HE is one of the most controversial characters to ever grace our TV screens, so what will today’s politically correct world make of the return of Alf Garnett?

 

Alf Garnett?

The fictional character is the central figure in the classic British sitcom Till death Us Do Part, its follow-on and spin-off series Till Death... and In Sickness and in Health, with the various series airing from 1965 to the early 1990s.

 

He was controversial?

Played by late London-born actor, Warren Mitchell, Garnett was a big-mouthed buffoon with reactionary opinions on everything, squabbling with his wife, Elsie, played by Dandy Nichols, son-in-law Mike, played by Tony Booth, and daughter Rita, played by Una Stubbs.

 

It made history?

Deemed controversial from the beginning, Till Death Us Do Part was one of the first BBC shows in the 1960s to feature the swear word "bloody," which was broadcast 1,436 times during the first seven seasons.

 

And?

Comments by working class Tory voting bigoted Garnett - who would moan about “bloody foreigners” and believed women belonged “chained to the kitchen sink” - were often the cause of the BBC switchboard being jammed after shows aired, with viewers complaining about the remarks, but the late writer, Johnny Speight, said the idea was to explore themes such as sexism and racism through satire, adding: "If you do the character correctly, he just typifies what you hear - not only in pubs but in golf clubs around the country. To make him truthful he's got to say those things, and they are nasty things. But I feel as a writer that they should be out in the open so we can see how daft these comparisons are."

 

Now?

That's TV, available on Freeview and Sky, is re-airing the long-running sitcom across the coming months, including four episodes which have not been seen in half a century. The Alf Garnett season airs on Sunday nights at 9pm on the channel, featuring more than 80 episodes of Till Death Us Do Part and its successor, In Sickness and in Health, including the "lost" episodes which have not been broadcast since going missing from the archives in the late 1960s.

 

It had a famous fan?

The Queen may well be tuning into the repeats as it was reportedly described by the Duke of Edinburgh as the Queen's "favourite show.”

 

It is at least a commentary?

That’s TV Head of Programming, Kris Vaiksalu, said: "At a time of great social change, Till Death Us Do Part set out to challenge ignorance and prejudice and in doing so became one of the most popular sitcoms in British history. Alf Garnett's antics provided compulsive viewing for four decades and That's TV is excited to have secured the rights to show every season of the show this Autumn. Whilst only a small number of the episodes from the 1960s still exist, they represent an extraordinary social commentary of the time.

"These episodes have a special place in television history and are of wider historic significance, with Alf Garnett rallying against the changing attitudes of the 1960s."