OPINION: This present would land the writers in jail if made now.
Love Thy Neighbour ran for eight collection on ITV (Picture: Publicity Image)
I’m a giant fan of traditional British comedies and have watched and written about them extensively through the years. Clearly, I respect that a lot of them are “of their period” and comprise issues which can be deemed unacceptable or distasteful when seen by means of a contemporary gaze. Regardless of this, I’m not a fan of set off warnings on traditional exhibits, and I’ve by no means seen something actually irredeemable that would not be proven once more in any context till I watched ITV’s Nineteen Seventies sitcom Love Thy Neighbour. If you’re not aware of the premise, it follows a white working-class couple, Eddie (performed by Jack Smethurst) and Joan Sales space (Kate Williams), residing in Twickenham, whose next-door neighbours are a black couple, Invoice (Rudolph Walker) and Barbie Reynolds (Nina Baden-Semper).
Whereas the 2 girls strike up a friendship, Eddie is unable to maneuver previous his racist beliefs. In the meantime, Invoice provides pretty much as good as he will get, and his anti-white sentiments are on a par together with his neighbours’ anti-black views. The ITV comedy ran for eight seasons from 1972 till 1976 – a complete of 53 episodes -, so it clearly had an viewers, however inside minutes of watching an episode from the primary season, I used to be legitimately contemplating messaging my editor and telling her I could not write this piece. It truthfully takes quite a bit to shock me, however listening to the identical (unrepeatable) racial slur used again and again and over was extremely draining – and that was simply minutes in. There’s completely no method this may very well be edited out in the event that they tried to make it extra acceptable for a contemporary broadcast. It takes quite a bit to depart me speechless, however this succeeded.
The character of Eddie was not one to carry again when it got here to his emotions about black folks, and his perspective decreased them to stereotypes. That is to not say Invoice is any higher – he throws out loads of insulting phrases of his personal aimed toward his illiberal white neighbour. The writers of the present apparently described it as “mutual racism” however in actuality it’s simply deeply uncomfortable viewing.
The one smart characters are Joan and Barbie, who do not permit their husbands’ prejudices to get in the way in which of their friendship. Each girls are extremely likeable and have some pretty scenes collectively, that are simply overshadowed by the fixed move of abuse from the male characters.
In his 2024 autobiography, Rudolph Walker, who presently stars in BBC’s EastEnders as Patrick Truman, defended the present, saying it was about “a black man and a white man being damned silly”. He said he has “no regrets” in regards to the position and claimed it was a “huge stepping stone” which allowed him to change into the primary Black actor to have a significant half in a prime-time British sitcom.
That is as could also be, however at what worth? Eddie undoubtedly feels just like the genesis of lots of the excessive far-right supporters on social media these days. I do not understand how lengthy it’s since Rudolph rewatched the present, nevertheless it actually doesn’t maintain up properly – and is borderline harmful in its attitudes.
Sure, it was made in an period when Britain was struggling to return to phrases with mass immigration – a problem that’s nonetheless related in 2026. Nonetheless, not solely may this not get made right this moment, in case you wrote many of the dialogue featured within the scripts, you’ll be arrested for a hate crime.
Criticism of the present is not a brand new phenomenon. In 1972, Philip Jones, who commissioned it for Thames Tv, acknowledged that it acquired poor opinions. Alongside that, teachers have analysed the present to loss of life. And the truth that the forged are nonetheless having to defend it 50 years later proves this is not merely mildly offensive or controversial.
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This is not simply extraordinarily racist – it’s fuelling the concept black immigrants are problematic and that prejudice is justified. To present it the advantage of the doubt, I additionally watched an episode from the fifth collection and the eighth to see if it discovered its toes and toned it down a bit. Whereas the racial slurs did appear much less frequent because the collection progressed, they had been nonetheless horrifically prevalent.
The irony is that in moments when nobody was utilizing racial slurs there have been some humorous scenes and there a few plotlines with good potential. However they’re overshadowed by the overwhelming bigotry. Had this been written about neighbours who did not get on, reasonably than specializing in race, it may have been a watchable present.
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