How Galton and Simpson revived their lost movie

They made TV history together and were planning their next film - until Tony Hancock rejected their script. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson reveal why "The Day Off" is now back on.

"Steptoe & Son": A British comedy classic

Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the comic geniuses behind one of Britain's greatest situation comedies, talk to Suite 101 about how the show came about.

Comedy legends Galton & Simpson to visit Milton Keynes

Comedy writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson are to visit Milton Keynes to see a stage version of one of their classic shows, Steptoe & Son.

They will be at the opening night at the Chrysalis Theatre in Willen Park after working on the adaptation with David Pibworth from the Milton Keynes Theatre of Comedy.

Tony Hancock: The tragic downfall of a genuine one-off

Celebrated writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, talk to Suite 101 about the late actor and discuss why their 10-year association with him came to an end.

Hancock's Half Hour: Galton & Simpson reflect

Suite 101 gets the lowdown on the situation comedy that started it all from Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the men responsible for it.

Ray Galton and Alan Simpson interview

The writing team behind some of Britain's best-known comedy shows, give Suite 101 their opinions on the state of the genre today.

Revealed: Tony Hancock screenplay that he turned down

The Day Off, by writing team Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, was unearthed during research for a new biography of the duo

Forget class, it's the laughs that count in comedy

Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the creators of Steptoe And Son, say that Danny Cohen, the new controller of BBC1, is wrong to be on the look-out for new comedy shows featuring working-class characters.

Ray Galton and Alan Simpson have been writing together for 60 years and given us classic comedies. If they never write another word we are all in their debt. Radio 2 had a good idea to celebrate their partnership by recreating some of their old scripts for today's new comedy stars. The last in the series was Paul Merton in the role Tony Hancock made famous, The Blood Donor.

Actually, it was written for Arthur Lowe so, in theory, it should have passed easily into another voice. Unfortunately, it didn't. Merton sounded as if he were reading. So did June Whitfield's daughter, Suzy Aitchison, playing the nurse, the role her mother took so memorably 48 years ago. Why? It wasn't the script or the players. It's the art of good comedy production that's gone missing. The technical process has grown easier. The making of words into magic remains a tricky art.

This short comedy season, celebrating the 60-year writing partnership of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson by putting on a quartet of old scripts with new performers, ends on a bold note. Paul Merton recreates The Blood Donor, written for and performed by Tony Hancock in 1961, the classic where our self-important hero answers the call and gets a few surprises. It's bold of Merton to attempt this as, try as he may to present himself as a curmudgeon, everyone thinks he's a nice guy because, unlike Hancock, we feel we know his personality through panel games.