The real-life character, 'Vivian Van Damm' - played here by Jack Livesey - was played by Bob Hoskins in Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005).
A plaque at the beginning of the film boasts "Stars of Today" who got their starts at the Windmill Theatre. Among the names are Peter Sellers, Jimmy Edwards, Harry Secombe, Valerie Tandy, Eric Barker, George Carden, Jack Billings, Michael Howard, Eric Woodburn, Lesley Osmond, Richard Murdoch (as Richard Stinker Murdoch) and Jean Kent.
Patsy complains that the only time she gets a good hand at cards, she finds herself "detailed for NAAFI work." This refers to the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) which had provided canteen services for British servicemen since 1920. Patsy's reference would bring to mind the large number of canteens operating during the Second World War.