When Steptoe Met Son

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).