0:00:08 > 0:00:10I liked him. The thing is, most people go, "Oh, he's terrible."
0:00:10 > 0:00:12But I was... I was along the lines of,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16something about him that you find engaging and you sort of...
0:00:16 > 0:00:19you find him amusing, even though he's an absolutely horrific person.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21What's so bloody special
0:00:21 > 0:00:23about digging a bit of coal out of the ground, eh?
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Cor, blimey, I mean anyone can do that.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Even your fuzzy wuzzies in the jungle, they can do that...
0:00:30 > 0:00:32I think Alf Garnett was a genius creation,
0:00:32 > 0:00:38and he gave expression to some pretty radical, er...views.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41That's the trouble with this country, we're too bloody soft!
0:00:41 > 0:00:43We'll never have a proper democracy here,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47unless we shoot a few people, like your Russians!
0:00:47 > 0:00:50If you examine Alf Garnett, he's an idiot.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53He's a half-educated half-wit, really.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And, of course, if you look at what he says,
0:00:56 > 0:00:59it's just, you know, it doesn't hold up for a minute.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01But he was convinced, and he was a bigot,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03and he had these strong views,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07and he was a monstrous, hilarious comedy creation.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Alf Garnett's wife, she was... Actually,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14she looked as though she was very subordinate to him,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17and she was actually as tough as old boots.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20And she had things to say.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23And because she didn't say them very often,
0:01:23 > 0:01:24they came out really strongly.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Anyway, it ain't supposed to be a perfect world, is it?
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Cos he's always said he would send down things to try us.
0:01:30 > 0:01:31Like you.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34The daughter,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36played by Una Stubbs,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40she was a wonderful contrast
0:01:40 > 0:01:43to her shouty husband, you know, argumentative husband.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48So the two women there, in a way, were the peacemakers.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51I felt very sorry for Johnny Speight, because he got a hard...
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Unfortunately, people can't tell the difference between...
0:01:55 > 0:01:57between a satire of someone and the real thing.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01And I thought that he had a hard time because of that character,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05but it was obvious that he was trying to make a comment on racism.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08How would you like it if I called you a yid?
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Where it becomes a grey area is,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18obviously, if that person is funny...
0:02:18 > 0:02:20but we like them. And let's face it,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23we have to like them, cos they're the central part of a sitcom.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26So there's no getting around it - Alf Garnett was liked as a person,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28otherwise he wouldn't have survived so long.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31And there's no getting around it - he was phenomenally racist.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33But I did find it funny.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35And I remember watching it with my father,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38and we would find it funny
0:02:38 > 0:02:41because, you know, it felt quite real.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45The thing about comedy, if you can't hold these bigots up to light
0:02:45 > 0:02:48and make fun of them, then you're missing the point.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I ain't daft, you know? I ain't bloody stupid.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53No, but you do a very good imitation.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57For the un-PC-ness of it all, I thought it was a brave show.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59I thought it was a fantastically written show,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01but I think the genius of it
0:03:01 > 0:03:04was he, sort of, reflected the public consciousness,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06especially in London.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09And he was saying things that people were thinking, but not saying.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13If you look at the opening titles, there's that pull back,
0:03:13 > 0:03:14I seem to remember, from Tower Bridge,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and then it goes across and you look down into West Ham,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19and the docks are still there.
0:03:19 > 0:03:25It reflects a bit of working-class society that isn't there any more.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Not that working-class society isn't there,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30but that bit of East London isn't like that any more.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Right, showing them how to drink wine, ain't we?
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Cor, blimey!
0:03:43 > 0:03:45I've tasted better vinegar up the chip shop!
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Bloody marvellous!