Unlucky Alf is a fictional character played by Paul Whitehouse in the BBC comedy sketch show The Fast Show. He has been recognised as one of the most popular characters in the series, and his catchphrases Aww, Bugger and But knowing my luck... have entered the public conciousness since he first appeared. He is featured in all of the series, mostly in series 1 and 2, and has less appearances afterwards. Paul Whitehouse (born 17 May 1959 in Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales) is a British comedian and actor, well known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show, The Fast Show. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is largest the publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television). ... The Fast Show was a BBC comedy sketch show programme which ran for four series from 1994 to 2000, starring Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and Caroline Aherne (1994-1997). ...

He is a lonely old northern pensioner with a blatant curse that he can never do anything without getting himself into bad luck. He is known to have a brother: Ken: who is never seen, and used to have a lady friend (Caroline Ahearne) before one of her cats ripped his trousers, but except from that he is totally lonely.

Everyone he meets calls him 'Unlucky' Alf, which means they are fully aware of his misfortunes. He often finds himself in a variety of situations: from falling into puddles and holes, to blowing up his 'death trap' house and rocketing into the sky.