''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and white from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974 in colour. The lead roles were played by Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. The theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by

Ron Grainer Ronald Erle Grainer (11 August 1922 – 21 February 1981) was an Australian composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. He is mostly remembered for his television and film score music, especially the theme mus ...

. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 poll by the BBC to find '' Britain's Best Sitcom''. It was remade in the United States as '' Sanford and Son'', in Sweden as '' Albert & Herbert'', in the Netherlands as ''Stiefbeen en zoon'', in Portugal as ''Camilo & Filho'', and in South Africa as ''Snetherswaite and Son''. Two film adaptations of the series were released in cinemas, '' Steptoe and Son'' (1972) and '' Steptoe and Son Ride Again'' (1973). The series focused on the inter-generational conflict of father and son. Albert Steptoe, a "dirty old man", is an elderly rag-and-bone man, set in his grimy and grasping ways. By contrast, his son Harold is filled with social aspirations and pretensions. The show contained elements of drama and tragedy, such as how Harold was continually prevented from achieving his ambitions. In 2000, the show was ranked number 44 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes compiled by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. In a 2001

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

poll Albert was ranked 39th on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.

Plot

Many episodes revolve around sometimes violent disagreements between the two men, Harold's attempts to bed women and momentary interest over things found on his round. Much of the humour derives from the pathos of the protagonists' situation, especially Harold's continually thwarted (usually by the elder Steptoe) attempts to better himself, and the unresolvable love/hate relationship that exists between the pair. Albert almost always comes out on top, and routinely proves himself superior to his son whenever they compete, such as when they played snooker into the night and pouring rain in 1970, and

Scrabble ''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left ...

and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

in the 1972 series. Harold takes these games extremely seriously and sees them as symbols of his desire to improve himself, but his efforts come to nothing each time. His father's success is partly down to greater skills but is aided by cynical gamesmanship and undermining of his son's confidence. In addition, Albert habitually has better judgement than his son, who blunders into multiple con tricks and blind alleys as a result of his unrealistic, desperate straw-clutching approach. Occasionally the tables are turned, but overall the old man is the winner. Harold is infuriated by these persistent frustrations and defeats, even going to the extent in "Divided We Stand" (1972) of attempting to partition the house so that he does not have to share with his selfish, uncultured and negative father. His plan ends in failure and ultimately he can see no way out. However, for all the bitterness there is an essential bond between the pair. In bad situations, Harold sticks by his father, and Albert looks out for his son. This protective bond is shown in several episodes, such as "

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his thr ...

" (1963) when Albert wins back Harold's money in a game of cards against Harold's manipulative group of friends, and "The Seven Steptoerai" (1974) when they are menaced by a local gangster running a protection racket and team up with some of Albert's friends to fight off the gangster's thugs. The 1974 Christmas special ended the run and it first appears Harold is once again at the bad end of poor planning, when he books a Christmas holiday abroad, but then finds his passport is out of date. His father must go alone, and Harold, tearfully it seems, waves him off to enjoy a potential good time without him. Harold trudges away, only to jump in a car with a woman to drive off on his own holiday, revealing that he had engineered the whole situation from the beginning.

Characters

The two main characters in the show are Albert Steptoe ( Wilfrid Brambell) and Harold Steptoe ( Harry H. Corbett). They have a large extended family who appear occasionally including many of Albert's brothers and sisters, among them Auntie May ( Rose Hill), Uncle Arthur ( George A. Cooper) and Auntie Minnie ( Mollie Sugden).

Production

Development The show had its roots in a 1962 episode of ''Galton & Simpson's Comedy Playhouse''. Galton and Simpson's association with comedian Tony Hancock, for whom they had written ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James; the radio version also co-starred, ...

'', had ended and they had agreed to a proposal from the BBC to write a series of 10 comedy shows. The fourth in the series, "The Offer", was born both out of

writer's block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

and budgetary constraints. Earlier shows in the series had cost more than expected, so the writers decided to write a two-hander set in one room. The idea of two brothers was considered but father and son worked best. Galton and Simpson were not aiming to make a pilot for a series, having worked for seven years with Hancock. However, Tom Sloan, the BBC's head of comedy, told them during rehearsals that "The Offer" was a definite series pilot: he saw that the Steptoe idea had potential. Galton and Simpson were reportedly overwhelmed by this reaction, and the first of what became eight series was commissioned, the first four of which were transmitted between 1962 and 1965. The last four series were broadcast between 1970 and 1974, in colour. At the peak of the series' popularity, it received viewing figures of some 28,000,000 viewers per episode. In addition, the early 1970s saw two feature films, two 46-minute

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

specials. In 2005, the play ''

Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane ''Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane'' is a play written by Ray Galton and John Antrobus that brought the ''Steptoe and Son'' saga to an end. It was first performed in 2005. The title of this play was inspired by the Swedish 1982 play ' ...

