Michael Sydney Knowles (born 26 April 1937) is a British actor and scriptwriter who is best known for his roles in BBC sitcoms written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. He often starred alongside Donald Hewlett with whom he first appeared in It Ain't Half Hot Mum. They later appeared together in Rogue's Rock, Come Back Mrs. Noah and You Rang, M'Lord? In Knowles' writing career, he co-adapted (with Harold Snoad) the radio version of Dad's Army and writing with Snoad the Dad's Army spinoff series It Sticks Out Half a Mile for radio, which became the television series High and Dry. Early life Knowles attended Bemrose Grammar School for Boys, Derby (now Bemrose School), where he stayed on into the 6th form and played the lead role in the school's production of Shakespeare's Henry V. Knowles considered reading medicine before deciding to become an actor. Acting career Knowles started his acting career with the Watford Palace Theatre company which was being managed by Jimmy Perry. It was at Watford where he also met many of his future co-stars including Colin Bean, John Clegg, Donald Hewlett, Jeffrey Holland, Frank Williams, and his future wife Linda James. Knowles made his earliest appearance in Dad's Army in the 1969 episode "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker", one of that series three missing episodes, but Knowles made four further appearances in the series. Knowles later said of his time with Dad's Army that it "was my introduction to TV. It was quite awe-inspiring working with actors like John Laurie and John Le Mesurier, people I'd only seen in films before, and here I was actually working with them. I was very nervous but enjoyed my time very much." Knowles made his first film appearance in the 1971 feature film of Dad's Army, and the next year appeared in the film That's Your Funeral. Knowles appeared in the first episode of Are You Being Served? and played the first customer that was served on the series. Knowles later went on to co-write several episodes. Knowles is best known for his role as Captain Jonathan Ashwood in the sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–81). The series was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. When Knowles asked how he ought to play his character, Croft said Captain Ashwood was rather like Knowles himself, a bit ‘silly arse’. With Hewlett, he later worked on