Scriptwriter Johnny Speight, who created television anti-hero Alf Garnett, has died after a short illness. He was 78.

The comedy author died at his home in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. He had been suffering from cancer of the pancreas.

Revered in comedy circles for his fearless defiance of political correctness, Speight was best known for his series Till Death Us Do Part featuring arch-reactionary Alf Garnett.

The series, and its sequel In Sickness and in Health, have become comedy classics.

The BBC led the tributes to Speight.Paul Jackson, Controller of Entertainment for the BBC, said: "There are very few writers who can claim to have created a character who embodied a spirit of a generation.

"Johnny Speight did this with Alf Garnett. He will always be remembered as the man who created a comic icon for the age."

The son of a dock worker, Speight was born and brought up in a Victorian terraced house in Canning Town.

He left school at 14 and spent his teenage years as a factory worker before realising he wanted to break into showbusiness. A passion for jazz led to the start of his entertainment career.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.