Steptoe and Son

A small group of local gangsters begin operating a protection racket in the Shepherd’s Bush area, demanding payments from businesses and residents. Their first chosen target is Harold, who becomes one of the early initial victims of their extortion scheme.

The Seven Steptoerai is a programme presented as a single episode. It falls squarely within the episode format and is classified under the broader genre of programme. The title alone hints at a structured narrative, and the piece is packaged as a concise, self‑contained instalment rather than a multi‑part series. In this instalment, a group of local gangsters set up a protection racket in Shepherd’s Bush. Their operation quickly moves from planning to action, and they single out a man called Harold as one of the first people they try to intimidate. Harold’s involvement marks the opening of their extortion scheme, showing how the criminals begin to enforce their demands on the neighbourhood. The story stays focused on the early stages of the racket, with Harold serving as an initial example of the gang’s tactics. By choosing him early on, the criminals signal that anyone in the area could become a target. The setting in Shepherd’s Bush provides a familiar backdrop for this kind of street‑level crime, and the episode concentrates on how the protection scheme starts to take hold, using Harold’s experience to illustrate the gang’s approach.