471 Steptoe and Son

First  viewed : Uncertain

I've  no  idea  when  I  first  caught  an  episode  of  this. I  suspect  it  was  probably  earlier  than  the  repeat  run  on  BBC 2  in  1989. I  remember  Mum  and  Gran  not  wanting  me  to  watch  it  due  to  concerns  about  coarse  language  which  of  course  gave  it  some  allure.

Steptoe  and  Son  had  two  innings  , a  black  and  white  run  from  1962  to  1965  ( none  of  which  I've  seen ) and  a   return  in  colour  from  1970  to  1974. It  concerned  a  grimy  old  rag  and  bone  man  Albert  Steptoe  ( Wilfred  Brambell )  and  his  son  Harold  ( Harry  H  Corbett, no  relation  to  the  Sooty  presenter )  who  wants  to  escape  the  trade  and  better  himself.  Though  there  was  much  broad  comedy , there  was  also  a  note  of  pathos  which  became  more  pronounced as  the  series  went  on  as  it  became  clearer  that  Albert's  always  successful  attempts  to  spike  Harold's  plans, particularly  with  women, were  motivated  by  fear  of  loneliness  rather  than  envy  or  spite. You  really  didn't  know  which  one  to  root  for  and  that  was  at  the  core  of  the  show's  appeal. Something  of  their  relationship  was  transferred  to  Del  and  Rodney  in   Only  Fools  and  Horses.

The  show  ended  partly  because of  Brambell's  alcoholism  and  apart  from  a  TV  commercial, a  disastrous  Australian  tour  of  a  stage  version ended  their  working  relationship  in  1977  . Corbett  , a  heavy  smoker  died  in  1982  aged  57. I  remember  a  distressing  interview  Nationwide  did  with  Brambell  at  the  time.  He  died  three  years  later  aged  82.