Simon Day to play Alf Garnett

Simon Day will play Alf Garnett in a BBC recreation of ‘Till Death Us Do Part’.
The ‘Fast Show’ star will portray the controversial character, originally played by Warren Mitchell, in a one-off episode, ‘A Woman’s Place Is In The Home’ – written by Johnny Speight – opposite ‘Boy Meets Girl’ actress Lizzie Roper, who will star as the patriarch’s long-suffering wife Else.
The episode, which also features Sydney Rae White as Alf’s daughter Rita and Carl Au as Rita’s husband Mike, will see Alf return home to find a burnt dinner before trying to put things right using his local telephone box.
As well as ‘Till Death Us Do Part’, the BBC is recreating two other classic shows, ‘Steptoe and Son’ and ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ as part of its ‘Lost Sitcoms’ series, which is so-called because the corporation still has the original scripts but the recordings have been lost from the BBC archives.
‘Drop the Dead Donkey’ star Jeff Rawle will portray Albert Steptoe alongside Ed Coleman as his character’s on-screen son Harold Steptoe in the recreation of ‘Steptoe and Son’, which originally aired from 1962 to 1965 and is written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
In the episode, entitled ‘A Winter’s Tale’, Harold wants to go on a skiing holiday but isn’t quite as keen for Albert to go with him.
Jon Culshaw will portray Sid James in ‘Hancock’s Half House’ – which began on BBC TV 60 years ago and is also written by Ray and Alan – opposite Kevin McNally as Tony Hancock, Katy Wix as Hattie Jacques, Kevin Eldon as John Vere and Robin Sebastian will appear as Kenneth Williams.
The episode, ‘The New Neighbour’, tells the story of Hancock’s new neighbour who has an unusual night-time routine.
Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy Commissioning, said: "When the originals were made and then lost, no-one knew they’d go on to be such classic and well-loved series. It feels rightful and respectful to bring them back to life with a new cast to be appreciated all over again for the brilliant writing they all contain."
The three sitcoms will be recorded with minimalist sets in front of a studio audience and air over BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four this summer.