Steptoe and Son is a
British sitcomA British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
written by
Ray Galton and Alan SimpsonRay Galton OBE , and Alan Simpson OBE , are British scriptwriters who met in 1948 at a tuberculosis sanatorium, the Surrey county sanatorium near Godalming, on which the sitcom Get Well Soon was based...
about two
rag and bone menRag and bone man is a British phrase for a junk dealer. Historically the phrase referred to an individual who would travel the streets of a city with a horsedrawn cart, and would collect old rags for making fabric and paper, bones for making glue, scrap iron for recycling, and assorted miscellany...
living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in
Shepherd's Bush-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, London. Four series were broadcast by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by
Ron GrainerRonald Erle “Ron” Grainer was an Australian-born composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. He is mostly remembered for his film and television music.- Biography :...
. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 BBC poll to find
Britain's Best SitcomBritain's Best Sitcom was a poll conducted in 2004 by the BBC, to identify the United Kingdom's best situation comedy. Viewers were asked to vote for their favourite by phone, text message and on the web. The top ten went forward to a final round of voting...
. It was remade in the US as
Sanford and SonSanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
. In 1972 a movie adaptation of the series was released in cinemas
Steptoe and SonSteptoe and Son is a 1972 British comedy drama film and a spin-off from the popular British television comedy series of the same name about a pair of rag and bone men. It starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett as the eponymous characters, Albert and Harold Steptoe respectively...
and a second
Steptoe and Son Ride AgainSteptoe and Son Ride Again is the 1973 sequel to the 1972 film Steptoe and Son. Again the film starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett.-Plot:...
in 1973.
The series focussed on the inter-generational conflict of father and son. Albert Steptoe, a "dirty old man", is an old rag and bone man, set in his grimy and grasping ways. By contrast his 40-year-old son Harold is filled with social aspirations, not to say pretensions. The show contained elements of drama and tragedy, as Harold was continually prevented from achieving his ambitions. To this end the show was unusual at the time for casting actors rather than comedians in its lead roles, although both actors were drawn into more comedic roles as a consequence.
Background
The show had its roots in a 1962 episode of
Galton & Simpson's Comedy PlayhouseComedy Playhouse was a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served?...
. Galton and Simpson had split from
Tony HancockAnthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
, for whom they had written
Hancock's Half HourHancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
, and had agreed to write a series of ten comedy shows for the BBC. The fourth in the series, "The Offer", was born both out of
writer's blockWriter's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
and budgetary constraints. Earlier shows in the series had cost more than expected, and so Galton and Simpson decided to write a
two-handerTwo-hander is a term for a play, movie, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as the story unfolds....
set in one room. The idea of two brothers was considered but father and son worked best.
Ronald FraserRonald Fraser was an English character actor, who appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s whilst also appearing in many popular TV shows.-Background:...
was second choice for Harold, which would have produced a totally different character.
Galton and SimpsonRay Galton OBE , and Alan Simpson OBE , are British scriptwriters who met in 1948 at a tuberculosis sanatorium, the Surrey county sanatorium near Godalming, on which the sitcom Get Well Soon was based...
were not looking to make a pilot, having recently ended a seven-year stint writing
Hancock's Half Hour and
Hancock for BBC radio and TV. However,
Tom SloanThomas James H Sloan, was a British Broadcaster and Journalist and BBC Head of Light Entertainment during the 'Golden Age of British Television' in the 1960s.-Early life:...
, 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, as did the audience of that edition of
Comedy Playhouse. Galton and Simpson were reportedly overwhelmed by this reaction, and later that year, the first of eight series was commissioned, the first four of which were made in black and white. Each series comprised five to eight half-hour episodes, and the last was transmitted in 1974. At the peak of the series' popularity, it commanded viewing figures of some 28 million per episode. In addition, the early 1970s saw
two feature filmsSteptoe and Son is a 1972 British comedy drama film and a spin-off from the popular British television comedy series of the same name about a pair of rag and bone men. It starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett as the eponymous characters, Albert and Harold Steptoe respectively...
, two 46-minute
ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
specials and a number of radio shows based on the TV scripts. In 2005, the play
Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum LaneSteptoe 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...
, written by Ray Galton and John Antrobus, brought the storyline to a close.
The series was one of the first UK situation comedy programmes to employ actors rather than
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s in the principal roles. Galton and Simpson had decided that they wanted to try to write for performers who "didn't count their laughs".
