Let's Talk about Alf Lost Sitcoms

I liked him. The thing is, most people go, "Oh, he's terrible."

But I was... I was along the lines of,

something about him that you find engaging and you sort of...

you find him amusing, even though he's an absolutely horrific person.

What's so bloody special

about digging a bit of coal out of the ground, eh?

Cor, blimey, I mean anyone can do that.

Even your fuzzy wuzzies in the jungle, they can do that...

I think Alf Garnett was a genius creation,

and he gave expression to some pretty radical, er...views.

That's the trouble with this country, we're too bloody soft!

We'll never have a proper democracy here,

unless we shoot a few people, like your Russians!

If you examine Alf Garnett, he's an idiot.

He's a half-educated half-wit, really.

And, of course, if you look at what he says,

it's just, you know, it doesn't hold up for a minute.

But he was convinced, and he was a bigot,

and he had these strong views,

and he was a monstrous, hilarious comedy creation.

Alf Garnett's wife, she was... Actually,

she looked as though she was very subordinate to him,

and she was actually as tough as old boots.

And she had things to say.

And because she didn't say them very often,

they came out really strongly.

Anyway, it ain't supposed to be a perfect world, is it?

Cos he's always said he would send down things to try us.

Like you.

The daughter,

played by Una Stubbs,

she was a wonderful contrast

to her shouty husband, you know, argumentative husband.

So the two women there, in a way, were the peacemakers.

I felt very sorry for Johnny Speight, because he got a hard...

Unfortunately, people can't tell the difference between...

between a satire of someone and the real thing.

And I thought that he had a hard time because of that character,

but it was obvious that he was trying to make a comment on racism.

How would you like it if I called you a yid?

Where it becomes a grey area is,

obviously, if that person is funny...

but we like them. And let's face it,

we have to like them, cos they're the central part of a sitcom.

So there's no getting around it - Alf Garnett was liked as a person,

otherwise he wouldn't have survived so long.

And there's no getting around it - he was phenomenally racist.

But I did find it funny.

And I remember watching it with my father,

and we would find it funny

because, you know, it felt quite real.

The thing about comedy, if you can't hold these bigots up to light

and make fun of them, then you're missing the point.

I ain't daft, you know? I ain't bloody stupid.

No, but you do a very good imitation.

For the un-PC-ness of it all, I thought it was a brave show.

I thought it was a fantastically written show,

but I think the genius of it

was he, sort of, reflected the public consciousness,

especially in London.

And he was saying things that people were thinking, but not saying.

If you look at the opening titles, there's that pull back,

I seem to remember, from Tower Bridge,

and then it goes across and you look down into West Ham,

and the docks are still there.

It reflects a bit of working-class society that isn't there any more.

Not that working-class society isn't there,

but that bit of East London isn't like that any more.

Right, showing them how to drink wine, ain't we?

Cor, blimey!

I've tasted better vinegar up the chip shop!

Bloody marvellous!