Harold Steptoe is sick of being a rag and bone man, but his father Albert makes it tough for his one-man workforce to leave.
Harold has a girl but Albert is out to ruin his fun.
To acquire a grand piano from a wealthy collector, Harold must move it out of a penthouse flat.
Harold's strategy to sell in bulk proves problematic when he's stuck with 400 sets of false teeth.
Harold gets a diploma in TV repair - so how come Albert seems to know more about it than him?
Harold wants a beach holiday, but Albert is looking forward to the usual trip to Bognor Regis.
Hercules, the Steptoes' horse, is sick so the local rag and bone man pitch in to help.
Harold is determined to build a bathroom in the house, even if it means converting Albert's bedroom.
Albert plans to re-marry, but Harold will do everything in his power to prevent it.
For Albert's birthday, Harold takes him out for a disastrous night on the town.
Harold is looking forward to listening to his classical records, but Albert does not share his taste in music.
Albert is an unwanted guest when Harold arranges a card game with his friends.
Harold falls for a rich married woman and thinks it's love, much to his father's disgust.
Albert and Harold are totting on The Mall.
Before Harold can sail around the world, he must first persuade Albert to move into a home for the elderly.
When Harold acquires some coffins, Albert refuses to sleep in the house.
A shady man tries sell the Steptoes some used lead.
Harold falls for a French girl, but when she meets Albert, something in his past causes problems.
Harold has promised to take Albert out to the cinema to see a posh flick, but Albert is keen on something a bit more smutty.
Albert lands a large windfall on the premium bonds. Albert soon goes on a wild spending spree and Harold soon goes from bitter to jealous.
Albert advertises for a lodger, but Harold opposes the idea.
Harold is going to be married but Albert is causing him nothing but grief.
Harold believes that he has finally found an item that can make him rich.
Harold wants central heating for the house and plans to install the system himself.
Buried in bills, the Steptoes barricade themselves in the house.
Frustrated with his meddling father, Harold leaves and rents a flat in town.
Harold invites the local Labour Party organizer to a meeting, hoping they will adopt him as their candidate for the next council election.
On a flight to France, Albert argues with fellow passengers about World War I.
Albert and Harold are in Blackpool for a holiday where they happened to meet up with an up-and-coming family favourite, Mr. Ken Dodd.
Distraught over the death of his horse, Albert loses all interest in the business.
Harold has booked a skiing holiday on his own but disaster strikes.
Albert disapproves of Harold's new friendship with a posh customer.
When Harold thinks he is going to be a father, he proposes marriage.
Harold wants to buy a new sports car, but Albert wants to spend the money on a brand new colour TV.
After Harold and Albert take tuberculosis tests, there is concerning news when the results arrive.
With the lease on the property almost up, the Steptoes must find money to buy the house.
While cleaning the house, Albert knocks over Harold's porcelain cabinet and destroys his valuable collection.
To prepare Harold for a competition, Albert must teach him how to dance.
Harold is shocked when he meets Albert's new fiancée.
Albert has a chance to host the prime minister at the junk yard, but Harold is of a different political persuasion.
When the Steptoes plan move to a posh neighbourhood, the snotty locals don't like the look of them.
Harold buys a second-hand snooker table and challenges Albert to some games.
When Harold buys a 19th-century commode, he falls victim to a scam operation.
Albert's long-lost son Arthur arrives from Australia, and much to Harold's horror, Albert offers him a partnership in their business.
Harold and Albert vie for the chance to be published in the parish magazine.
Having joined the local amateur drama group, Harold must compete against another newcomer for a leading role.
After Albert's brother dies, he and his family squabble over the will.
Harold discovers that Albert has neglected to inform the tax department that his wife had died over 30 years ago.
After he tries to murder Albert in his sleep, Harold visits a psychiatrist to get to the root of his anger for his father.
The squabbling Steptoes divide the house into two opposing sections.
Freezing and hungry, the Steptoes must also contend with two escaped convicts demanding money from them.
Albert and Harold are busy making preparations for Christmas. Albert is putting up Christmas decorations while Harold is at the travel agents booking some sunny festive fun in Majorca. He's made all the necessary arrangements, however there is one last thing to do: tell Albert to pack his bags in preparation for a short stay at the local old people's home...
