Dunn resumed his acting career in
repertory theatre, and adopted the name
Clive Dunn when he joined
Equity. In 1956 and 1957, Dunn appeared in both series of
The Tony Hancock Show and the army reunion party episode of ''
Hancock's Half Hour in 1960. In the 1960s, he made many appearances with Tony Hancock, Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan and Dick Emery, among others, before winning the role of Jones in Dad's Army'' in 1968. From early in his career, his trademark character was that of a doddering old man. This first made an impression in the show
Bootsie and Snudge, a spin-off from
The Army Game. Dunn played the old dogsbody Mr. Johnson at a slightly seedy
gentlemen's club where the characters Pte. "Bootsie" Bisley (
Alfie Bass) and Sgt. Claude Snudge (
Bill Fraser) find work after leaving the
Army. In the early 1960s he made regular appearances on ''
It's a Square World'', including as the first parody of
Doctor Who on New Year's Eve 1963. In 1967, he made a guest appearance in an episode of
The Avengers, playing the proprietor of a toy shop in "Something Nasty in the Nursery". At 48 Dunn was one of the younger members of the ''Dad's Army'' cast when he took on the role of the elderly butcher whose military service in earlier wars made him the most experienced member of the
Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard, as well as one of the most decrepit.
Jack Haig and
David Jason had previously been considered for the role. Although made-up to look much older than he was, his relative youth, compared with most of the cast, meant that he was handed much of the physical comedy in the show, of which many of the other cast members were no longer capable. After ''Dad's Army'' ended, Dunn capitalised on his skill in playing elderly character roles by playing the lead character Charlie Quick, in the slapstick children's TV series
Grandad, from 1979 to 1984 (he played the caretaker at a village hall, and sang the lyrics in the theme). He had previously had a
number one hit single with the song "
Grandad" on his 51st birthday in January 1971, accompanied by a children's choir. The song was written by bassist
Herbie Flowers. He performed the song four times on
Top of the Pops. The
B-side of "Grandad", "I Play The Spoons", also received considerable airplay. After cancellation of
Grandad in 1984, he retired to Portugal. Following the success of the "Grandad" record, Dunn released several other
singles, but never hit the charts again. He played Frosch in the 1979
English National Opera production of
Die Fledermaus at the
London Coliseum, where "tipsy in walk and talk, and reminding us of the best of music-hall traditions" he, and
Eric Shilling (as Frank), "made the opening of Act 3 as hilarious as it should be". He was the subject of
This Is Your Life in 1971, when he was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews. ==Personal life==