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Last of the Summer Wine was set and filmed in and around Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England and centred around a trio of old men whose line-up changed several times over the years. The original trio consisted of Bill Owen as the scruffy and child-like Compo, Peter Sallis as deep-thinking, meek Norman Clegg and Michael Bates as authoritarian and snobbish Blamire. When Bates dropped out through illness in 1976 after two series, the role of the third man of the trio was filled in various years up to the 30th series by the quirky war veteran, Foggy (Brian Wilde), the eccentric inventor, Seymour (Michael Aldridge), and former police officer Truly (Frank Thornton). The men never seem to grow up and develop a unique perspective on their equally eccentric fellow townspeople through their youthful stunts. The cast grew to include a variety of supporting characters, each contributing their own subplots to the show and often becoming unwillingly involved in the schemes of the trio.
After the death of Owen in 1999, Compo was replaced at various times by his real-life son, Tom Owen, as equally unkempt Tom, Keith Clifford as Billy Hardcastle, a man who fancied himself a descendant of Robin Hood, and Brian Murphy as the childish Alvin. Due to the age of the main cast, a new trio was formed during the 30th series featuring somewhat younger actors, and this format was used for the final two instalments of the show. This group consisted of Russ Abbot as a former milkman who fancied himself a secret agent, Hobbo, Burt Kwouk as the electrical repairman, Entwistle, and Murphy as Alvin. Sallis and Thornton, both past members of the trio, continued in supporting roles alongside the new actors.
Although some feel the show's quality declined over the years, Last of the Summer Wine continued to receive large audiences for the BBC and was praised for its positive portrayal of older people and family-friendly humour. Many members of the British Royal Family enjoyed the show. The programme was nominated for numerous awards and won the National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Programme in 1999. There were many holiday specials, two television films and a documentary film about the series. Last of the Summer Wine inspired other adaptations, including a television prequel, several novelisations, and stage adaptations.
In 1972, Duncan Wood, at that time the head of BBC Comedy, watched a drama on television called The Misfit. Impressed by writer Roy Clarke's ability to inject comedy into the drama, Wood offered Clarke the opportunity to write a sitcom. Clarke nearly turned the job down as he felt that the BBC's idea for a programme about three old men was a dull concept for a half-hour sitcom. Instead, Clarke proposed that the men should all be unmarried, widowed, or divorced and either unemployed or retired, leaving them free to roam around like adolescents in the prime of their lives, unfettered and uninhibited.
Clarke chose the original title, The Last of the Summer Wine, to convey the idea that the characters are not in the autumn of their lives but the summer, even though it may be "the last of the summer". BBC producers hated this at first and insisted that it remain a temporary working title, while the cast worried that viewers would forget the name of the show. The working title was changed later to The Library Mob, a reference to one of the trio's regular haunts early in the show. Clarke switched back to his original preference shortly before production began, a title that was shortened to Last of the Summer Wine after the pilot show.
The Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of BBC's Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973. The pilot, "Of Funerals and Fish", received enough positive response that a full series was commissioned to be broadcast before the end of the year. Although the initial series did not do well in the ratings, the BBC ordered a second series in 1975.
Barry Took, who had produced a series of ultimately unsuccessful documentaries for the BBC about working men's clubs, was partially responsible for the choice of location for the exterior shots. The programme which drew the highest ratings of the series focused on Burnlee Working Men's Club, a club in the small West Yorkshire town of Holmfirth and Took saw Holmfirth's potential as the backdrop of a television show. Took's idea was passed to James Gilbert and Roy Clarke via Duncan Wood, who was at that time filming Comedy Playhouse. Gilbert and Clarke then travelled to Holmfirth and decided to use it as the setting for the pilot of Last of the Summer Wine.
Though the exterior shots were always filmed on location in Holmfirth and the surrounding countryside, the interior shots were, until the early 1990s, filmed in front of a live studio audience at BBC Television Centre in London. The amount of location work increased, however, as studio work became a drain on time and money. Under Alan J. W. Bell, Last of the Summer Wine became the first comedy series to do away with the live studio audience, moving all of the filming to Holmfirth. The episodes were filmed and then shown to preview audiences, whose laughter was recorded and then mixed into each episode's soundtrack to provide a laugh track and avoid the use of canned laughter.
The show used actual businesses and homes in and around Holmfirth, including Sid's Café and Nora Batty's house, a real Holmfirth residence owned by Sonia Whitehead. Although this has helped the Holmfirth economy and made it a tourist destination, tensions have occasionally surfaced between Holmfirth residents and the crew. One such incident, regarding compensation to local residents, prompted producer Alan J. W. Bell to consider not filming in Holmfirth any more. The situation escalated to the point that Bell filmed a scene in which Nora Batty put her house up for sale.