When the Steptoes' yard is chosen as the background for a fashion shoot, beautiful models fill the house.
After Harold's girlfriend spots bugs in his bed, he must go buy a new one.
After Harold excitedly brings home an old machine containing an erotic film, he is shocked to discover who is the star of the show.
When a local villain tries to extort protection money from the Steptoes, Albert gets assistance from a club of elderly martial artists.
Harold must mind his father when Albert is upstairs recovering from a slipped disc in his back.
A medium helps Albert believe he can communicate with the dead, raising Harold's suspicions.
Fed up with staying at home every Christmas, Harold plans to take his dad abroad for the holiday. But his old man isn't going to make it easy for him: he pleads to go to Bognor instead, objects to every resort in the brochure and struggles to find his birth certificate for the passport. Then, just when it looks like Harold's Christmas is going to be another disaster, fate delivers one more twist.
At its peak Steptoe and Son pulled in 28 million viewers on British television. The two stars of the show, Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett, were both household names adored by the British public. On screen father and son hated each other. Off screen, their relationship remained equally as tense. When the series was cancelled in 1974 the pair were eager to part. Yet three years later, Brambell and Corbett were forced by lack of finances to reunite for an awkward five-month stage tour of Australia. The tour itself turned into a nightmare, causing Brambell to drink heavily and Corbett to regret throwing away his young theatre days. Following the mutually dependent relationship of these two men, this documentary reveals details of Brambell's homosexual past and the tragedy of a deteriorating comic relationship. With contributions from Alan Simpson, Ray Galton, John Junkin, Freddie Ross Hancock, Kevin O'Neil (promoter of the Australian Steptoe tour), Carl Doy (musician on the tour), Mike Crisp (former production manager on the STEPTOE AND SON tv series), Joan Reddin (Wilfrid Brambell's former agent), Anne Pichon and David Mills (friends of Brambell), Michael Fielding (vice squad officer with the Metropolitan Police), Roderick Fisher (former lodger with Brambell and his wife), Stuart Wolfendale (Hong Kong-based journalist), Ted Thomas (former producer with Radio Hong Kong), and Pat Sefton (friend of Ralph Pixton).
Mark Lawson, as the title says, talks to the giants of TV comedy who created Steptoe and Son. They provide a fascinating insight into their work and a friendship that has lasted for 50 years.
Steptoe and Son remains a landmark in the history of British television. The series gave birth to the modern sitcom and transformed its actors - Harry H Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell - into national treasures. Starring Jason Isaacs (The State Within) as Harry H Corbett and Phil Davis (Five Days) as Wilfrid Brambell, The Curse of Steptoe uncovers an unexpected and incredible tale of life imitating art. The sitcom told the story of two rag-and-bone men trapped together for all eternity. But out of the public eye an even stranger story was playing out, of two men yoked together unable to escape their inner complexities or each other. How their personal problems helped the show achieve success is one of the most revealing stories from the annals of BBC light entertainment history. Based on interviews with colleagues, friends and family of Harry and Wilfrid, and Steptoe writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, The Curse Of Steptoe explores the incredible story of life behind the scenes.
Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are junk dealers, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live amicably together at the junk yard. But Harold, who likes the bright lights in the West End of London, meets a stripper. Fine, but he marries her and takes her home Albert, of course, is furious and tries every trick he knows to drive the new bride from his household.
Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are junk dealers, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live amicably together at the junk yard. Always on the lookout for ways to improve his lot, Harold invests his father's life savings in a greyhound who is almost blind and can't see the hare. When the dog loses a race and Harold has to pay off the debt, he comes up with another bright idea. Collect his father's life insurance. To do this his father must pretend to be dead.
Series which recreates three classic lost British sitcoms with a stellar new cast. In this episode of Steptoe and Son originally broadcast in 1970, Harold wants to go on a skiing holiday but he doesn't want Albert there.
Colourised Version
Behind the scenes of the comedy, revealing a political intervention that may have landed Labour a general election majority by shifting a broadcast of an episode, and a Met Police vice squad operation actively targeting celebrities that led to the arrest of star Wilfred Brambell. With contributions by John Thomson, Tessa Le Bars, Madeline Smith, Dick Fiddy and Graham McCann