The series' title music, "Old Ned", won its composer
Ron GrainerRonald Erle “Ron” Grainer was an Australian-born composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. He is mostly remembered for his film and television music.- Biography :...
his second successive Ivor Novello award. 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 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 in ragged clothes but they quickly "tidied up" for later series.
Cast
The father, Albert Edward Ladysmith Steptoe (portrayed by
Wilfrid BrambellHenry Wilfrid Brambell was an Irish film and television actor best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather.- Early life :Brambell was born in Dublin...
), was born on 26 September 1899 (father not known but believed to be a local muffin man who died in 1910; the portrait he keeps of his father is in fact
William GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
), though he always claimed to have been born in 1901. He appears to have joined the army underage at the start of the First World War, and is seen wearing the Mons Star medals to prove it. He served with the
British Expeditionary ForceThe North Russia Intervention, also known as the Northern Russian Expedition, was part of the Allied Intervention in Russia after the October Revolution. The intervention brought about the involvement of foreign troops in the Russian Civil War on the side of the White movement...
to
ArchangelAn archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
,
White RussiaThe White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, in 1919. Steptoe Senior is lazy, stubborn, narrow-minded, foul-mouthed, and has revolting personal habits. Albert is content with his place in the world, utterly unpretentious and downright cynical. He can be extremely vindictive and does everything he can to prevent Harold, his son, improving himself—especially if it means him leaving home. He is normally unshaven and wears a very old pair of false teeth, discoloured and with teeth missing. His wife died in 1936. He mentioned in one episode that he was one of fourteen children.
Harold Albert Kitchener Steptoe (played by
Harry H. CorbettHarry H. Corbett OBE was an English actor.Corbett was best known for his starring role in the popular and long-running BBC Television sitcom Steptoe and Son in the 1960s and 70s...
), born 1925 (Corbett's birth date) for the 1960s series (or born 1932 for the 1970s series) and educated at Scrubb's Lane Elementary School is also obstinate, though prone to moments of enthusiasm about an idea. He wants to move up in the world—most of all to escape from the family home and his stifling relationship with his father which was the subject of the first episode, "The Offer". Harold has aspirations. He likes to see his business as being in
antiquesAn antique is an old collectible item. It is collected or desirable because of its age , beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features...
rather than junk. He bitterly regrets leaving the army, in which his service took him to Malaya and he achieved the rank of Corporal, and he nearly always wears a workman's belt adorned with army
cap badgeA cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy...
s. During the 1960s series he had been a veteran of the second World War but as he was 'de-aged' during the 1970s series this was never mentioned again. He is a dreamer and idealist. Politically, Harold is a
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
supporter who is appalled at his father who is a Conservative Party supporter. He aims to improve his mind and his social circle but always fails, often thanks to Albert's deliberate put-downs or sabotage. Harold's exasperation and disgust at his father's behaviour often results in his repeating the catchphrase "You dirty old man."
| Actor / actress | Character | Duration |
| Wilfrid Brambell Henry Wilfrid Brambell was an Irish film and television actor best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather.- Early life :Brambell was born in Dublin...
|
Albert Steptoe |
1962–1974 |
| Harry H Corbett |
Harold Steptoe |
1962–1974 |
| Frank Thornton Frank Thornton is an English actor who is best known for playing Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served? and its sequel Grace & Favour and as Truly in Last of the Summer Wine.-Early life:...
|
Various |
1962–1973 |
| Carolyn Seymour Carolyn Seymour is an English actress, best associated with portraying the role of Abby Grant in the BBC series Survivors in 1975....
|
Zita Steptoe |
1972 |
Wilfrid Brambell died on 22 March 1985Harry H. Corbett died on 21 March 1982
Situation
The episodes often revolve around (sometimes violent) disagreements between the two men, Harold's attempts to bed women and momentary interest over things found on his round. As with many of the best examples of British comedy, much of the humour derives from the
pathosPathos represents an appeal to the audience's emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric , and in literature, film and other narrative art....
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.
A common theme is that Albert almost always comes out on top. Despite his lack of effort Albert routinely and easily proves himself superior to his son whenever they come into competition, such as in their frequent game-playing, e.g., the
ScrabbleScrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
and
badmintonBadminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
games from the 1972 series. Harold takes them desperately seriously and sees them as symbols of his desire to improve himself, but they come to nothing every time. His father's success is partly down to superior talent but aided by cynical gamesmanship and undermining of his son's confidence. In addition, Albert habitually has better judgement than his son, who blunders into all sorts of con-tricks and blind alleys as a result of his unrealistic, straw-clutching ideas. Occasionally the tables are turned, but overall the old man is the winner, albeit in a graceless fashion.
