Till Death Us Do Part is back on TV. But what is it like to watch it for the first time in 2022?

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This magnetic talent makes what happens next harder to swallow. Garnett pays a visit to the doctor and is horrified to be treated by a black man. References to the jungle and primitives escalate into words less amenable to print, and the laugh track roars on. Speight called this social commentary, but Garnetts the one telling the jokes. Thomas Baptiste playing the doctor doesnt get the opportunity to challenge or mock the old racist; his skin is a prop in someone elses comedy show.

Theres a sense that Mitchell plays Alf Garnett a little too well. He reels off grotesque racial slurs with such vim that I felt embarrassed just watching alone at home. Ive heard people reference Alf Garnett uncritically, affectionately even my second-hand impression was of a loveable British eccentric akin to Peggy Mitchell. Is this the same block? It says something about the effectiveness of Speights satire if the intended target can be mistaken for its hero.

There are moments when the satire functions well. Socialist Scouser Mike (Anthony Booth), Garnetts son-in-law, is the main voice of dissent. He points out that Garnett himself is Jewish and his grandfather was called Solly Diamond. Garnetts vociferous denials are funny not simply because of Mitchells brilliant clownish performance, but because they demonstrate the absurdity behind his bigotry. But Garnett is rarely so unequivocally the butt of the joke, and Mikes protests often come across as whiney and humorless.

In State Visit, from the second series, Garnett is up in arms about the arrival of a Russian dignitary (Thursday 8 September, 9pm); hes enraged by an article in the Daily Mirror referring to Britain as a tiny offshore island, and apoplectic at Harold Wilson for rolling out the red carpet. These political rants are where Till Death Us Do Part hits its stride, emphasizing Garnetts silly prejudices and opening up space for smarter gags. Its here we see the comic legacy of Alf Garnett more clearly as a template for iconic sitcom characters such as Ricky Tomlinsons armchair critic Jim Royle, and even David Mitchells neurotic Mark Corrigan from Peep Show.

The great satirist Chris Morris, behind Brass Eye and The Day Today, once said of comedy: Are you doing an exotic display for the court, or are you trying to change something? The problem with Till Death Us Do Part is that, more often than not, its doing the former. Racism gets a cheap laugh and the wrong people nod along.

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