Kevin McNally took on social media trolls over a special Dad’s Army revival.
The actor, known for his role in Pirates Of The Caribbean, plays Captain Mainwaring in the upcoming remake of the sitcom’s lost episodes.
McNally revealed he suffered while first sampling social media on the release of the Pirates franchise, when he was termed by one online commenter “the worst actor I’ve ever seen in anything, ever”.
McNally returned to view the social media reaction to upcoming Gold series Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes.
The actor took on a troll who questioned the point in reviving the classic British sitcom, and offered him some simple advice on enjoying TV.
Here's a FIRST LOOK at the opening scene from The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker which kicks off our three-day special event of #DadsArmy: The Lost Episodes on Sunday 25th August at 8pm.–@exkevinmcnally @RobertBathurst @ItsKevinEldon @mfhorne @rosentweets pic.twitter.com/UQyXVwHVOv
— Gold (@goldchannel) August 16, 2019
McNally said: “I don’t know how these guys feel, but there are going to be divided opinions.
“There are going to be the educated opinions which say ‘what a marvellous piece of work this is and how brilliant Kevin McNally is as captain Mainwaring’ and there are going to be the ignorant f****** who say ‘how dare they?’
“I saw somebody on social media saying ‘this is a terrible idea, why are they doing this?’, and I don’t usually respond to this, but I said I’ve got some really good advice for you, ‘when it’s on don’t watch it’.
“It’s very simple.”
McNally has said there were challenges in taking on the legacy of Dad’s Army, which is still widely watched in the UK.
The lost episodes revive missing material from the series, sticking to the original scripts.
He said: “You can see Dad’s Army all the time, it’s never not been on the television. So, there was a sense of a bit of a challenge. And it might be Marmite, people would love it or hate it.”
He added: “I think ultimately we’re performing it with a love of the original and I think people who really like the original can watch it in that spirit because this is their only chance to see these three episodes.
“So we’ve done our absolute best to enjoy it but also be respectful of the material and the original actors.”
Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes air on Gold over three consecutive nights from Sunday August 25