Harold is infuriated by these persistent frustrations and defeats, even going to the extent in "Divided We Stand" (1972) of partitioning the house in two so he doesn't have to share with his selfish, uncultured and negative father. Predictably, 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. Deep down, Albert seems to love his son and his behaviour is perhaps a selfish but misguided way of holding on to him so he doesn't have to face life alone. When the crunch comes, Harold sticks by his father. This protective bond is much in evidence in "
The Seven Steptoerai" (1974) when they are menaced by a local gangster running a protection racket. Typically though, it is Albert who gets them ingeniously out of a very hazardous predicament.
Actors
A 2002
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television documentary,
When Steptoe Met SonWhen Steptoe Met Son is a 2002 Channel 4 documentary about the personal lives of Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett, the stars of the longrunning BBC situation comedy, Steptoe and Son. It aired on 20 August 2002....
, told the story of how Brambell and Corbett were like chalk and cheese—similar 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 was in reality homosexual, something that in the 1960s was still frowned upon and illegal, and thus driven underground. The documentary went on to describe an ill-fated final tour of Australia, and claimed that the actors' relationship broke down for good, a fact disputed by Corbett's family and writers Galton and Simpson.
Both of the main actors used voices considerably different from their own. Wilfrid Brambell—despite being Irish—spoke with a prestige
Received PronunciationReceived Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English, Oxford English or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms...
English accent. 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.
Humour
During the time of its production in the 1960s and 1970s,
Steptoe and Son marked itself out as radical compared to the great majority of sitcoms from the U.K. This was an age when the predominant sources of laughter in British comedy were
farceIn theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
,
coincidenceA coincidence is an event notable for its occurring in conjunction with other conditions, e.g. another event. As such, a coincidence occurs when something uncanny, accidental and unexpected happens under conditions named, but not under a defined relationship...
,
slapstickSlapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
and
innuendoAn innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging , that works obliquely by allusion...
. However
Steptoe and Son brought greater
social realismSocial Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
. Its characters were not only
working classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
but demonstrably poor. The earthy language and
slangSlang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
(e.g., in "Back in Fashion", Harold warns Albert that when the models arrive "if you feels like a d'Oyly Carte, you goes outside") used were in marked contrast to the refined voices heard on most television of the time. 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, highlighted deeper qualities of writing and performance than comedy fans were used to.
Episodes
Steptoe and Son is rare among 1960s BBC television programmes in that every episode has survived, despite the mass wiping of BBC archive holdings between 1972 and 1978. However, all the installments from the first 1970 series and all but two from the second that were originally made in colour only survive in the form of black and white domestic videotape recordings. Myth has it that the episodes were recorded off-air by Galton and Simpson themselves, but in fact they were copies made from the master tapes for them by an engineer at the BBC using a Shibaden SV-700 half-inch reel-to-reel b/w video recorder—a forerunner of the video cassette recorder. In 2008 the first reel of a b/w telerecording of the series 5 episode "A Winter's Tale" (lasting approx 15 minutes) was returned to the BBC; this is the only telerecording of a colour
Steptoe and Son episode known to still exist.
The original 2" Quad videotapes of all the episodes of the original 1962–1965 series were
wipedWiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
in the late 1960s. However, these episode mostly survive on film transfers of the original videotapes as 16 mm black and white telerecordings.
The BBC has released ten
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s of the series to date—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 SonSteptoe and Son is a 1972 British comedy drama film and a spin-off from the popular British television comedy series of the same name about a pair of rag and bone men. It starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett as the eponymous characters, Albert and Harold Steptoe respectively...
, and
Steptoe and Son Ride AgainSteptoe and Son Ride Again is the 1973 sequel to the 1972 film Steptoe and Son. Again the film starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett.-Plot:...
. A boxed set of Series 1–8 and the Christmas specials was released on Region 2 DVD by 2entertain on 29 October 2007.
As well as 57 episodes, there was a Radio 2 sketch called
Scotch on the Rocks, produced especially for a show titled
Good Luck Scotland in 1978.
In 1977 Steptoe and Son appeared in a television commercial for Ajax soap powder. This was recorded during their tour of Australia. In 1981 the last ever appearance was in a commercial for Kenco Coffee. This led to rumours of a new series for 1981 but this wasn't true.
In 2002
BBC BooksBBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
published
Steptoe and Son by Galton, Simpson and Ross which comprehensively covered the television series, the radio series, movies, Royal Variety Shows, commercials and the "Sanford & Son" spin-off.
