European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images Frans Timmermans: UK Brexit negotiators were like hapless sitcom characters The Commission first vice president said negotiators were like ‘Dad’s Army’ soldiers without a plan.

A European Commission chief has ridiculed U.K. efforts to negotiate Brexit — likening them to "Dad's Army," a classic British TV sitcom about hapless would-be soldiers during World War II.

In an interview with the BBC's Panorama program, due to broadcast Thursday evening, Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans singled out David Davis, the first Brexit secretary, in particular for his infrequent trips to Brussels and his "grandstanding."

Prior to the start of negotiations, Timmermans said the EU side had expected the British — with their reputation for having a highly efficient civil service — to be “so brilliant” in their approach to the talks.

The EU side expected that “in some vault somewhere in Westminster, there will be a Harry Potter-like book with all the tricks and all the things in it to do,” he said.

But he added: “And then the first time I saw public utterances by David Davis and I saw him not coming [to Brussels], not negotiating, grandstanding elsewhere I thought: ‘Oh my God, they haven’t got a plan, they haven’t got a plan.’"

“That was really shocking, frankly, because the damage if you don’t have a plan — you know, we see it — time’s running out and you don’t have a plan, it’s like Lance Corporal Jones — you know, ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic,’ running around like idiots.”

Jones was an elderly character in Dad’s Army, and his catchphrase was “Don’t panic!” while clearly panicking. The show, which ran between 1968 and 1977 and was subsequently turned into a 2016 film starring Bill Nighy and Catherine Zeta-Jones, is about the wartime resistance of a fictional branch of the U.K.'s well-meaning but bungling volunteer Home Guard.

In response, a government spokesperson said: "The UK has negotiated with the EU intensely over the past three years to secure the best deal for our citizens and our businesses. Negotiations have been sharply focused on delivering on the outcome of the referendum. Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. However, a responsible government must plan for every eventuality, including a no deal scenario."

Elsewhere, Timmermans accused Boris Johnson, the frontrunner in the Conservative leadership race, of “playing games” on Brexit.

“It’s about time we became a bit harsh, because I’m not sure he was being genuine,” Timmermans said about the approach taken by Britain's likely next prime minister. “I always had the impression he was playing games.”

This article has been updated with a response from the British government.