To celebrate the 5th Birthday of The Daily Constitutional, our editor has compiled a list of 101 things to love about London…
14/101. Wolfie SmithIt all began in Tooting.
Sitcom writer John Sullivan created one of the best-loved British sitcoms of them all with his Peckham-set Only Fools And Horses. The picaresque-meets-pearly king adventures of Del Boy and Rodney are etched deep in the nation’s affections.
But for Sullivan, it all began in Tooting with Citizen Smith, his BBC sitcom that ran from 1977 – 1980.
Robert Lindsay starred as Walter “Wolfie” Smith, the Che Guevara of South London and leader of The Tooting Popular Front. Hapless, faintly dodgy, with an unshakeable vision of his own greatness (in many ways Wolfie is a proto-Del Boy, only from the other end of the political spectrum) his antics were required viewing back in the glory days when we only had three channels to watch in this country.
Here are the opening credits, featuring Wolfie’s catchphrase “Power to the People!” (We are sure that if you ask nicely, Rex will do a fair approximation of Wolfie’s battle cry on his next Tooting walk…)
A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
