Cockney Wanker
Encyclopedia
Cockney Wanker is a character from Viz based on a stereotype
of the male Cockney
. He is a thief, conman and charlatan who speaks in impenetrable rhyming slang
and spends his days drinking, selling stolen or unworkable goods to passers-by on the streets and being violent to his wife. He wears lots of cheap gold
jewellery or Argos
bling and East End gangster dark glasses, and is often seen smoking a cigar
. Wanker's speciality is the buying and selling of cars, often buying one, selling it back to the same person at the same price and then waving his wad of cash declaring the transaction to have been "a nice little earner".
He is a lifelong racist complaining about "Sooties" yet showing reverence for Frank Bruno
; and a royalist, especially supporting the Queen Mother
: "Ninety Free she is. Ninety Free. Wan the bladdy war for us."
His appearance is based on that of a combination of Mike Reid
's character Frank Butcher from EastEnders
with perhaps some David Jason
's "Del Trotter" character from the sitcom Only Fools and Horses
, though the other characters in the strip can be seen to be similar to EastEnders characters, e.g. Shirl, his wife (Kathy Beale) and Lou, Shirl's mother (Lou Beale
).
Occasionally, Wanker's friends make an appearance in his strips. They also have offensive nicknames, for instance, Bastard, Cant and Shirl's brother, Arsehole, who once made a cameo when he asked Wanker to look after his son, Little Tosspot.
His name, as it contains an obscenity, is "spoonerised
" whenever featured on the front page of an issue of Viz, as it would be easily read by children who are otherwise not entitled to buy the magazine
. Hence he becomes "Wockney Canker".
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of the male Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
. He is a thief, conman and charlatan who speaks in impenetrable rhyming slang
Cockney rhyming slang
Rhyming slang is a form of phrase construction in the English language and is especially prevalent in dialectal British English from the East End of London; hence the alternative name, Cockney rhyming slang...
and spends his days drinking, selling stolen or unworkable goods to passers-by on the streets and being violent to his wife. He wears lots of cheap gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
jewellery or Argos
Argos (retailer)
Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...
bling and East End gangster dark glasses, and is often seen smoking a cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
. Wanker's speciality is the buying and selling of cars, often buying one, selling it back to the same person at the same price and then waving his wad of cash declaring the transaction to have been "a nice little earner".
He is a lifelong racist complaining about "Sooties" yet showing reverence for Frank Bruno
Frank Bruno
Franklin Roy Bruno MBE is an English former boxer whose career highlight was winning the WBC Heavyweight championship in 1995. Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests...
; and a royalist, especially supporting the Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
: "Ninety Free she is. Ninety Free. Wan the bladdy war for us."
His appearance is based on that of a combination of Mike Reid
Mike Reid (entertainer)
Michael Reid was an English comedian, actor, author and occasional television presenter from Hackney in east London, who is best remembered for playing the role of Frank Butcher in EastEnders and hosting the popular children's TV show Runaround...
's character Frank Butcher from EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
with perhaps some David Jason
David Jason
Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
's "Del Trotter" character from the sitcom Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, though the other characters in the strip can be seen to be similar to EastEnders characters, e.g. Shirl, his wife (Kathy Beale) and Lou, Shirl's mother (Lou Beale
Lou Beale
Louise Ada "Lou" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Wing. The character is played by Karen Meagher in the 1988 EastEnders special, Civvy Street, set during the Second World War....
).
Occasionally, Wanker's friends make an appearance in his strips. They also have offensive nicknames, for instance, Bastard, Cant and Shirl's brother, Arsehole, who once made a cameo when he asked Wanker to look after his son, Little Tosspot.
His name, as it contains an obscenity, is "spoonerised
Spoonerism
A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
" whenever featured on the front page of an issue of Viz, as it would be easily read by children who are otherwise not entitled to buy the magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. Hence he becomes "Wockney Canker".