Ian Lavender: final film role of late Dad’s Army star rumoured to be football movie about 1982 European Cup

Ian Lavender, best known for playing Private Pike in Dad’s Army died on February 2, aged 77, it was confirmed today. However, the beloved actor is expected to appear in a final movie to be released following his death.

Lavender was the last surviving main cast member of BBC 1960s sitcom Dad’s Army, following the death of Frank Williams (who played Rev. Timothy Farthing) in 2022. Lavender also had a long-running role in EastEnders, playing Derek Harkinson in more than 240 episodes between 2001 and 2007.

The actor was mostly associated with British TV but had several forays onto the big screen over his long career - featuring in 1970s comedies Carry on Behind, Adventures of a Private Eye, and Not Now, Comrade.

He also had a cameo in the 2016 Dad’s Army movie, playing Brigadier Pritchard, and he is rumoured to star in an upcoming British film, which began production prior to his death this month. 

What is Ian Lavender’s last film?

Ian Lavender is rumoured to be starring in another movie, to be released some time after his death. The sports drama is called Nicked and will follow the events of the European Cup 1982 final won by Aston Villa in Rotterdam, and the theft of the trophy from a pub the following night. 

Nicked will focus primarily on the 24 hours after the trophy was taken from the The Fox pub at Tamworth and the efforts to recover the trophy before the Aston Villa Directors and the club’s fans learn that it has gone missing. Eventually the cup turned up in Sheffield, where local police played an impromptu match for the hallowed trophy.

Lavender will play a character named Albert, though the character’s connection to events in the film is not yet known. He is rumoured to be joined in the cast by The Bill actress Sally Rogers, who is expected to play a police sergeant. 

The film is produced by Adrian Bracken, who wrote and produced the 2014 documentary Churchill’s Secret Son, and is written by Jon King and will mark his first screen credit.

Nicked is currently in production and a release date has not been set. Following Lavender’s death on Friday, it is unknown whether he had filmed some or all of his scenes, and the degree to which he will appear in the final cut has not yet been confirmed. The film’s release date is also currently unknown.