Galton and Simpson
“Galton and Simpson are the Beatles of British comedy – they
changed everything” Frank Skinner
The most significant comedy writers in television history, Ray and Alan have maintained a complete record of all their 600+ scripts since the early fifties – including Hancock’s Half Hour, Comedy Playhouse and Steptoe & Son.
This anthology draws on that archive for the first time, and features scores of extracts not only from their best-loved shows (The Blood Donor, The Offer, Sunday Afternoon At Home, Divided We Stand, The Radio Ham) but also from many episodes wiped by the BBC and unheard for half a century.
Lost gems include a poignant Steptoe Christmas special, a double act starring Frankie Howerd and Richard Burton, one-off sitcoms written for Eric Sykes, Stanley Baxter, John Le Mesurier and Arthur Lowe, and the full story, for the first time, of how Tony Hancock’s sitcom character evolved on historic radio shows such as Calling All Forces and All-Star Bill.
“Galton and Simpson played with language. The punchline wasn't the be-all and end-all. The turn of phrase was equally important, and equally funny” Andrew Collins
“Hysterically funny” Freddie Hancock, Tony's widow
“They are the Laurel and Hardy of sitcom writers!” Barry Cryer
The Day Off: the lost Hancock film script
The finest sitcom of them all – my Steptoe & Son feature in the Daily Mail
