Any Old Iron on radio !!

[Archie]

I tuned into Radio 4 Extra at 12.30 today for the weekly Steptoe episode. I was astonished to hear the full uncut broadcast of the most politically incorrect episode (and one of my faves) -Any Old Iron

This should be in the radio section but it's on again @ 19.30 tonight, if you read this tune in

[BLAKESCREWE]

yeah ,even the announcer at 7.30 had to say that there were words in this that basically would`nt be used nowadays!

[Dirty Old Yank]

But inappropriate, possibly offensive expressions are the point! Any Old Iron doesn't encourage homophobia, it parodies it!
That BBC sees fit to warn us, as if we were all children in need of supervision, is the really questionable bit.
I don't speak for them but it's a safe guess the gay community is laughing at this episode, and heartily.
What's next? A disclaimer preceding every comedy that exposes irrational prejudice? Are so called 'minority groups' not allowed to laugh at themselves?
Disclaimers, warnings, call em what you will preceding Steptoe and Son say more about BBC (as it exists today) than the sitcom that helped build it.

[melody]

Ha I love that 1. I'm right that wilfrid was gay? So they wudnt have made it if it was wrong. The world needs 2 lighten up.

[BLAKESCREWE]

Ha I love that 1. I'm right that wilfrid was gay? So they wudnt have made it if it was wrong. The world needs 2 lighten up.

don`t think so, he was I believe married once.

[bob]

Wilfird was gay, despite being married ( it was, and is, very common)

While his colleagues on Steptoe may have suspected he was gay, Willy never discussed it. Why should he.

The attitudes in the 60’s were different than they are now.

I do agree with Dirty Old Yank, that just because we are supposedly more enlightened, doesn’t mean we can’t have a good old laugh at ourselves and our personal differences.

I think irrespective of whether he was gay or not, Ray and Alan would still have written the episode and Willy, being the professional actor he was, would have played it straight (no pun intended), which he did.

[harryfaversham]

Just listened to this episode again on my iPod. Sheer genius.