i spend three month live in the east end of london in the latter half of 1987 and when the show have be on the air for almost two year . it be consider a run joke there . why . because it have an all white cast . every cast member and extra in the first couple of year be white . the street where i live be a long one and with over 800 house and and to the best of my knowledge i be one of only three or four white face living on that street . we be on the corner of the indian and turkish quarter and and even if you exclude those two race the asian and afro caribbean outnumber the white people twenty to one . plus and of course and of the very few white people who do live in the area and the vast majority be scot like me a cockney accent be never hear . that wasn not a racist rant and just a simple statement of fact . the bbc either couldn not be bother cross london to do their research before write this soap and or else they only have white actor available and decide to bluff it out . either way and a i say and in the east end of the time and we consider it a comedy show . represent ) .