Other countries
- United States; Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
, a top-rated series that ran for five years (1972–1977) on the NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
network.
- Sweden; Sten-Åke Cederhök and Tomas von Brömssen
Tomas Birger von Brömssen is a Swedish actor.He played leading roles in Albert & Herbert, My Life as a Dog , Dykaren , Mannen från Mallorca and Sofies verden .He was first...
starred in Albert & HerbertAlbert & Herbert was a Swedish comedy series that ran in 1974, 1976–1979, 1981–1982, an advent series and a theatre play titled Mordet på Skolgatan 15, and had a spin-off series in 1995...
. The pair lived at Skolgatan 15, an address in a working-class neighbourhood of Haga, GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
.
- The Netherlands; Stiefbeen en Zoon (re-translation; Stepbone and Son) ran for seventeen episodes. It was awarded the 1964 Golden Televizier Ring. Piet Romer (Stiefbeen Jr.) went on to become an established actor in his home country.
- Portugal; Camilo & Filho Lda., starring famous Portuguese comedian Camilo de Oliveira, with Nuno Melo as his son.
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. It then went on tour across the country. It was set in the present day and related the events that led to Harold killing his father, and their eventual meeting thirty years later, with Albert 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 Albert off. This was in order to continue the show without having to wait for the actor to return. The character would have been replaced with Harold's illegitimate son, Arthur (thought to be played by actor
David HemmingsDavid Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English film, theatre and television actor as well as a film and television director and producer....
). This idea was detested by Corbett, who thought it ridiculous, although the 2008 drama
The Curse of SteptoeThe Curse of Steptoe is a television play which was first broadcast on 19 March 2008 on BBC Four as part of a season of dramas about television personalities. It stars Jason Isaacs as Harry H. Corbett and Phil Davis as Wilfrid Brambell...
depicts Corbett as being delighted with the concept, since assuming the role of father would allow the character of Harold some development and growth, which he felt was long overdue.
Films
In 1972 a film version was released of the show proving highly popular, featuring a young
Mike ReidMichael 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...
and focusing on Harold getting married but still not being able to get away from his father.
Due to popular demand another movie was released in 1973 which was also highly popular with fans.
When Steptoe Met Son
When Steptoe Met Son was a 2002
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary about the personal lives of
Wilfrid BrambellHenry Wilfrid Brambell was an Irish film and television actor best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather.- Early life :Brambell was born in Dublin...
and
Harry H. CorbettHarry H. Corbett OBE was an English actor.Corbett was best known for his starring role in the popular and long-running BBC Television sitcom Steptoe and Son in the 1960s and 70s...
, the stars of the longrunning BBC situation comedy,
Steptoe and Son. 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 1967The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces...
, 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 playFrom the 1950s until the early 1980s, the television play was a popular television programming genre in the United Kingdom, with a shorter span in the United States. The genre was often associated with the social realist-influenced British drama style known as "kitchen sink realism", which depicted...
which was first broadcast on 19 March 2008 on
BBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
as part of a season of dramas about television personalities. It stars
Jason IsaacsJason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
as
Harry H. CorbettHarry H. Corbett OBE was an English actor.Corbett was best known for his starring role in the popular and long-running BBC Television sitcom Steptoe and Son in the 1960s and 70s...
and Phil Davis as
Wilfrid BrambellHenry Wilfrid Brambell was an Irish film and television actor best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather.- Early life :Brambell was born in Dublin...
. 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 CradockPhyllis Nan Sortain Pechey , better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer who mostly worked with her then common-law husband Johnnie Cradock, adopting his surname long before they married. She was the daughter of the novelist and lyricist Archibald...
off-screen. The 66-minute film is directed by
Michael SamuelsMichael Samuels is British television director, producer and writer.His works include Any Human Heart, Brookside, Eastenders, The Curse of Steptoe, The Falklands Play, The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, and The Vice.-References:...
and produced by Ben Bickerton.
Both programmes were considered inaccurate by writers Galton and Simpson and
Corbett'sHarry H. Corbett OBE was an English actor.Corbett was best known for his starring role in the popular and long-running BBC Television sitcom Steptoe and Son in the 1960s and 70s...
family.
Steptoe and Son
In March 2011 the Engine Shed Theatre Company performed three episodes of the iconic series live on stage to packed houses at
The Capitol Theatre, Horsham.The Capitol Theatre is a multi-purpose arts venue in Horsham, West Sussex.The site of the current Capitol was originally an ABC Cinema. First opened in 1936 as a one screen with a 900 person seating capacity, it was then just one of many cinemas in Horsham....
