Black and white or colour ..good TV is never racist; EXCLUSIVE EastEnder defends shows.

Byline: By STEVE HENDRY

EASTENDERS star Rudolph Walker went on the attack yesterday to support two of his shows which have been branded racist.

He voiced his pride in the hit sitcoms Love Thy Neighbour and The Crouches and claimed the critics were prejudiced, not the programmes.

Rudolph, 63, who plays Patrick Trueman in the Albert Square soap, said: 'Good TV is good TV... it doesn't matter what colour it is.

'We live in a multi-racial society, so let's see more multi-racial television so that it doesn't become an issue.

'The sad part about it is that because there are not enough programmes like The Crouches, they had to home in on that one 'It should be the norm rather than, 'Here comes a black series'.'

The Trinidad-born actor was one of the stars of Love Thy Neighbour when it first aired in 1972. In the years since it has been lambasted for some of its racist language.

More than 30 years later, The Crouches by Rab C. Nesbitt writer Ian Pattison was accused of pandering to prejudice with its portrayal of a black family.

But award-winning star Rudolph says: 'I have no regrets whatsoever.

'Love Thy Neighbour was a huge hit in the 1970s, the talk of the town.

'In terms of ratings it was never out of the top two for all the episodes we did.'

Love Thy Neighbour's comedy derived from white bigot Eddie Booth (Jack Smethurst) and his racist rows with his West Indian neighbour Bill Reynolds, played by Rudolph.

It ran for six series, even making it to the big screen for a film version.

But these days, its way of poking fun at racism by using phrases such as 'nig-nog', 'sambo' and 'white honky' makes it seem very politically incorrect and out of date.

At the end of last year The Crouches billed as the BBC's first black comedy followed the life of a family living in South London.

It drew criticism because its writer, Pattison, is a white Glaswegian and it was accused of using racial stereotypes.

And one critic said it was 'as funny as a carjacking'.

Rudolph, who played Grandpa Langley, disagrees.

He said: 'I am proud of it. Let's face it, there is not a single successful TV comedy which was not slated by the critics in the first series.

'The Crouches had almost three million viewers for each episode and that has to be a great compliment.

'It can only get better and it will get better if they do it again and I sincerely hope they do so. I think it's terrific.

'I'm a great fan of Ian Pattison's writing.'

In EastEnders, Rudolph's character, old rogue Patrick, is about to get serious.

With his screen partner Yolande Duke played by Angela Wynter he will look into becoming foster parents for a teenage runaway. The plot ties in with the BBC's Taking Care season, which focuses on the care system.

Rudolph said: 'Fostering is a reflection on the relationship between Patrick and Yolande.

'It's something they want because together they haven't got kids of their own.

'The story ties in with Taking Care but it could run and run. We can't prejudge what is going to happen.'

Rudolph, who is married to second wife Dounne in real life, welcomes the chance to get his teeth into the fostering storyline and he has meticulously researched the subject.

He said: 'Where I come from, the term fostering is not even in the vocabulary. We have what's called extended family. Your gran or aunt or good neighbour you would call auntie would just take care of the kids.

'Here, it's all different. We have all sorts of labels, such as fostering, psychiatrists.

'You hear about the hardship of kids and wish you could do something.

'What a lot of kids need is a role model and I'd like to think Angela and I play our part in that by our presence on TV and also by going to visit schools.'

Rudolph is a frequent visitor to Trinidad, which he left at 19 to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

Since joining EastEnders in September 2001, he has enjoyed the sort of recognition he last savoured in Love Thy Neighbour 30 years ago.

He explained: 'The power of EastEnders is far greater than Love Thy Neighbour.

'You are talking about an 15 to 16 million viewers per episode. That's an awful lot of people looking.

'In Love Thy Neighbour we did 13 episodes a year but this is on almost every night. It's a huge difference.

'I'm recognised more now. On public transport, it's not just one individual who homes in on you, it is the whole carriage. And you just have to get up and move.'

CAPTION(S):

Support: Ian Pattison; A star is reborn: Rudolph as; Patrick, above, in EastEnders with Yolande (Angela Wynter) and, left, with Jack Smethurst in Love Thy Neighbour