In May 2008, The Times reported that Frank Thornton and Peter Sallis would no longer appear in outdoor scenes of future series because of the cost of insuring actors over the age of 80. For the final two series of the show, Thornton and Sallis, both in their late eighties, only filmed scenes indoors while younger actors film the outdoor scenes.
After the death of Owen in 1999, Compo was replaced at various times by his real-life son, Tom Owen, as equally unkempt Tom, Keith Clifford as Billy Hardcastle, a man who fancied himself a descendant of Robin Hood, and Brian Murphy as the childish Alvin. Due to the age of the main cast, a new trio was formed during the 30th series featuring somewhat younger actors, and this format was used for the final two instalments of the show. This group consisted of Russ Abbot as a former milkman who fancied himself a secret agent, Hobbo, Burt Kwouk as the electrical repairman, Entwistle, and Murphy as Alvin. Sallis and Thornton, both past members of the trio, continued in supporting roles alongside the new actors.
Although some feel the show's quality declined over the years, Last of the Summer Wine continued to receive large audiences for the BBC and was praised for its positive portrayal of older people and family-friendly humour. Many members of the British Royal Family enjoyed the show. The programme was nominated for numerous awards and won the National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Programme in 1999. There were many holiday specials, two television films and a documentary film about the series. Last of the Summer Wine inspired other adaptations, including a television prequel, several novelisations, and stage adaptations.
In 1972, Duncan Wood, at that time the head of BBC Comedy, watched a drama on television called The Misfit. Impressed by writer Roy Clarke's ability to inject comedy into the drama, Wood offered Clarke the opportunity to write a sitcom. Clarke nearly turned the job down as he felt that the BBC's idea for a programme about three old men was a dull concept for a half-hour sitcom. Instead, Clarke proposed that the men should all be unmarried, widowed, or divorced and either unemployed or retired, leaving them free to roam around like adolescents in the prime of their lives, unfettered and uninhibited.
Clarke chose the original title, The Last of the Summer Wine, to convey the idea that the characters are not in the autumn of their lives but the summer, even though it may be "the last of the summer". BBC producers hated this at first and insisted that it remain a temporary working title, while the cast worried that viewers would forget the name of the show. The working title was changed later to The Library Mob, a reference to one of the trio's regular haunts early in the show. Clarke switched back to his original preference shortly before production began, a title that was shortened to Last of the Summer Wine after the pilot show.
The Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of BBC's Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973. The pilot, "Of Funerals and Fish", received enough positive response that a full series was commissioned to be broadcast before the end of the year. Although the initial series did not do well in the ratings, the BBC ordered a second series in 1975.
Barry Took, who had produced a series of ultimately unsuccessful documentaries for the BBC about working men's clubs, was partially responsible for the choice of location for the exterior shots. The programme which drew the highest ratings of the series focused on Burnlee Working Men's Club, a club in the small West Yorkshire town of Holmfirth and Took saw Holmfirth's potential as the backdrop of a television show. Took's idea was passed to James Gilbert and Roy Clarke via Duncan Wood, who was at that time filming Comedy Playhouse. Gilbert and Clarke then travelled to Holmfirth and decided to use it as the setting for the pilot of Last of the Summer Wine.
Though the exterior shots were always filmed on location in Holmfirth and the surrounding countryside, the interior shots were, until the early 1990s, filmed in front of a live studio audience at BBC Television Centre in London. The amount of location work increased, however, as studio work became a drain on time and money. Under Alan J. W. Bell, Last of the Summer Wine became the first comedy series to do away with the live studio audience, moving all of the filming to Holmfirth. The episodes were filmed and then shown to preview audiences, whose laughter was recorded and then mixed into each episode's soundtrack to provide a laugh track and avoid the use of canned laughter.
The show used actual businesses and homes in and around Holmfirth, including Sid's Café and Nora Batty's house, a real Holmfirth residence owned by Sonia Whitehead. Although this has helped the Holmfirth economy and made it a tourist destination, tensions have occasionally surfaced between Holmfirth residents and the crew. One such incident, regarding compensation to local residents, prompted producer Alan J. W. Bell to consider not filming in Holmfirth any more. The situation escalated to the point that Bell filmed a scene in which Nora Batty put her house up for sale.
In May 2008, The Times reported that Frank Thornton and Peter Sallis would no longer appear in outdoor scenes of future series because of the cost of insuring actors over the age of 80. For the final two series of the show, Thornton and Sallis, both in their late eighties, only filmed scenes indoors while younger actors film the outdoor scenes.
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