TILL DEATH US DO PART

THE ORIGINAL GANG:

The show, which attracted up to 20million viewers, centred on the family of politically-incorrect working class patriarch Alf Garnett, played by Warren Mitchell.

It initially ran from 1966 to 1968 and then had a second run from 1972 to 1975 before spin-off In Sickness and in Health aired in the 1980s.

Mitchell began his career as a familiar voice on radio, including on Hancock’s Half Hour in the 1950s. So believable was he as Alf that even years later he was often stopped in the street by people who really thought he was the working-class, anti-semitic Tory bigot he portrayed.

In reality Mitchell was a lifelong socialist. The son of Russian Jews who had emigrated to Britain in 1910, his father was strict orthodox but his mother would feed him bacon sandwiches and took him to see bands. Mitchell died last year aged 89.

His co-star Dandy Nichols, who played Else, suffered rheumatoid arthritis during the peak of the show’s success but nonetheless agreed to reappear in its 1985 revival.

‘Scouse Git’ Mike Rawlins was played by Tony Booth – the father of Cherie Blair. Now 84, he has been married four times and has eight daughters. Twice-married Una Stubbs, 79, who played Alf’s daughter Rita, still makes occasional appearances on TV, having recently appeared in BBC series Sherlock and Call the Midwife.

THE REMAKE: Fast Show comedian Simon Day take on the role of Alf Garnett, with Call the Midwife star Lizzie Roper as Else. Sydney Rae White is his daughter Rita and soap star Carl Au plays Mike.