Devastating reason Dad’s Army star’s wife refused to go to his funeral

By Jess Phillips

Arthur Lowe battled a devastating health condition throughout his life, and sadly died after suffering a stroke in his dressing room

Arthur Lowe was a Dad's Army legend (Image: BBC)

One Dad’s Army star didn’t have his own wife at his funeral after his sudden death after collapsing backstage. Arthur Lowe died in 1982 from a stroke, shortly after giving his last ever interview on BBC show Pebble Mill at One. The star headed to his dressing room at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre where he was set to appear in a production of Home at Seven – but was instead rushed to hospital, where he died at the age of 66.

Diagnosed with narcolepsy in the mid 1970s, Arthur would fall asleep mid-rehearsal but was described as a “workaholic” by his close friends. Overweight and a lifelong smoker, Arthur also consumed a “high” amount of alcohol – but his extensive biographies claim he wasn’t an alcoholic.

The end of his life was a devastating one, and the comedy icon's funeral a low-key affair. He was cremated, with his ashes scattered at Sutton Coldfield Crematorium. But in a tragic twist of fate, hardly anyone attended his funeral service – less than 12 people total – and his wife Joan missed the whole thing.

Arthur and Joan tied the knot in 1948, and welcomed one son together, Stephen Lowe. Joan also had a son, David Gatehouse, from her previous marriage.

Despite their love story spanning decades, Joan skipped her husband’s funeral because she refused to miss a performance of the play they were starring in together. According to Lowe’s biographer Graham Lord, who interviewed Joan’s friend Phyllis Bateman, the pair made a pact together that neither would go to the other’s funeral in the event of their deaths.

His beloved wife didn't attend his funeral (Image: BBC)

Their son Stephen claimed his mother’s motto was “the show must go on”, and she had this mentality even when cremating her husband. Joan did, however, attend a memorial service the following month, with Arthur’s friends and colleagues also in attendance.

Stephen told The Telegraph: “It was the adage, ‘The Show Must Go On’. I think it was her coping mechanism. Neither Joan nor Arthur were sentimental. I think that comes from being a civilian in wartime.

“When I remember my mother’s stories about the war, the horrendous scenes that generation witnessed, I think it hardened them and even made them irreligious - my mother included. She was strongly vocal about her atheism so I don't think the funeral meant anything to her."

First published at The Daily Express, August 9, 2025