controversy for BBC

A BBC4 biodrama about the lives of the actors portraying beloved stars of seminal sitcom "Steptoe and Son". Jason Isaacs earned a BAFTA nomination for his portrayal of Harry H. Corbett! First aired 19 March, 2008.

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kjshd05
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controversy for BBC

Post by kjshd05 » Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:31 pm

the family of Harry Corbett has sent a letter to the BBC....
they don't like the way his life was portrayed in the program...

I found this letter a few days ago, but did not know if it was legitimate,
or not...guess this is the proof that it is...

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... 627290.ece

http://www.steptoe-and-son.com/corbettmessage.html

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Post by Helen8 » Thu Mar 27, 2008 11:06 am

Wow! Gaps in accuracy like Swiss cheese. I don't blame the family for wanting to set the record straight. I've always assumed the BBC's integrity. Now, not so much. :roll:

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Post by Heather » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:41 pm

Must admit, I was a little puzzled by the brown contact lenses as it is very obvious in colour episodes of Steptoe that Harry had Blue Eyes

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Post by Angel Tavington » Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:58 pm

Since I'm not British, I have no idea who Corbett is and I've never heard about Steptoe and Son until a few days ago (LOL). Sounds interesting though, and I wish I had the opportunity to see the program. -smiles-

As for Jason's performance, I'm sure it was brilliant. Well, the family of Harry Corbett has the right to dislike the way his life was portrayed and criticise it, I just hope they don't place any blame on the actor personally.
He was only doing his job, playing his role and, if I might say, I'm glad to know the drama got some positive reviews from critics online.



~me

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Post by Heather » Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:27 pm

I dont know what the BBC are doing with this series, it's like they have done very little research or what they have done has been given to them by people with little real knowledge of the actor. They will be portraying the life of Frankie Howerd soon and His Partner [A man he shared a large part of his life with] has not been allowed to contribute either and he also fears what the outcome of the programme will be.

I think they are looking at a very negative view when negativity was only a very small part of the actors story.

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BBC vs Corbetts

Post by malfoygrandma » Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:49 am

:bat Well, public figures are supposed to be open for use in written pieces, and let us assume that there was plenty of "research" and also plenty of thought. Looks like the "family" wants a cut of BBC pie!

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Post by Hilary the Touched » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:54 am

That's an interesting and discouraging observation, Heather . . . on first reading, I was inclined to dismiss the Corbett fan outrage as an unwarranted tempest in a teapot, but things like neglecting to interview his *second* wife, who might be expected to offer a different opinion from the first, are a little puzzling--as is arbitrarily changing his eye colour. ????

As I said, this was meant as entertainment, and things like this are always more interesting with a strong point of view and lots of conflict, but your post suggests that liberties may be being taken with this series that go beyond that.

--Though I still think it's ridiculous to lay any of the blame on Jason Isaacs.

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Post by Gillian » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:27 pm

I wonder what he thinks of all this, or whether he was aware of any inconsistencies while they were filming?

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Post by Angel Tavington » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:04 pm

--Though I still think it's ridiculous to lay any of the blame on Jason Isaacs.
I couldn't agree more!



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Post by kjshd05 » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:54 pm

Gillian, I had that same thought the other day...
Wondering what JI's reaction was to all of the controversy...

He's doing a part, following the writers, director, producers, and
the BBC...

Hilary, I do believe that Harry's second wife is no longer with us...
If you go to the Steptoe website I posted, there is a great interview
with her, I think it's from 1994...I only watched about 15 minutes
of it, but I was amazed at what she said, compared to the program...

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Post by grannybear » Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:53 pm

Let me say first I know nothing about Steptoe so this is all blind.
Families always want the best said about their members and it is often at odds with others may say. I have never seen a biography yet that there wan't someone disagreeing. What is the truth in this case is hard to say. Probably you can go with 50/50. It all may come out in the end but then who knows?

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Post by ibelong2me » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:42 am

it is a shame about the contacts as we all know Jason has lovely eyes! I wonder why they made such a change, or they need to give the researcher a bit of a poke? lol. I also agree with above posts that the whole 'truth' may not be known for quite some time. it is recent history after all and one must also take such things with a certain pinch of salt, esp. as a historian. i know that half the royal biographies on the Windsors (for an example) or their relations must always be taken with a bit of a careful eye. the thing about the eye colour is strange though, unless they really didn't realise...

...that said, anyone see 'The Other Bolyen Girl' at the cinema? Don't get me started with the changes they made to history there! ;)

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Post by Angel Tavington » Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:17 am

it is a shame about the contacts as we all know Jason has lovely eyes! I wonder why they made such a change, or they need to give the researcher a bit of a poke?
Yes, I wonder the same, especially knowing that we could have seen Jason's baby blues after all.



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Post by Soule » Tue May 20, 2008 7:19 pm

Step toe was a huge comedy over here, it was very good.

There are alot of rumours that the 2 main stars didn't get on behind the scenes.

Who knows whats true and what isn't, it appears now that unfortunately there is now only distant family members left, and as happens when a loved family member dies is that only the positive is remembered.

The BBC are normally quite prompt to respond and offer apologies if they have got facts wrong, doesn't mean to say they aren't wrong in this case. What a shame though for the family if the show was wrong, tbh the chronological order of events is a tiny issue in my mind, however portrayal in a negative light of Harry himself is a differant matter.

Jason cannot be held responsible for any of this, he did not write it, research it or produce it, he purely went with the material he was provided , even down to the clothes he wore would have been down to costume department.

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Post by grannybear » Tue May 20, 2008 8:32 pm

Any chance it will be on BBCamerica?

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