An unseen script for Steptoe and Son script intended for Christmas 1963 has been discovered at the University of York.
Starring Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell as struggling rag-and-bone men Harold and Albert Steptoe, the sitcom reached audiences of more than 28 million in it is heyday.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the script was discovered by archivists at the Borthwick Institute for Archives who believe it may have been shelved due to time pressures.
Keeper of the archives and special collections at the University of York, Gary Brannan, described the sketch as a capsule of British culture “centred around the humour of being miserable at Christmas”.
The storyline sees Harold trying to throw a lavish party for his trendy, upwardly mobile friends while dealing with Albert’s lack of festive spirit – before both come down with a case of chicken pox on Christmas morning.
Mr Brannan said: “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.”
University of YorkMr Brannan suggested the likely reason for its abandonment was that the cast and crew did not have the time or availability to record it.
“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,” he said.
However elements from the script were recycled and used for a Christmas special in 1973.
“Luckily, this script saw the light of day eventually,” said Mr Brannan.
“Its discovery shows we’re always enjoying comedy, laughter and entertainment at Christmas and a good idea never stops being a good idea, even 10 years later.”