People of my background
You know, very poor East End people
It was a phenomenon
I mean, we couldn’t afford a motor car, it was out of the question
Television, euhm, a refrigerator was an unnecessary luxury
We all had our milk floating in water and butter, it didn’t matter
but television? Oh, it was like the 8th wonder of the world
But of course there were certain reservations about it
We all thought that we had to sit completely in the dark because we’d all go blind
I think some of the programmes… It was BBC only in them days
and of course some of the programmes were a little bit above our heads
They were a little bit higher brow, slightly middle class, you know?
We didn’t really mind that because it was a fantasy
We got away from that kitchen sink
And it made us feel like we was escaping from that kitchen sink

A funny thing about the people in the East End
We’ve got a very high standard of good morals
And people think, you know, if you make it crude…
I mean, I didn’t like the plays…
I think most writers thought then they had to shock us
Now, I didn’t mind being shocked with the unreal
I don’t mind being shocked with a man coming out of a coffin…
I think they thought they had to shock us
And I think that’s where it went a bit… funny.

Sore eyes, you’ve been watching the old telly last night?
But gradually, you know, we got used to it