Festive 1962 sktech was never made

The script for an unmade Steptoe and Son Christmas sketch has been unearthed in the archives.

It was written by the sitcom’s creators Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and was probably intended for the BBC’s Christmas Night With The Stars in 1963.

The storyline features aspirational son Harold trying to throw a lavish party for his trendy, upwardly mobile friends while dealing with manipulative dad Albert’s lack of festive spirit. One scene depicts Albert making punch in a chamber pot.

 But in the end, it all goes wrong as they both come down with a case of chicken pox on Christmas morning.

The script was discovered at the University of York, which has the writers’ archive. 

Archivist Gary Brannan, above, said of the script:  ‘It’s very much all centred around the humour of being miserable at Christmas. It’s a very British thing to want to laugh at horrible people having a miserable time at Christmas and all the ingredients of the way Christmas is shaped by our national identity are there: The food, the rows, the moaning, unwanted gifts and dodgy decorations.’

The script was the second Galton and Simpson had written for the Night With The Stars programme, a collection of skits, typically around ten minutes long. which showcased the BBC’s most popular programmes. In 1962, they were paid £52 10s (approximately £4,000 today) for a script for that year’s special. 

However, footage of that episode is not known to exist, and neither Steptoe and Son nor its stars  Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett were mentioned in the Radio Times listing for the programme – although the likes of The Rag Trade, Sykes And His Sister, Juke Box Jury and The Black and White Minstrel Show are.

There is also no record of a contract for the 1963 script. Gary Brannan suggests: ‘I think the main reason they didn't proceed is that they had just performed a sketch at the Royal Variety Performance at the start of November and were about to begin recording the second series of Steptoe and Son in December. So, I guess there just wasn't enough time or availability to do it.’

Parts of the script for the unmade 1963 sketch were eventually recycled and used for a Christmas special ten years later.

That episode saw Harold attempting to escape the festive family arguments by booking a solo trip to Majorca – but his plans are thwarted when he is guilt-tripped into staying in Shepherd's Bush by his wily father.

'Luckily, this script saw the light of day eventually,’ adds Brannan, who is based in the university’s Borthwick Institute for Archives.

Published: 29 Dec 2025