Ian Lavender, who played Private Pike in the BBC sitcom Dad’s Army, has expressed his sadness at a wardrobe choice for the actor who takes the part in a new film version.

On set to shoot a cameo in the movie, Lavender, 68, was struck by lemon additions on the scarf worn by Blake Harrison, who plays Pike. The original was claret and blue, the colours of football team Aston Villa, which Lavender supports.

“It looked like a banana split to me,” Lavender told the Birmingham Mail. “I’m colour blind so I’m not sure what colours it was, but there was definitely a yellow in there. It certainly wasn’t an Aston Villa scarf. I was deeply shocked.”

The actor revealed that continuity concerns meant he held his tongue about the accessories error.

“I’m not sure why they changed it. I’m told it was already committed to film by the time I got there so there wasn’t a lot I could do about it.”

Lavender still owns the original scarf made famous in the show and said he’s recently worn it to an Aston Villa match for the first time.

“I went with a friend in April to see Villa lose to Fulham,” he said. “It was a totally private visit – I just thought I would take the scarf to the ground and christen it. I sat quietly wearing it and nobody really noticed.”

Lavender, one of the few surviving cast members from the original series, has a small role as Brigadier Pritchard in the film, which stars Toby Jones as Captain Mainwaring and Bill Nighy as Sergeant Wilson.

He has expressed his enthusiasm for the film. “A lot of people were saying it was a bad idea to re-make Dad’s Army but I don’t think that at all.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with me. I don’t have any owner’s rights on the TV series or the character, I’m not proprietorial about it. When I heard who the cast were I thought ‘That’s not bad at all’.”

• Gallery: who plays who in the Dad’s Army movie