'', written by Ray Galton and John Antrobus, brought the storyline to a close. Casting The series employed actors rather than

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

s in the principal roles; casting for comedy still tended to favour the former when the series was created in 1962. Galton and Simpson had decided that they wanted to try to write for performers who "didn't count their laughs". Both of the main actors used voices considerably different from their own. Brambell, despite being Irish, spoke with a

received pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...

English accent, as did the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

-raised Corbett. Brambell was aged 49 when he accepted the role of Albert, only 13 years older than Corbett. For his portrayal, he acquired a second set of "rotten" dentures to accentuate his character's poor attitude to hygiene. Music

won a second successive Ivor Novello award for the show's theme tune ' Old Ned ', to which he gave a different treatment, one year later, during a Rag-and-Bone Man scene in The Home-Made Car. The series had no standard set of opening titles but the opening sequences would often feature the Steptoes' horse, Hercules. "Steptoe and Son" is the Steptoes' trading name, but as established in the first episode, the "Son" is not Harold as initially believed, but Albert. The name dates from when he and his mother—Mrs. Steptoe—worked the rounds. The first series has the pair as very rough looking and often dirty and wearing ragged clothes, but they were portrayed as cleaner in later series. Locations Outside filming of the Steptoes' yard took place at a car-breakers' yard in Norland Gardens, London W11, then changing t
Stable Way, Latimer Road
for the later series. Both sites have subsequently been redeveloped with no evidence now remaining of the entrance gates through which the horse and cart were frequently driven. The pilot episode and the first four series, which aired in 1962–1965, were recorded in the BBC Lime Grove Studios in London. When the show returned in 1970 after a four-year hiatus, the programme was made in the BBC Television Centre studios in west London, as from 1970 the show was recorded in colour. Notability During its production in the 1960s and 1970s, ''Steptoe and Son'' marked itself out as radical compared to most UK sitcoms. This was an age when the predominant sources of laughter in British comedy were

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

coincidence A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances that have no apparent causal connection with one another. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or paranormal claims, or it may lead t ...

, slapstick and innuendo. However ''Steptoe and Son'' brought greater

social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

. Its characters were not only

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

but demonstrably poor. The earthy language and

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and usage (language), linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of p ...

used were in marked contrast to the refined voices heard on most television of the time: e.g., in "Back in Fashion", Harold warns Albert that when the models arrive, "if you feels like a D'Oyly Carte (

rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymi ...

for 'fart'), you goes outside." Social issues and debates were routinely portrayed, woven into the humour. The programme did not abandon the more traditional sources of comedy but used them in small doses. The characters, and their intense and difficult relationship, displayed deeper qualities of writing and performance than comedy fans were used to.

Episodes

''Steptoe and Son'' is unique among 1960s BBC television programmes in that every episode has survived, despite the mass wiping of BBC archive holdings between 1967 and 1978. However, all the instalments from the first 1970 series and all but two from the second were originally made in colour and only survive in the form of black and white domestic videotape recordings. Copies were made from the master tapes for the writers by an engineer at the BBC using a Shibaden SV-700 half-inch reel-to-reel video recorder—a forerunner of the

video cassette recorder A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recordi ...

. In 2008, the first reel of a black and white telerecording of the Series 5 episode "A Winter's Tale" (lasting approximately 15 minutes) was returned to the BBC; this is the only telerecording of a colour ''Steptoe and Son'' episode known to still exist. Of the 30 episodes produced in colour, 17 exist in their original colour format. The original 2" Quad videotapes of all the episodes of the original 1962–65 series were wiped in the late 1960s. However, these episodes mostly survive on film transfers of the original videotapes as 16mm black and white telerecordings. The exceptions to this are "The Stepmother", "The Wooden Overcoats", "The Lodger" and "My Old Man's a Tory", which exist as optical transfers made from domestic 405 line reel to reel videotapes obtained from writers Galton and Simpson. Due to being videotapes, the copies have the same look and high sound quality as the original quad tapes, making them much closer to the original broadcast. The BBC has released 10 DVDs of the series—each of the eight series, and two compilations entitled "The Very Best of Steptoe and Son" volumes 1 and 2. Two Christmas specials are also available on DVD, as are two feature films: '' Steptoe and Son'' and '' Steptoe and Son Ride Again''. A boxed set of Series 1–8 and the two Christmas specials was released on Region 2 DVD by 2entertain on 29 October 2007. In addition, 52 episodes were remade for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

, initially on the Light Programme in 1966–67 and later Radio 2 from 1971 to 1976. A special one-off remake of the "A Winter's Tale" episode aired on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

on 14 September 2016, as part of the BBC's Lost Sitcom season recreating lost episodes of classic sitcoms.

