Gentle sitcom following a group of pensioners living in Yorkshire. This show was Britain's longest-running TV sitcom. Stars Bill Owen, Peter Sallis, Frank Thornton, Brian Murphy, Michael Bates and more. Every single episode of the world's longest-running sitcom: all thirty-one series of the BBC's Last Of The Summer Wine.

a b c "Series Profile: Last of the Summer Wine". The Insider. BBC Sales. May 2007. pp.8–9. Archived from the original (DOC) on 11 January 2008 . Retrieved 2 April 2017. a b c "First of the Summer Wine – Special Article". Summer Wine Online. Summer Wine Appreciation Society. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012 . Retrieved 2 April 2017. After the death of Owen in 1999, Compo was replaced at various times by his real-life son, Tom Owen, as Tom Simmonite, Keith Clifford as Billy Hardcastle, a man who thought of himself as a direct descendant of Robin Hood, and Brian Murphy as the cheeky-chappy Alvin Smedley. Due to the age of the main cast, a new trio was formed during the 30th series, featuring somewhat younger actors. This format was used for the final two instalments of the show. This group consisted of Russ Abbot as Luther Hobdyke, known as Hobbo, a former milkman who fancied himself as a secret agent, Burt Kwouk as the electrical repairman, "Electrical" Entwistle, and Murphy as Alvin Smedley. Sallis and Thornton, both past members of the trio, continued in supporting roles alongside the new actors. An updated version of the documentary was commissioned for the 30th anniversary of the series. Broadcast on 13 April 2003, this version featured an expanded interview with Brian Wilde and new interviews with Brian Murphy and Burt Kwouk. [6]

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In 1983, Bill Owen suggested to a newly returned producer Alan J. W. Bell that Roy Clarke's novelisation of the show should be made into a feature-length special. Other British sitcoms such as Steptoe and Son and Dad's Army had previously produced films made for the cinema, but the BBC were initially sceptical as they had never before commissioned a film based on a comedy programme for original broadcast on television. They nevertheless commissioned a ninety-minute film named Getting Sam Home, which was broadcast on 27 December 1983, and started a trend which would continue with other British sitcoms, including Only Fools and Horses. [13] Bright, Morris; Ross, Robert (6 April 2000). Last of the Summer Wine: The Finest Vintage. London: BBC Worldwide. ISBN 0-563-55151-8. The joy of Bill Owen's Compo is not what he does with the words but where he takes the character beyond what's in the script. He did this in a physical manner. It was only when I saw Bill on screen that I realized what a wonderful physical clown he was." Last of the Summer Wine focused on a trio of older men and their youthful antics. The original trio consisted of Compo Simmonite, Norman Clegg, and Cyril Blamire. Blamire left in 1976, when Michael Bates fell ill shortly before filming of the third series, requiring Clarke to hastily rewrite the series with a new third man. The third member of the trio would be recast four times over the next three decades: Foggy Dewhurst in 1976, [87] Seymour Utterthwaite in 1986, [88] Foggy again in 1990, [89] and Truly Truelove in 1997. [90] After Compo died in 1999, his son, Tom Simmonite, filled the gap for the rest of that series, [42] and Billy Hardcastle joined the cast as the third lead character in 2001. [91] The trio became a quartet between 2003 and 2006 when Alvin Smedley moved in next door to Nora Batty, [72] but returned to the usual threesome in 2006 when Billy Hardcastle left the show. [92] The role of supporting character Entwistle steadily grew until the beginning of the 30th series, when he and Alvin were recruited by Hobbo Hobdyke, a former milkman with ties to MI5, to form a new trio of volunteers who respond to any emergency. [46]

Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (9 February 2003). "The Miraculous Curing of Old Goff Helliwell". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 24. Episode 7. BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed all episodes of the show from late 1981 to 2010. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of the Summer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. [1] Subsequently, the final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. [2] Since its original release, all 295 episodes, comprising thirty-one series—including the pilot and all films and specials—have been released on DVD. [3] Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on BBC One (until 18 July 2010 when the 31st and final series started on 25 July of that year), Gold, Yesterday, and Drama. It is also seen in more than 25 countries, [4] including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. With the exception of programmes 'rebooted' after long hiatuses, Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running TV comedy programme in Britain and the longest-running TV sitcom in the world. [5] [6] Atkinson, Neil (16 August 2005). "Is it the Last of Summer Wine?". The Huddersfield Daily Examiner . Retrieved 5 April 2017. Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (4 June 2000). "I Didn't Know Barry Could Play". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 21. Episode 10. BBC One.

In 1983, Lotterby returned to the show at the insistence of Brian Wilde, who preferred Lotterby's use of tight shots focused on the trio as they talked rather than Bell's wide-angle scenes. Lotterby produced and directed one additional series before departing again the same year. [13] Bell then returned to the show beginning with the 1983 Christmas special and produced and directed all episodes of the show to the end of the 31st series. [13] Bright, Morris; Robert Ross (25 October 2001). 30 Years of "Last of the Summer Wine". BBC Books. ISBN 978-0-563-53445-7.