Dad’s Army’s final living member was Ian Lavender. In addition, he made appearances on stage in a staging of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and was a star of Yes Minister and EastEnders.
Lavender was 77 years old when she portrayed Private Frank Pike in the television series.
His agent verified his passing.
Lavender also made appearances on stage in a staging of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and starred in Yes Minister and EastEnders.
Having grown up in Birmingham, he was cast in Dad’s Army at the age of 22, and he starred in both the 1971 spin-off film and the full run of the television series.
He portrayed the unfortunate Pike, who was looked after by Sergeant Arthur Wilson (John Le Mesurier) and who regularly got into altercations with Captain George Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe), who called him “Stupid Boy”.
Pike, the youngest troop member in the Home Guard, was in a relationship with his overbearing mother Mavis Pike (Janet Davies), and Pike would often refer to Wilson as Uncle Arthur.
Before departing the show in 2005, he appeared in EastEnders for four years as Pauline Fowler’s (Wendy Richard) gay buddy, Derek Harkinson.
After being ill with sepsis in 2017, he departed the program after making a brief comeback in 2016. He had suffered a heart attack and cancer in the past.
