RIP Warren Mitchell

Oh I didn't know. He'll always be the unforgettable Alf Garnett.

A very good actor.

He was great as Alf Garnett - and Dandy Nicholls was brilliant as his wife too.

I wonder what would be the reaction if they repeated episodes of Till Death do us Part now? The PC brigade would be out in force
And that cheeky laugh of his.
He had a good long life.

I agree Tricia the PC brigade would go apoplectic.

I love watching Citizen Khan who is equally controversial but he seems to get away with it.

I am a Brummie and never mind if any teases me about my beginnings.

Humour is very different nowadays.

I think it would be great if Till Death Do Us Part was repeated. I was a bit too young first time around.

The actress Dandy Nicholls stayed at my mum's B and B in Stratford upon Avon in the 1960s. She was a very refined lady nothing like her character in TDUDP.

Cherie Blair's father played her son or son in law, can't remember now.

The BBC is far too PC to allow it to very shown now.

I think Tony Booth was son-in-law. I agree that the programme is too politically correct for our rather more sensitive times, but the Carry-On films have been revived after a while in the wilderness. I live in hope!

I couldn't stand that programme, it really made me cringe.

Alf reminded my of my FiL. He was a Londoner too.

At the time I thought it was funny but I remember feeling uncomfortable to learn that, rather than laughing at the ridiculous, ignorant and obnoxious statements that Alf Garnett made, some people agreed with his views and watched the programme because it gave voice to their own prejudices. Ditto Rigby in "Rising Damp".

Watching a fairly recent TV programme about what was acceptable in the 70's I was surprised to see the character of Rhea from "Butterflies" (which I also remember quite enjoying) expressing her wish for more excitement in her life by exclaiming:

"I'd like to run across a field naked, shouting "Rape me! Rape me"!

It was amazing to me that we would have thought that funny and there were apparently no complaints at the time. I can't imagine that it would be considered acceptable now and I'm rather pleased about that.

I also remember that the "Black and White Minstrel Show" was thought to be just harmless entertainment, whereas now I think the vast majority of people would find blacking up white singers and painting exaggerated features on them is objectionable - at least I hope so.

I believe people's attitudes - and language reflecting those attitudes - are continually changing and it has always been so. If "political correctness", as it is now known, brought about the demise of words like "nig-nog" "coon", "poof" and "queer", I personally think that's a good thing.

Have attitudes really changed? Or are the old ones still there, but suppressed, because of fear of prosecution?

I thin Rhea's line quoted above was a perfect expression of desperation - and she never said that she wanted anyone to heed her request... just to express her frustrations at being trapped in soggy suburban domesticity. I'd forgotten what a good series Butterflies was

I expect for some people that is true TriciaF and perhaps it is only when such people feel they are "safe" to express certain opinions, i.e. when they are in the company of people with similar ideas, that their true feelings are revealed. Or they just go along with the views of the people around them because they don't feel confident enough to challenge them, even though they might normally find their opinions unpalatable.

But I think there must have been some movement in attitudes to enable homosexuality to be de-criminalised and anti-discrimination and equality legislation introduced. I believe that no government would bring in measures that they knew were overwhelmingly out of step with public opinion.

Even if it is true that, deep down, many people have the same prejudiced attitudes as in the past, that surely makes it even more essential that laws prevent them from exercising those prejudices to the detriment of other people?