Croft's comedy creations

Croft: writer and director

Decades after they were first screened, many of David Croft's sitcoms are still classics

With a co-writer - first Jimmy Perry and later Jeremy Lloyd - he was responsible for some of the BBC's classics, from the mid-sixties to the early eighties.

They include Dad's Army, Are you Being Served, Hi-de-Hi and Allo' Allo.

Now in his eighties, David Croft has just brought out his memoirs. They're called You Have Been Watching - in a reference to the end credits of Dad's Army.

David Croft came into the Breakfast studio this morning to talk about his life as a comedy writer and director.

Captain Mainwairing: one of David's most inspired creations

His roots are in acting and directing - but, he told us that he could never have worked on one of the classic American sitcoms:

"I am not naturally a funny person, I am a fairly serious type," he told us.

"In America, they have a group of writers sitting around a table trying top each other's gags. You need to be a flamboyant character to succeed like that."

Among the current crop of comedies which Croft likes is the BBC One comedy, My Hero:

"I like the talking baby," he told us.

He's less sure about The Office: "It's a wonderful performance, but will we be seeing it in ten years' time?" he says.

You Have Been Watching, by David Croft, is published by BBC Books. ISBN 0563487399