Jack Lane played Albert Steptoe and Michael Simmonds played Harold. Due to the nature of a stage show, the episodes chosen where set inside the house. The three episodes performed by the company were:
Men of letters,
Robbery with violence and
Seance in a wet rag and boneyard.
Engine Shed Theatre Company will be performing a Christmas edition in 2011 at
The Capitol Theatre, Horsham.The Capitol Theatre is a multi-purpose arts venue in Horsham, West Sussex.The site of the current Capitol was originally an ABC Cinema. First opened in 1936 as a one screen with a 900 person seating capacity, it was then just one of many cinemas in Horsham....
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 and are available for production on www.classiccomedyscripts.co.uk
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 movies were released in 2006.
- The complete boxed set containing all eight series and two Christmas specials was released in October 2007.
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.
| DVD Title |
Disc # |
Year |
Ep. # |
DVD release |
Notes |
Region 2DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
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Region 4DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
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Complete Series 1 |
1 |
1962 This is a list of British television related events from 1962.-Events:*2 January – Z-Cars premieres on BBC Television.*17 April – Brothers in Law premieres on BBC Television.*1 July – Police 5 premieres on ITV....
|
6 |
13 September 2004 |
10 November 2004 |
Includes the pilot |
|
Complete Series 2 |
1 |
1963 This is a list of British television related events from 1963.-Events:*13 January – BBC Television broadcasts the play The Madhouse on Castle Street in the Sunday-Night Theatre strand. The play co-stars a young American folk music singer named Bob Dylan....
|
7 |
8 August 2005 |
2 March 2006 |
— |
|
Complete Series 3 |
1 |
1964 This is a list of British television related events from 1964.-Events:*1 January – The first Top of the Pops airs on BBC Television.*6 April – Associated-Rediffusion changes its name to Rediffusion, London....
|
7 |
13 February 2006 |
6 July 2006 |
— |
|
Complete Series 4 |
2 |
1965 This is a list of British television related events from 1965.-Events:*2 January – World of Sport premieres on ITV with Eamonn Andrews as its first....
|
7 |
15 May 2006 |
7 March 2007 |
— |
|
Complete Series 5 |
2 |
1970 This is a list of British television related events from 1970.-Events:*1 January-5 February – The BBC airs The Six Wives of Henry VIII, a series of six teleplays, each of which focusses on the life of one of King Henry VIII of England|the King's six wives....
|
7 |
24 July 2006 |
1 August 2007 |
— |
|
Complete Series 6 |
2 |
1970 This is a list of British television related events from 1970.-Events:*1 January-5 February – The BBC airs The Six Wives of Henry VIII, a series of six teleplays, each of which focusses on the life of one of King Henry VIII of England|the King's six wives....
|
8 |
8 January 2007 |
5 March 2008 |
— |
|
Complete Series 7 |
2 |
1972 This is a list of British television related events from 1972.-Events:*4 April – After a three-year courtship, Emily Nugent married Ernest Bishop on Coronation Street....
|
7 |
26 March 2007 |
7 August 2008 |
— |
|
Complete Series 8 |
1 |
1974 This is a list of British television related events from 1974.-Events:*5 January – Tiswas starts as a local programme in the Midlands , but the television show wasn't fully automatically networked through ITV until 1979....
|
6 |
14 May 2007 |
3 March 2009 |
— |
|
The Christmas Specials |
1 |
1973 This is a list of British television related events from 1973.-Events:*4 January – The record breaking, long-running comedy series in the UK and the world "Last of the Summer Wine" starts as a 30-minute pilot on BBC1's Comedy Playhouse show....
–1974This is a list of British television related events from 1974.-Events:*5 January – Tiswas starts as a local programme in the Midlands , but the television show wasn't fully automatically networked through ITV until 1979....
|
2 |
29 October 2007 |
6 November 2008 |
Includes the 1973 and 1974 specials A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
|
|
Complete Series 1–8 |
13 |
1962 This is a list of British television related events from 1962.-Events:*2 January – Z-Cars premieres on BBC Television.*17 April – Brothers in Law premieres on BBC Television.*1 July – Police 5 premieres on ITV....
–1974This is a list of British television related events from 1974.-Events:*5 January – Tiswas starts as a local programme in the Midlands , but the television show wasn't fully automatically networked through ITV until 1979....
|
57 |
29 October 2007 |
1 October 2009 |
Includes the pilot and the 1973 and 1974 specials A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
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External links
Comedy Guide