Last Of The Summer Wine

1 9 7 3 - 2 0 0 1 (UK)
225 x episodes

Last Of The Summer Wine began life as a one-off episode of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse entitled Of Funerals And Fish, in January 1973. It now has the distinction of being Britain's longest running comedy series.

Dealing initially with the misadventures of three ageing delinquents in the small Yorkshire town of Holmfirth, the series initially featured philosophical humour revolving around the original core trio of scruffy layabout Compo Simmonite (Bill Owen), timid widower Norman Clegg (played by Peter Sallis - the voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit) and Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates - who had previously appeared blacked-up in It Ain't Half Hot, Mum).

The trio steadfastly refused to grow old gracefully and instead embraced an almost child-like retirement devoted to acting on their slightest whims and indulging in wry discourse on the nature of the universe - all set against the breath-taking backdrop of Yorkshire's legendary scenic beauty (and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Yorkshireman!)

Following Michael Bates' untimely death, another British television veteran joined the show -  Brian Wilde (best known as Mr. Barroclough from Porridge) came aboard as the pompous, yarn spinning Foggy Dewhurst. With Foggy on board the show scaled new heights, and this trio came to be regarded as the classic combination.

The introduction of a large supporting cast including some of the industry's most accomplished character actors - including Dame Thora Hird, Stephen Lewis (Blakey in On The Buses), Jean Alexander (Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street) - and guest appearances by performers such as the legendary Norman Wisdom, ensured a consistent excellence in performance, and a continual level of quality.

When Brian Wilde left the series he was replaced by the character of ex-headmaster and oddball inventor, Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge). Wilde did return but was forced to leave a second time due to ill health, this time to be replaced by Are You Being Served star Frank Thornton as yet another inept authority figure, ex-police inspector, "Truly of the Yard", Truelove.

But whichever trio was operating, there was always a fourth star: the Yorkshire town of Holmfirth and its surroundings, which were used as the location. Holmfirth possesses a timeless, stark quality that contrasts with the surrounding sweeping countryside and made it a favourite place for film and TV directors long before Last Of The Summer Wine came along. 

However, the success of the show (after a slow start, it became a ratings smash) really put Holmfirth into the public consciousness and since the 1980s it has become a regular and popular stop on the tourist map. In a case of life imitating art, certain aspects of the village eventually took on their TV roles: Ivy's café, for instance, was actually a paint shop dressed for effect but eventually it was turned into a real café to cash in on tourist interest.

The sad death of Bill Owen in 1999 proved the greatest trial for the successful series. By the time of his death Owen's portrayal of Compo had earned him a place in the nation's collective heart, and he idea of the series continuing without the presence of Owen was unthinkable. But following three sensitively written, brilliantly played episodes dealing with the aftermath of Compo's death on his friends, Owen was replaced by his own son, actor/producer, Tom Owen, as Compo's long lost son, Tom.

The transition was successful and the show continued into the new millennium much as it had the last quarter of the previous century.