Private Walker Private Walker Private Joe Walker is a fictional black market spiv (or Wholesales Supplier, as he politely puts it) and Home Guard platoon member, portrayed by actor James Beck in the BBC television sitcom "Dad's Army". Beck died suddenly in 1973. The character of Walker was possibly one of the most prominent and popular in the show. Following his character's departure (Walker was last mentioned in the episode "The Recruit", although he does not appear in this episode) the series attempted to replace him with a war reporter called Private Cheeseman (played by Talfryn Thomas), who had made a previous
Private Walker Walmington-on-Sea (with the comparatively well-off American troops already having plenty of liquor and other items normally provided by Walker). Walker considers himself a ladies' man, and his recurring girlfriend Shirley (played by Wendy Richard) is seen in several episodes. In the platoon, he mostly associates with Lance Corporal Jones, Pike and Frazer. Despite merely being a Private, Walker clearly has some form of influence over the platoon, not least due to his black-market dealings which have got them out of (and into) numerous scrapes. Moreover, when Private Frazer is temporarily promoted to Captain in "If the Cap Fits...", he selects