Poor Else Ramsey has to put up with her husband Alf's insistence that his 30-year old watch keeps better time than Big Ben. She also has her newly-married daughter Rita and son-in-law Mike to worry about, living in their household as they can't afford the down-payment on a home of their own. However, Mike has come up with a winning plan - to raise the money by taking out a life insurance policy on Alf's life. Broadcast under the Comedy Playhouse brand on 22nd July 1965, this one-off 25-minute play led to a series commission of 'Till Death Us Do Part.'
Incensed by Mike's comments about his home, Alf takes himself off to the pub to drown his sorrows.
An argument about clothes turns into one about Alf's baldness, of which he is particularly sensitive. After being caught trying one of Rita's wigs he resorts to a fearsome concoction to try to induce his hair to grow. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
Mike tries to help Alf out when he forgets his 25th wedding anniversary - but no good deed goes unpunished!
After a bit of a fracas at the European Cup Winners Cup in Glasgow, Alf returns home with a black eye and no voice.
To raise the deposit money for a home for himself and Rita, Mike tries to sell the Garnett house. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
Mike’s Irish parents are staying with the Garnetts, much to Alf’s annoyance. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
The Garnetts drive to the west of England for a holiday in an isolated old cottage. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
As the Garnetts celebrate Christmas, Alf berates Rita and Mike for only giving him 'Whiffs' as opposed to real cigars and second-rate socks - whilst they have bought Else a dress - and accuses his atheist son of hypocrisy.
Alf and the family discuss a TV documentary on free love while wallpapering the living room.
Mike challenges Alf to see who can give up smoking the longest. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
Charity appeals and an argument about the Vietnam war are interrupted by a driver parking his lorry outside. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
Mike has been getting increased dole money by making out that Alf is a heartless money-grabbing landlord. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
Alf arrives home to an empty house and burnt supper and tries to use the local phone box to remedy the situation. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive but a remake of the original was made in 2016 under a series called "Lost Sitcoms".
Alf claims Edward VIII was a friend of his father who used to attend the local football matches. The only surviving clip from this episode is of the Garnetts discussing the royal picture. This was shown on the 1972 Late Night Line-Up Special on Johnny Speight.
Alf is ill in bed while everyone else is downstairs enjoying the television. A visit from the decrepit Dr. Kelly results in a verdict of "nothing wrong with you", so Alf sets off in search of a second opinion.
Alf is enraged to learn that Harold Wilson is to play host to the Russian president. Even worse, he reads that the Queen will have to meet this Bolshevik heathen - something that ought not to happen to someone who is descended from God.
Alf lectures everyone on the benefits of Mary Whitehouse's edifying new book - a rhapsody that is abruptly interrupted when the diarrhoea from which he's suffering flares up. At that point he discoverers that their loo isn't working due to Else's tea leaves...
In a star-studded Bank Holiday episode, the Garnett clan gather in the pub joined by a bunch of famous faces, but Alf makes sure things are far from peaceful.
Alf wins £17 on the horses only to find out that Mike couldn't place the bet as the phone box was occupied. He is soft-soaped into believing that getting a telephone installed is in his own best interests, but he soon finds out it's anything but.
Sensing cowardice, Mike tries to talk Alf into giving blood. Despite Alf's concerns about who his blood would be given to, he's finally convinced to do it on a five bob bet.
It’s a lonely night for Alf when the family desert him for a New Year’s Eve party across the street. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
When the elderly lady across the road dies, Alf takes it upon himself to organise the “send off”. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
Alf’s football expertise is put to the test when the vicar asks him to coach the local junior team. This episode no longer exists in the BBC Archive.
Alf buys a mongrel pup in the pub and it soon becomes an unwelcome addition to the Garnett household. The last 6 minutes of this episode survives in the BBC Archive from a domestic home recording.
Dr. Kelly prescribes bed rest for a poorly Else, so her sister Maud moves in to look after things. When Alf makes his contempt more than plain, he finds out he's got to fend for himself or starve. Much of this episode survives from a domestic home recording - only the first four minutes and the closing credits are missing.
The film version of Till Death Do Us Part tells the story of Alf Garnett and his family living through the London Blitz and into the Swinging Sixties.
A coming together of Johnny Speight's 'Till Death Us Do Part' and 'Curry and Chips' series, broadcast as part of the BBC Election Night 1970 coverage. It's voting day for the General Election. After casting his vote staunch conservative Alf visits his local pub and launches out on a drunken tirade about Harold Wilson and the evils of a Labour government. Only a shortened 28 minute low quality black and white copy remains of this episode.
A short sketch broadcast as part of BBC1's Christmas Night With The Stars. Alf and Else await news of the birth of their first grandchild, with Alf anxious for it to be born on Christmas Day so that he can receive a telegram from the Queen.
