Steptoe and Son

Albert is already an old man when we are introduced to him in the very first episode. He is a man who has seen the world and it has left him a little cynical and mistrusting of others. Although he is a physically small man, he has learnt how to make his presence felt and he has no fear or hesitation in making his views known. Normally with a very comical effect.

It would appear that he was widowed early in life and he has never quite learned the necessary domestic skills to survive without his wife. This makes an already squalid situation worse. Like many men of his generation he would have expected his wife to have cooked and cleaned for him throughout his life. Losing her so early in life has undoubtedly made him fearful and vulnerable. To overcome this, he has found ways of preventing his son Harold from leaving home and now expects his son to remain with him for life.

Albert is a man driven by his own selfishness and sense of insecurity. He fears to let Harold out of his sight for even a short while, in case he gets a taste for freedom. Harold only has to mention the thought of a holiday to cause Albert to feign heart attacks. If it looks like Harold may get his way Albert can always play his trump card, saying that while Harold’s away “I’ll go down to the cemetery and sit with your Mother”.

Albert delights in being better at most things than Harold, and never misses an opportunity to tell him so. This not only boosts his own ego, but equally keeps Harold just where Albert wants him. It seems the higher Harold tries to fly the lower Albert will pull him down.

Much of Albert’s comedy comes form his “dirty old man” habits and Harold’s reaction to them. Most of the show most memorable moments focus on Albert's dirty habits, eating pickled onions in the bath and crimping the edge of a home made pie with his false teeth.

Despite these apparent shortcomings the old man was a big hit with children. Perhaps children can see through the dirt and bravado, and see somebody who was as vulnerable as them.

Of course Albert is no role model as a father and his treatment of Harold is simply shameful. In an interview Ray Galton actually described the character as a 'Bastard'. If you take an objective view of the entire series, it is clear to see that Albert's main motivation is to have his own needs fulfilled. It suits him to have somebody else to look after him and clean the house, no matter how badly. While Albert on occasions shows sympathy for Harold if he gets himself into a difficult situation, it is only if Harold's circumstances present no threat to Albert.

Ultimately Albert makes the apparently perverse parental decision that his life and needs are more important than his son's needs. If Philip Larkin wrote "This Be The Verse" for anybody, he wrote it for Albert Steptoe