New drama about the Steptoe And Son writers' early days

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse are to portray comedy writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in a new radio play.

The sketch stars reunite for the one-off When Alan Met Ray, which is set in Milford Tuberculosis Sanatorium where the Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe And Son writers first met in 1948.

Harry Enfield plays Galton, with EastEnders actor Don Gilet billed as ‘young Ray’ – even though at 58 he is only five years younger than Enfield.

The drama is set when the future writing star was aged 18 and given just six weeks to live. He was sent to Milford, near Godalming in Surrey, to begins painful treatment to limit the spread of the infection. 

By chance he meets Simpson - the same age - who has just been given last rites following a severe haemorrhage. Striking up a friendship, they discover shared interests.

Whitehouse, 66, plays Simpson, with Lee Ross, 54, a former series regular in The Catherine Tate Show as the younger version.

The cast also includes comedy regulars Tony Gardner, Simon Greenall, Toby Longworth (Bill Bailey’s former double act partner in the Rubber Bishops) and Phil Cornwell  all having roles.  

The writers are Andrew McGibbon, who is also a rock drummer who has worked with Morrissey under the name Andrew Paresi,  and Ian Pearce, who  wrote 2022 Radio  play, Looking for Oil Drum Lane,  which told how Galton and Simpson overcame a writer’s block to write the first episode of Steptoe and Son.

McGibbon also directs and produces the new 45-minute drama drama.

The BBC description of the show explains: ‘Set against the banal routine of sanitorium imprisonment, where rules are strictly enforced, the play's production and sound design recreate the intense loneliness, horror and abandonment experienced by both young men in the prime of their youth, alongside the camaraderie, happy times and the lasting friendship between Alan and Ray, forged in such a challenging environment.

‘Alan and Ray are surrounded by a range of characters trapped in this regulated environment; fellow patients, compassionate nurses and an unempathetic head doctor who enforces the rules for all patients. 

‘Alan and Ray start writing comedy sketches which they aim to perform on the sanatorium hospital radio. But first they have to get past the notorious radio committee headed of course by the chief physician and the presenter of the dismal hospital radio service, Alastair 'Mac' McGuire (played by McGibbon).

"Alan and Ray battle for the right to broadcast their programmes to the patients. They manage to gain the support of their listeners and with the help of a sympathetic nurse, win over the radio committee, producing a satire aimed at the hospital hierarchy. The sketch show, Have You Ever Wondered?, broadcasting from a broom cupboard they call the mini-BBC, is a hit with patients.’ 

Alan Simpson passed away in 2017 and Ray Galton died the following year.

Enfield and Whitehouse last collaborated on the TV sketch special The Lovebox In Your Living Room in 2022.

• When Alan Met Ray airs on BBC Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Wednesday  February 12

Published: 24 Jan 2025