Where to Watch
Availability for Steptoe and Son varies by region and changes over time.
Synopsis
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father and son played by Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett who deal in selling used items. They live on Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron…
Episodes
Trivia about Steptoe and Son
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, 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 and budgetary constraints.
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.
Loading videos…
