Richard Gibson played Herr Flick brilliantly – he played the bloated officer, who theoretically is devoid of all emotions and tells unfunny jokes with a fake German accent with a straight face. He dutifully did so for the show’s first eight seasons, but chose not to participate in the final series. At that time, no one knew that the ninth series would also be the last, so they started looking for someone to replace them. His place was taken by David Janson.
Why did Herr Flick change his appearance in ‘Allo ‘Allo?
Viewers can associate David Janson, for example, with episodic appearances in another British comedy series “What People Will Say”. He appeared there from time to time as a timid postman who avoids Jacinta Bukiet. The actor was born on March 30, 1950 in Gravesend and is celebrating his 73rd birthday.
David Janson replaced Richard Gibson as Herr Flick ‘Allo Allo’ / ‘What people will say’ / BritBox / Promotional materials
The developers came up with a pretty good idea to explain Herr Otto Flick’s sudden change of appearance. The Gestapo officer underwent plastic surgery to be able to escape from the Allies when they finally won the war. In practice, however, this meant that David Janson had to imitate Richard Gibson, which turned out to be a difficult task. Most viewers simply disowned his participation in the production.
Interestingly, Richard Gibson got the role of Herr Flick after the creator of the series David Croft (he is also behind another cult British comedy series “The Lord has called, my lord?”) heard him at the wedding of his daughter Jane. There, Gibson told jokes with a German accent, and the intrigued Croft quickly consulted his wife – a few days later, the actor received the script for the pilot episode of the series.
The Two Faces of Herr Flick Allo Allo / Brit Box – Promotional materials
– Playing Herr Flick was a gift. It’s the kind of character you get once in a lifetime. When David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd write, it’s very hard to mess something up – Gibson said years later in an interview with . Although he did not star in the final series of the show, he joined the rest of the cast when “‘Allo ‘Allo” was adapted into a stage play – they all embarked on a successful UK and international tour together. In the performance, he also had a chance to show off, for example, his ability to play the violin. Together with Kim Hartman, who plays Helga, they often guest star in sketches in which they play their serial characters. In addition, Gibson also works in radio, writes scripts and dubs.
In “‘Allo ‘Allo” the actors playing more minor characters changed several times. This was also the case with captain Alberto Bertorelli (Gavin Richards was replaced for one season by Roger Kitter) and Ernest LeClerc, who was played successively by Derek Royle and Robin Parkinson. However, it should be added that the character of Ernest was introduced after the sudden death of Jack Haig, who played Roger LeClerc.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