Sketch appearances

* In 1962, Brambell and Corbett appeared as Steptoe and Son in a short sketch written by Galton and Simpson on the BBC's annual ''Christmas Night with the Stars'' programme, broadcast on December 25, 1962. There are no known recordings. * In 1963, they appeared on the ITV Royal Variety Performance in a sketch written by Galton and Simpson featuring Steptoe and Son totting outside Buckingham Palace, the telerecording of the live show, broadcast on November 10, 1963, still exists. The audio of the sketch was also released on a 7-inch single. * On December 31, 1963 the BBC broadcast an edition of It's a Square World which featured a cameo by Wilfrid Brambell as Albert Steptoe witnessing the launch of BBC TV Centre into space. The sketch was included as an extra on the special edition DVD release of Doctor Who: The Aztecs * In 1966, they appeared on the BBC series ''The

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A life ...

Show'' in another live on stage sketch written by Galton and Simpson featuring Steptoe and Son on

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

beach, with Ken Dodd in the last two minutes as a strange golf professional. A telerecording of the show, broadcast on July 24, 1966, survives. * In 1967, they appeared in character in a short filmed sequence for the BBC's annual ''Christmas Night with the Stars'' programme. The black and white film sequence featuring Steptoe and Son, broadcast on December 25, 1967, still exists. * In 1978, they recorded a Radio 2 sketch, referred to by fans as "Scotch on the Rocks", produced especially for a show titled ''Good Luck Scotland''. This was again written by Galton and Simpson and had a basic premise of Albert wishing to go to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

to watch the Scottish football team play in the 1978 World Cup as the "Good Luck Scotland" title of the programme referred to Scotland's chances of winning the World Cup that year.

Adverts

In 1977, Brambell and Corbett appeared in character for two television ads for Ajax cleaning products, recorded during their tour of Australia. In 1981, their final ever appearance together was in a UK advert for Kenco Coffee.

In other media

Audio A number of LPs and EPs featuring TV soundtracks have been released. Books To tie in with the original series, two novelisations were written by

Gale Pedrick Frank Gale Pedrick-Harvey (born Pedrick; 15 June 1906 – 23 February 1970), known professionally as Gale Pedrick, was an English writer, journalist, scriptwriter, and broadcaster. Life Pedrick was born on 15 June 1906, in London, England, an ...

: * * In 2002

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadca ...

published ''Steptoe and Son'' by Galton, Simpson and Ross, which comprehensively covered the television and radio series, films, Royal Variety Shows, commercials and the ''Sanford & Son'' spin-off.

Other countries

* United States: During 1963 Jack Paar screened an episode of “Steptoe and Son” during one of his one-hour Friday night shows on NBC. Paar was an anglophile and frequently spotlighted British culture on his show. Later in 1963 he screened a film-clip of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

, their first appearance on U.S. TV. In 1965 Joseph E. Levine produced a pilot based on ''The Offer'' for the American market with Galton and Simpson. Starring Lee Tracy as Albert and Aldo Ray as Harold, it was unscreened, and did not lead to a series. The pilot was released on DVD in the UK in 2018. The concept was later re-worked as '' Sanford and Son'', a top-rated series that ran for five years (1972–77) on the NBC network. * Sweden; Sten-Åke Cederhök and Tomas von Brömssen starred in '' Albert & Herbert''. The pair lived at Skolgatan 15, an address in a working-class neighbourhood of Haga, Gothenburg. * The Netherlands; '' Stiefbeen en Zoon'' ran for thirty-three episodes. It was awarded the 1964 Golden Televizier Ring. * Norway; The 1975 Norwegian film, '' Skraphandlerne'', starred Leif Juster and Tom Tellefsen. The names of the characters were Albert and Herbert, the names of the characters in the Swedish remake. * Portugal; '' Camilo & Filho Lda.'', starring famous Portuguese comedian Camilo de Oliveira, with Nuno Melo as his son. *South Africa: Broadcast on the South African Broadcasting Corporation's commercial radio station Springbok Radio (now closed down) as ''"Snetherswaite and Son"'' in 1980. The run of 56 episodes was produced in Durban by veteran radio comedy producer Tom Meehan. It starred Tommy Read as Albert and Brian Squires as Harold. The name Steptoe was changed to Snetherswaite for the South African series, a recurring character Tommy Read played in the SABC version of '' "The Men from the Ministry"'' called Humbert Snetherswaite.

