Ray Galton OBE (born 17 July 1930), and Alan Simpson OBE (born 27 November 1929), are British scriptwriters. They met in 1948 whilst recuperating from tuberculosis at the Milford sanatorium, near Godalming in Surrey. They based the sitcom Get Well Soon on their shared experiences at the facility. They are best known for their work with comedian Tony Hancock on radio and television between 1954 and 1961, and their long-running television situation comedy, Steptoe and Son, eight series of which were aired between 1962 and 1974.

Career

The partnership's break in comedy writing came with the Derek Roy vehicle Happy Go Lucky, although this was not a success. The Hancock connection began with their involvement with later radio variety series, and from November 1954 continued with Hancock's Half Hour on radio; a series featuring their scripts for Hancock ran on television between 1956 and 1961. In October that year Hancock ended his professional relationship with the writers, and with Beryl Vertue who worked with the writers' at their agency Associated London Scripts. This writers' co-operative had been founded by Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan, with others involved, including Hancock for a time.