Prof Gavin Schaffer says, “Listening very carefully to ’Allo ’Allo! reveals a story of a nation that remains unready for further European integration” (Sitcoms reveal culture that contributed to Brexit vote, says historian, 4 July).
Michelle “Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only wernce” Dubois of the Resistance would be proud to know a minor variation of her catchphrase has found its way into a commentary about the alleged influence of ’Allo ’Allo! and other sitcoms on Brexit and the UK’s relationship with Europe.
I find it hard to believe that David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd would agree with the professor’s contention. The show mainly spoofed the late 1970s BBC One series Secret Army, even to the extent of parodying certain characters and storylines from episodes of that drama. Their device of having all the non-British characters speaking in heavily accented, theatrical French/German/Italian English avoided the need to use multiple languages. That also fitted well with their parodying of British war films and other TV wartime dramas in which Germans used the “Ve hev veys of making you talk” dialogue, one of the best exponents of that being Derren Nesbitt in 1968’s Where Eagles Dare.
’Allo ’Allo! undoubtedly did influence British culture in one way. It provided a good belly laugh on Saturday nights, and, on Monday mornings, productivity would be lowered as co-workers had chats about the best jokes, while trying to overcome the grimness of life under Thatcher’s government. Plus ça change!
Paul F Faupel
Somersham, Cambridgeshire
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