen	22 (1983)	Roofer	YES
Raymond Impey	21 (1985)	Unemployed	LEFT	Andrew Jimson	25 (1981)	Unemployed	LEFT
Phillip Lee-Hodgeson	20 (1985)		NO	Darren McDonald	26 (1980)	Fitness Instructor	LEFT
Adam Mercer	25 (1981)	Unemployed	LEFT	Sean Morris	24 (1981)		YES
Luke Moyes	19 (1986)		LEFT	Shaz Nawaz	23 (1982)	Security Guard	YES
Joe Peto	18 (1988)		YES	Jerry Reilly	25 (1980)		NO
Matthew Reed	18 (1988)	University Student/Riot Leader	LEFT	Joe Renwick	19 (1986)		NO
Giles Walker	25 (1980)		LEFT	Leon Thompson	20 (1986)		LEFT
Steven Walker	22 (1983)		YES	Jamie Smeadly	21 (1984)	Plasterer	NO
Gavin Woodhouse	21 (1985)	Unemployed	YES	Robin Woodfourth	22 (1983)	Unemployed	YES
Joel Whittaker	24 (1982)		LEFT	Tyrone Walsh	26 (1979)		NO

Key

• YES = Recruit was selected for the Final Parachute Jump
• NO = Recruit was not selected for Final Parachute Jump.
• LEFT = Recruit left the series, either voluntarily, due to being dishonourably discharged or a medical discharge.

Series overview

The Passing Out Parade never stated who received "Best Recruit", or "Most Improved Recruit". Blue Section was the winning section.

Colin Elliot was Dishonourably Discharged from the camp. Keith Burke, Adam Mercer, Joel Whittaker, and Andrew Jimson were dismissed on Bin Day, just before the interrogation phase. Giles Walker, Leon Thompson, Luke Howard, Matthew Reed, Raymond Impey, Darren McDonald, and Luke Moyes were all dismissed from the camp but their exits never aired. This series features a high amount of unusual dismissals, with 12 exits total.

After Colin Elliot and Giles Walker were discharged, Joe Peto and Steven Walker were drafted in, as replacement recruits. This was the first time that both replacement recruits went into the same section.

Aiden Chaffe died on 22 October 2018 at the age of 31 following a skydiving accident.

Series four was filmed at the Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath, in Dorset. However, for the series, it was named 'Sandford Army Camp'.

Transmissions

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	3 June 2002	5 July 2002	10
2	8 July 2004	26 August 2004	8
3	28 July 2005	8 September 2005	7
4	11 July 2006	29 August 2006	7

Ratings

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.

Series 1

Episode no.	Airdate	Viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	3 June 2002 (2002-06-03)	—	—
2	5 June 2002 (2002-06-05)	6.14	15
3	10 June 2002 (2002-06-10)	6.27	14
4	14 June 2002 (2002-06-14)	5.47	18
5	17 June 2002 (2002-06-17)	5.28	23
6	21 June 2002 (2002-06-21)	—	—
7	24 June 2002 (2002-06-24)	5.98	14
8	25 June 2002 (2002-06-25)	5.19	16
9	28 June 2002 (2002-06-28)	4.93	18
10	5 July 2002 (2002-07-05)	5.42	18

Series 2

Episode no.	Airdate	Viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	8 July 2004 (2004-07-08)	6.48	15
2	15 July 2004 (2004-07-15)	6.58	13
3	22 July 2004 (2004-07-22)	6.23	15
4	29 July 2004 (2004-07-29)	5.45	17
5	5 August 2004 (2004-08-05)	5.64	16
6	12 August 2004 (2004-08-12)	5.41	17
7	19 August 2004 (2004-08-19)	5.44	16
8	26 August 2004 (2004-08-26)	4.72	16

Series 3

Episode no.	Airdate	Viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	28 July 2005 (2005-07-28)	5.13	15
2	4 August 2005 (2005-08-04)	5.24	15
3	11 August 2005 (2005-08-11)	5.23	15
4	18 August 2005 (2005-08-18)	4.67	18
5	25 August 2005 (2005-08-25)	5.05	15
6	1 September 2005 (2005-09-01)	5.09	15
7	8 September 2005 (2005-09-08)	5.40	18

Series 4

Episode no.	Airdate	Viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	11 July 2006 (2006-07-11)	3.87	19
2	18 July 2006 (2006-07-18)	3.31	21
3	25 July 2006 (2006-07-25)	3.14	21
4	1 August 2006 (2006-08-01)	3.31	25
5	15 August 2006 (2006-08-15)	—	—
6	22 August 2006 (2006-08-22)	—	—
7	29 August 2006 (2006-08-29)	—	—

Italian version

The format has been exported to Italy and first aired in 2021.

Country	Title	TV channel	Seasons	Distribution
Italy	La caserma	Rai 2	2	27 January 2021 – 10 March 2021 12 November 2023 – 17 December 2023

External links

• Lads' Army at IMDb
• Lads' Army at UKGameshows.com