"Seventies comedies would not be allowed on television screens today because they were so racist and offensive, the outgoing head of Ofcom has said. Ed Richards, who stands down as chief executive of the media watchdog at the end of this month, said programmes from a previous generation were no longer suitable for today’s more enlightened audiences. Although he did not name names, comedies like Love Thy Neighbour, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum and Mind Your Language have all been criticised in recent years for their racial stereotyping."

"It is without doubt the funniest series that David Croft and I wrote. Of course, it is also the show that we're not allowed to talk about any more"

"[On the casting of Michael Bates, a white actor, as the Indian bearer, Rangi Ram] At the time we found it impossible to find an Indian actor who could perform the role, to be perfectly honest [Query from the interviewer, Stuart Jeffries: "In a country of 500m people?"] Yes. But Michael was ideal for the role. He was born in India, spoke fluent Urdu, had been an officer in the Gurkhas and he'd served with the Chindits behind Japanese lines in Burma."

"People complain that the language was homophobic, and it was, but it was exactly how people spoke. And I should know - I was in a Royal Artillery concert party that travelled around India. We had a sergeant-major who hated us. He'd say: 'No man who puts on make-up and ponces about on a stage is normal - what are you?' 'We're a bunch of poofs!' we'd reply. And those experiences are ones that enabled me to write It Ain't Half Hot, Mum."

"Simon Cadell as the Narrator."

"Birdie sings the sweetest things; Bump The Elephant isn't quite as eloquent, 'Cos the sound gets tangled round In his trunkety trunk."

"Michael Gove looks like a PEZ dispenser possessed by a Victorian ghost."

"Anthony Howell - Palmer (hitman)"

"Hermione Norris - Vivien Lake"

"Patrick Malahide - George Cornelius"

"Enzo Cilenti - Jeremy Lake"

"Michael Smiley - Detective Sergeant Benny Silver"

"Rose Leslie - Detective Sergeant Emma Lane"

"Sienna Guillory - Mary Day"

"David Dawson - Toby Kent"

"David O'Hara - Detective Superintendent George Stark"

"Laura Haddock - Megan Cantor"

"Steven Mackintosh - Detective Chief Inspector Ian Reed"

"Warren Brown - Detective Sergeant Justin Ripley"

"Saskia Reeves - Detective Superintendent Rose Teller"

"Ruth Wilson - Alice Morgan"

"Darren Boyd - Detective Chief Inspector Theo Bloom"

"Idris Elba - Detective Chief Inspector John Luther"

"Wunmi Mosaku - Detective Sergeant Catherine Halliday"

"Indira Varma - Zoe Luther"

"Paul McGann - Mark North"

"Dermot Crowley - Detective Chief Inspector/Detective Superintendent Martin Schenk"

"Nikki Amuka-Bird - Detective Sergeant Erin Gray"

"Aimee-Ffion Edwards - Jenny Jones"

"Pam Ferris - Baba"

"Most 14-year-old boys in 1998 were fancying girls and playing football."

"I'm not like other boys..."

"No they're not, otherwise why would I like them so much?"

"Jim Moriarty - Andrew Scott"

"Mrs. Hudson - Una Stubbs"

"Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade - Rupert Graves"

"Molly Hooper - Loo Brealey"

"Mycroft Holmes - Mark Gatiss"

"I'm Sherlock Holmes, the world's only consulting detective. I'm not going to go into detail about how I do what I do because chances are you wouldn't understand. If you've got a problem that you want me to solve, then contact me. Interesting cases only please. This is what I do:"

"William Sherlock Scott Holmes - Benedict Cumberbatch"

"Dr. John Hamish Watson - Martin Freeman"

"In a game of naked Twister!"

"But we said that we’d be there so…"

"Kali: We’d obviously rather not go,"

"Marion: I’ll grope your baby sister,"

"‘Cause someone’s having unprotected… sex in the bath!"

"Kali: A queue for seven hours for the toilet,"

"Marion: The girls will find out if they got their boobs out,"

"Nelson: We might be glad we came along,"

"But really we’ll hate every minute"