Steptoe and Son

Steptoe and Son at Buckingham Palace

This is a graphical insert for the Steptoe and Son Appreciation Society Website

On the bill that year were The Beatles and John Lennon's "Rattle your Jewelry" comment has become a moment of TV history in its own right. What made it an extra special show was the surprise appearance of Steptoe and Son.

The show was broadcast on 10th November (on ITV) and must have had the nation screaming with laughter and wondering just how they got away with it. While by today’s standards the humor may be considered very tame, in 1963 to make fun of the Queen and her family was still something that could be considered a very dangerous thing to do. The Steptoe team produced a sketch which while having a laugh at the Royal Family, managed to do it in a way that was warm, endearing and above all very funny.

The sketch opens with Albert and Harold totting on The Mall. It soon becomes apparent that Albert has wasted no time in going to Buckingham Palace to see if he can get a bit of business, "They have junk, just like everybody else"!

Albert starts to unload his sack and produces a series of items that have Royal connections. When Harold asks how he got these items, Albert informs him that a little boy (we assume Prince Charles) gave them to him. Albert gave him "a little windmill on a stick" in exchange. The roars of laughter from the audience show just how much they enjoyed the sketch and how popular Steptoe had become with the British public in just a short space of time.

The sketch ends when it is apparent that Albert has one or two items more than he should have in his sack.

Even though the sketch lasts little more than 10 minutes, in true Galton and Simpson style they manage to put in a contemporary political comment as well as some references to topical subjects of the day. They also manage to give us an insight into what is now a lost business, Albert’s references to leaving a sack and a calling card and giving Balloon's and other rewards in return for junk are things I can vaguely remember.

The sketch was released on the PYE record label, but has been long deleted. Copies do come up for sale from time to time on eBay. I have decided to make an audio version available below.

It was not clear if a video recording of the sketch still existed. It would have made an excellent extra to one of the DVD series releases. Evidence has come to light that suggests the sketch is not lost, but is sitting on a shelf somewhere gathering dust. In the autumn of 2006 an ITV digital station ran a series entitled "The Best of the Royal Variety Performance", at least one of these shows featured an excerpt from the Steptoe performance. Perhaps one day the BBC can agree to put it as an extra on a future Steptoe DVD release. It would be a fitting apology for all those wonderful episodes they erased.