With the Garnetts' Wapping home demolished, Alf and his family are installed in a high-rise council flat. Alf struggles with "living in the sky", using lifts (which frequently break down due to power cuts "caused by the striking miners") and walking long distances to the local pub. Alf also swallows LSD thinking it's a sugar cube and walks across his neighbours balcony handrail. The film was the second spin-off from the BBC TV series Till Death Us Do Part. It starts where the first film finished, but with Paul Angelis and Adrienne Posta now playing Mike and Rita, the roles previously played by Antony Booth and Una Stubbs.
Rita gives birth to a baby son and Alf, eventually - as he would rather be in the pub wetting the baby's head - goes to visit her in hospital.
Alf's in the money; celebrating at the pub he meets a friend and thinks he has a sure-fire way of making some more.
The Garnetts decide it's time they got away from the trials and tribulations of the East End and jump on a train for a holiday. It's not long, however, before loud-mouthed Alf gets on everyone's nerves by taking a swipe at women's lib.
Even at the breakfast table Alf is on his high horse, mouthing off about how the government should put looters and thieves up against the wall and shoot them. However, when he gets to work and found that Else has got her own back on him by putting nothing in his lunch-box, he faces an ethical dilemma: steal or starve?
Alf decides that his new-born grandson will follow Bobby Moore into the No. 6 shirt at West Ham.
Alf learns that Else has taken out an insurance policy just before he slips on the polished floor and breaks his leg.
Alf and the family tune into the Royal Variety Performance broadcast on the TV. Performed live on stage at the Royal Variety Performance on 30th October 1972.
1972 Christmas Special. It's Christmas Eve and Alf still has no present for Else. The black man selling cheap British watches looks like being a life saver but maybe Alf should have held back on the racist insults before buying.
Alf doesn't think he needs a TV licence if he only wants to watch commercial TV.
Alf tries to organise a street party in celebration of the Royal Wedding. Unfortunately nobody else seems interested. This episode master copy no longer exists in the BBC Archive and exists as an "off-air" copy only.
The Garnett’s game of Monopoly is disrupted by a blackout.
Else decides to act on Mr Heath's advice and begins her own 'Save It' campaign.
With Gran apparently at death’s door, Alf feels she would want him to have her valuable watch.
Alf is feeling the effects of the demon drink and Else is not convinced that it's the single glass of port or the sausages that's making him ill.
Alf meets his new neighbour in the pub … an Irish Pakistani with Irish Roots!
'Marvellous innit? Just because her sister feels ill, Florence "Silly Moo" Nightingale wants to pack her lamp and dash all the way out to bloody Australia!
With Else now in Australia, who will cook Alf his dinner when he gets home from work?
Bert takes refuge in Alf's home when his wife loses her temper.
Min and Bert take part in the usual Garnett living room discussion about politics and foreigners.
Alf, Minnie and Bert have returned from Minnie's mother's funeral and Alf has a shocking cough.
Alf is desperately trying to work out the local hostelry's Christmas club accounts.
Else has written to Rita suggesting she, Mike and the baby join her in Australia.
With no sign of Else ever coming back to England, Alf decides to put his house on the market, though with Rita and Mike as sitting tenants, this creates a problem.
Alf, having moved in with his next-door neighbours, is becoming increasingly disenchanted with the set-up.
Alf, drunk in charge of a bike, is arrested by a black policeman... and is seen by a black doctor.
When Mike points out that the windows at the Garnett house have not been washed in years, Alf decides to save money and clean them himself rather than bring in a professional.
Alf and Bert take up golf - with particular emphasis on 19th hole activities.
Alf is not a happy bigot. He has lost his job and returns to an empty and dark house. And all on his birthday too. He fears that he has been burgled but in fact the lights go on and friends and neighbours are ready to spring a happy birthday surprise on him.
'They ration me to 25 bloodies a script but I did a deal... ' A film portrait of the creator of Alf Garnett.
Writer and comedian Arthur Smith presents a documentary exploring the character of Alf Garnett, who first appeared on British television screens in 1966 in Till Death Us Do Part and has been causing controversy ever since. In Alf Garnett, writer Johnny Speight created a character who was both loved and loathed. As he pointed out generational conflict and political and racial tensions, some accused the show of blasphemy and incitement to racial hatred. Others praised it for satirising prejudice, while still others loved the character for his views. This programme features news and entertainment footage from the sixties, classic clips from Till Death Us Do Part, and interviews with cast members Warren Mitchell, Una Stubbs and Tony Booth, writer Johnny Speight and committed opponent of the show Mary Whitehouse.
Mapping the stories behind some of comedy's most enduring shows, beginning with Till Death Us Do Part. Bursting onto screens on 6 June 1966, it became one of the most controversial sitcoms of all time. At the heart of the show was writer Johnny Speight 's masterpiece - the foul-mouthed bigot Alf Garnett. marvellously portrayed by Warren Mitchell. The actor talks about the show here, along with Antony Booth and Una Stubbs.
In this episode of Till Death Us Do Part originally broadcast in 1967, Alf arrives home to find that a burnt supper is the least of his worries.
A look at the impact of Alf Garnett, with contributions from Graham Linehan, Lee Mack and Simon Day.
