| Sumario: | This article examines the BBC television sitcomTill Death Us Do Part,a generational comedy programme that slowly evolved into a key site for the presentation of Britain’s prominent social fractures and divisive political culture in the 1960s and 1970s. Its initial series registered the growing separation between Britons who valued tradition, patriarchy, national supremacy, and the retention of strong British imperialism, and the progressive, permissive Britons of the liberal 1960s. Through debates between the hyperconservative Alf Garnett and his family, the programme explored how members of one working-class family imagined different futures for a nation in decline. The BBC championed the satirical wit of the programme’s writer, Johnny Speight, and his socially realistic depictions of working-class life. I argue that while the programme succeeded in providing connections for working-class audiences, the satirical comedy was not always effective. Instead, many viewers appreciated Alf’s intentionally racist and sexist rejection of the liberalism of the period because they identified with the working-class settings, problems and challenges the programme presented. A review of how the BBC managedTill Death, and the audience research they commissioned, demonstrates that audiences interpreted the divisive comedy in multiple ways, including approving of Alf’s bigotry.
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