Films

''Steptoe and Son'' In 1972 a film version was released of the show proving highly popular. This first film, also called '' Steptoe and Son'' focuses on Harold getting married but still not being able to get away from his father. ''Steptoe and Son Ride Again'' Due to popular demand and the commercial success of the first film, another film, '' Steptoe and Son Ride Again'', was released in 1973.

Spin-offs

Television

''When Steptoe Met Son''

''When Steptoe Met Son'' was a 2002

documentary about the personal lives of Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. It aired on 20 August 2002. The programme reveals how Brambell and Corbett were highly dissimilar to their on-screen characters. Corbett felt he had a promising career as a serious actor, but was trapped by his role as Harold and forced to keep returning to the series after typecasting limited his choice of work. Brambell, meanwhile, was a homosexual, something that in the 1960s was still frowned upon and, until the Sexual Offences Act 1967, illegal and was thus driven underground. The documentary went on to describe an ill-fated final tour of Australia, during which the already strained relationship between Corbett and Brambell finally broke down for good.

''The Curse of Steptoe''

''The Curse of Steptoe'' is a television play which was first broadcast on 19 March 2008 on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

as part of a season of dramas about television personalities. It stars Jason Isaacs as Harry H. Corbett and Phil Davis as Wilfrid Brambell. The drama is based upon the actors' on-and-off-screen relationship during the making of the BBC sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', and is based on interviews with colleagues, friends and family of the actors, and the ''Steptoe'' writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The screenplay was written by Brian Fillis, also responsible for the similarly themed 2006 drama '' Fear of Fanny'', which is about television personality Fanny Cradock off-screen. The 66-minute film is directed by Michael Samuels and produced by Ben Bickerton. Both ''When Steptoe Met Son'' and ''The Curse of Steptoe'' were considered inaccurate by writers

Galton Sir Francis Galton, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psycholo ...

and SimpsonSimon Mayo Programme, '' BBC Radio 5 Live'', 15 January 2009. and Corbett's family.

Theatre

''Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane''

In October 2005, Ray Galton and John Antrobus premiered their play, ''Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane'', at the Theatre Royal,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

. It then went on tour across the country. It was set in the present day and related the events leading to Harold killing his father and their eventual meeting 30 years later, Albert then appearing as a ghost. By the end, it is clearly established that this is very much a conclusion to the Steptoe saga. It was not the first time this idea had been considered. When Wilfrid Brambell left the UK after the third series to pursue an eventually unsuccessful Broadway musical career, Galton and Simpson toyed with the concept of 'killing off' Albert in order to continue the show without having to await Brambell's return. The character would have been replaced with Harold's illegitimate son, Arthur (a part thought to be intended for actor

David Hemmings David Edward Leslie Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor and director. He is best remembered for his roles in British films and television programmes of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the 1966 mystery film ' ...

). This idea was detested by Corbett, who thought it ridiculous, although the 2008 drama '' The Curse of Steptoe'' depicts Corbett as being delighted with the concept, since assuming the role of father would allow Harold's character some development and growth, which he felt was long overdue.

''Steptoe and Son''

In March 2011 the Engine Shed Theatre Company performed three episodes of the series live on stage at the Capitol Theatre,

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby ...

. Jack Lane played Albert Steptoe and Michael Simmonds played Harold. The three episodes performed by the company were: ''Men Of Letters'', ''Robbery With Violence'' and ''Seance in a Wet Rag and Bone Yard''. Engine Shed went on to adapt and perform the two Christmas Specials later that year. Many of the original TV episodes of Steptoe and Son have now been officially adapted to the stage by the original writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, with David Pibworth.

''Steptoe and Son by Kneehigh''

Performed in 2012 and 2013 by Kneehigh Theatre, ''Steptoe and Son'' was adapted from four of the show's original scripts. The production was designed to highlight the

Beckettian Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

nature of Albert and Harold's situation, focusing on themes of over-reliance and being trapped within social class. The production toured the UK and received positive reviews from the ''Financial Times'' and three stars from ''The Guardians Lynn Gardner.

Home media

DVD releases

* The first series with all six episodes was released in 2004 followed by the second series in 2005 and the third, fourth and fifth in 2006. Series 6, 7 and 8 were released in 2007 alongside the Christmas specials. * The two Steptoe films were released in 2006. * The complete boxed set containing all eight series and two Christmas specials was released in October 2007. In October 2011 the boxset was re-released with new packaging. In Australia, Season 1 was released in 2004, Season 2 and Season 3 in 2006, Season 4 and Season 5 in 2007, Season 6 and Season 7 in 2008 and Season 8 in 2009.