Heil Honey I'm Home!, a sitcom depicting Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun living next door to a Jewish couple, aired just one episode before being pulled off-air. The show was originally commissioned for eight episodes, but the others never aired following the backlash it received.
Pilot Aired After Dad's Army
The panned pilot aired after Dad's Army on a Sunday night in September 1990. Set in 1938 Berlin, it followed the Hitlers living next door to a Jewish couple, the Goldensteins. The show parodied classic US sitcoms by featuring American accents and has been dubbed "perhaps the world's most tasteless situation comedy."
The first minute shows Hitler (Neil McCaul) enter the room and shout 'Heil, honey, I'm home' to his wife Eva Braun, played by Denica Fairman. The episode consists of references to invading Poland, with Adolf described as either a "very very bad Hitler" or a "naughty Hitler."
Plot and Backlash
Adolf reveals to Eva that he expects a visit from Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, played by Patrick Cargill, who later makes Adolf sign the Munich Agreement vowing not to invade Europe to keep peace. Viewers can pick up on Hitler's hatred for his neighbours, who seem happy to live next door to the Führer, as he is also referred to in the episode. Adolf tells his wife: "If I was to invade Poland, who would be the first to know? Rosa Goldenstein" as he tries to keep the Prime Minister's visit a secret from them.
Eva tells Rosa about the visit as she tries to slyly boast about her husband's career, and Rosa then plans to meet Chamberlain along with her husband and even introduce him to her niece Ruth, played by Laura Brattan. The chaotic episode features everything from Nazi salutes to references to the Polish invasion, and at one point all five characters do the Conga around Hitler's living room.
While British TV writer Geoff Atkinson's intention behind the show was to "turn the bully into a joke," and not to cause offence, the show wasn't well received. The Board of Deputies of British Jews were among the most vocal critics. A spokesperson for the organisation said: "We are against any trivialisation of the Second World War, Hitler or the Holocaust and this certainly trivialises those things. It's very distasteful."
Cancellation and Legacy
The filming of the series was cancelled following the pilot when commissioning company British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was taken over by Rupert Murdoch's Sky Television in November 1990. The BBC claimed that: "The cast and crew contracts were retired and Sky made 'a commercial decision' to focus on US-based comedies rather than controversial home-grown shows."
The one episode that ever made it to air is still available to watch on YouTube, where it has amassed more than 1 million views. Atkinson has previously stated he was aware of the sensitivities around the show but wanted to create something original for BSB. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he said: "One was to laugh at bullies. It seems like the right thing to do; as we speak, somebody's probably writing a Trump sitcom. I would love to write a Trump sitcom. Another goal was looking at the sitcom genre. This show was staged like it was the 1950s. We had to ape the American sitcom brilliantly - be American and not be American."
Atkinson insisted "the last thing we wanted was to offend" and added: "Everyone was aware of the sensitivities; the last thing we wanted was to offend. At the time, the channel wanted something fresh, and there was a sense of 'as long as it's original and something you can defend it, you should say it.' I don't think we entirely delivered. There's an awful lot I'd do differently."
Cast Reactions and Careers
Atkinson's creation was defended by Rosa Goldenstein actor Caroline Gruber on BBC Culture, who says she found the script funny and had "tears pouring down my cheeks" reading it. She said: "Because of this experience, I was sensitive about doing anything that was offensive or upsetting. I didn't think Heil Honey was either – I thought it was so funny. When I was reading through the scripts for the other episodes that Geoff had written, I couldn't get through them, I had tears pouring down my cheeks. I was of the opinion – and still am now – that within reason, people should take risks. If it's funny, if it works, it's OK."
McCaul, who played the dictator, has previously said he doesn't get involved in conversations about the controversial show after being "badly burned" in the past, but he has continued to work in the industry appearing in films and shows including Time After Time, Father Ted and Gnomeo and Juliet. Gruber also continued to work in the entertainment industry appearing in theatre, and in 2017 she starred in Disobedience, which follows a story of a disgraced Jewish woman who returns home uninvited.
Eva Braun star Denica Fairman has appeared in sci-fi series Captain Star, Sleepers and musical Feed Me, while Gareth Marks, who played Arny Goldenstein, believes his career wasn't affected by appearing on the show as "so few people saw it." He has gone on to star in major projects such as Bridget Jones's Diary, Bugs, Mile High and even Netflix original The Crown. He said: "Nobody ever mentioned it in auditions. If they saw it on my CV they might ask about it, but it didn't affect my career at all. I think it was because so few people actually saw it."
Brattan, who played Ruth, went on to appear in Tomorrow Never Dies and Menace. Cargill, who portrayed Chamberlain, died at the age of 77 after suffering from a brain tumour. He had been in a car accident the year before his death in 1995 in Australia, which led to false reports that his death was a result of the hit and run.
