‘Allo ‘Allo ‘spoke to core differences between Britain and European neighbours’
People seeking to explain Brexit have looked to Winston Churchill and the 16th century English reformation but they may just as well have looked to Captain Mainwaring and Basil Fawlty, according to an expert.
That, argues the historian Prof Gavin Schaffer, is because tone of British sitcoms from the 60s, 70s and 80s – such as Fawlty Towers, Dad’s Army and ‘Allo ‘Allo! – give an insight into parts of the sense of identity and political culture that contributed to the vote to leave the European Union in 2016.