First of the Summer Wine | |
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![]() First of the Summer Wine intertitle | |
Created by | Roy Clarke |
Written by | Roy Clarke |
Directed by | Gareth Gwenlan (Pilot) Mike Stephens (Series) |
Starring | Derek Benfield Sarah Dangerfield Linda Davidson David Fenwick Judy Flynn Joanne Heywood Richard Lumsden Paul McLain Paul Oldham Maggie Ollerenshaw Helen Patrick Peter Sallis Gary Whitaker Paul Wyett |
Theme music composer | Jules Lemare (alias Charles N. Daniels) |
Opening theme | "Sweet and Lovely", sung by Al Bowlly, with Roy Fox and his Band |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Producers | Gareth Gwenlan (Pilot) Mike Stephens (Series) |
Running time | 30 minutes (per episode) |
Original release | |
Network | BBC1 |
Release | 3 January 1988 – 8 October 1989 |
Related | |
Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010) |
First of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that aired on BBC1. The pilot originally aired on 3 January 1988, and the first series of episodes followed from 4 September 1988. The show ran for two series of six episodes each, with the final episode airing on 8 October 1989. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Gareth Gwenlan. Both series of episodes were produced and directed by Mike Stephens. The show has never been repeated by the BBC but has occasionally been repeated on Gold. [1] The show was broadcast in Australia on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation network in the early 1990s. [2]
First of the Summer Wine is a prequel to Clarke's long running show, Last of the Summer Wine , portraying the youth of the principal characters from the mother show in the months leading up to World War II. With the possibility of war hanging over them, the young men and women enjoy their youth while trying to find a place for themselves in the world. The show used young, mostly unknown actors to play the characters, with only two actors from the original series making an appearance in the prequel. [3]
With the success of Last of the Summer Wine, the BBC approved a new series which Roy Clarke would carry over characters of the original show. [1] With the new series, Clarke hoped to show the lives of his characters as they were in the "first summer" of their lives, as opposed to the "last summer" depicted in Last of the Summer Wine. While there would still be the "shadow of the Grim Reaper" hanging over them, this time it would be because of World War II, not due to their old age. [4]
For the new series, Clarke used mostly young, inexperienced actors to fill the roles of the characters carried over from the original series. The actors were required to mimic the vocal characteristics and mannerisms already established in Last of the Summer Wine to create a continuity between the two series. [4]
The show features much 1920s and 1930s music, which adds to the nostalgic feel of the show. The theme tune is "Sweet and Lovely", sung by Al Bowlly, accompanied by Roy Fox and his Band. The recording was made in London on 18 September 1931. [1]
First of the Summer Wine followed a group of young men and women, some of whom were adapted from Last of the Summer Wine, with others being specifically created for the new show. The men consisted of Paul Wyett as the scruffy and immature Compo Simmonite; David Fenwick as meek and deep-thinking Norman Clegg; Paul McLain as snobbish ladder-climber Seymour Utterthwaite; Richard Lumsden as the eager soldier Foggy Dewhurst; Gary Whitaker as the love-smitten Wally Batty; and Paul Oldham as their friend, Sherbert. The women consisted of Helen Patrick as the object of Wally's affections, Nora Renshaw; Sarah Dangerfield as Ivy; Joanne Heywood as Dilys, Judy Flynn as Lena, and Linda Davidson as Anita Pillsworth. [5]
The adults around the young people act as supporting characters. Peter Sallis and Maggie Ollerenshaw play David and Violet Clegg, Norman's parents. Sallis had played the role of Norman in Last of the Summer Wine and Ollerenshaw had appeared in 3 episodes. Derek Benfield portrays Mr Scrimshaw, the manager of the shop where Ivy, Dilys, Sherbert, Norman and Seymour work. [5]
First of the Summer Wine takes place between May and September 1939, in the months leading up to World War II. [2] The series revolves around the diary entries of the young Norman Clegg. Each episode begins with him resting on his bedroom windowsill and greeting the day; the words "the diary of Norman Clegg, aged 18 years" introduce the theme of each episode.
Episodes revolve around the antics of the young men of a small Yorkshire village and their usually level-headed female counterparts, all of whom are grappling with the world around them, their youth, and their experiences with the opposite sex. With rumblings of war on the European continent as Hitler's Nazi Germany and the United Kingdom become increasingly poised for war, the lives of the young men and women will be changed forever. [2]
The scenario uses retroactive continuity. In Last of the Summer Wine, Seymour is introduced in later series, and is initially unknown to the other central characters. [6]
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
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First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 7 | 3 January 1988 | 9 October 1988 | |
2 | 6 | 3 September 1989 | 8 October 1989 |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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1 | 1 | "First of the Summer Wine" | Gareth Gwenlan | Roy Clarke | 3 January 1988 | |
Clegg has to be helped home after a game of football with his cousin Brad. Seymour calls on Miss Deborah Norbury to take her for a "spin" in his car. She gets oil on her dress and storms back into her house after a few minutes. On Sunday, after church and tea, the lads go for a walk in the hills and encounter Foggy on guard duty. After work the next day, the gang visit the local cinema before congregating at the Hygienic Fisheries. [5] | ||||||
2 | 2 | "Taller Exercises" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 4 September 1988 | |
Clegg meets Wally, who has started doing special exercises in a bid to become taller. He is hanging from the parapet of a bridge until he loses his grip and falls into the river. Back at work, Wally and Compo join the lads in the Co-op cellar for a "fag break". That evening, the gang go to the cinema. In an effort to impress Nora, they hold Wally by the legs and dangle him over the balcony. All of them are thrown out. [5] | ||||||
3 | 3 | "The Just Doesn't Suit" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 11 September 1988 | |
Clegg and Sherbet have to deliver a roll of lino to the home of Miss Deborah Norbury. Seymour asks them to deliver a letter to the young lady. When they try to make the delivery, Mrs Norbury insists that they have brought the wrong lino, so they have to return to the shop. Mr Scrimshaw has to go out to a meeting, so he leaves Seymour in charge. He persuades Clegg to take his place so that he can help Sherbet to deliver the replacement lino to the Norbury's house. While Seymour is away, Clegg has to measure a man for a new suit. He makes a complete mess of things. When the customer returns for a final fitting, the suit is two sizes too small. [5] | ||||||
4 | 4 | "The Way of the Warrior" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 18 September 1988 | |
Clegg's dad is in a panic because his wife is dragging him off to the Co-op to buy a new suit. Compo has annoyed Chunky Livesey and now lives in fear of retribution. Mr Clegg goes to be measured for his new suit. He is surprised to learn that one of his shoulders is lower than the other. Chunky Livesey catches up with Compo and arranges to meet him in the park after dark for a fight. Compo 'persuades' Foggy to take his place. When Chunky turns up with a gang of his mates, the lads decide to beat a hasty retreat. [7] | ||||||
5 | 5 | "Snuff and Stuff" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 25 September 1988 | |
Clegg, Seymour and Sherbet suspect that Mr Scrimshaw is sneaking off to the gents' fitting room to take snuff. They wonder where he hides his snuff box. The lads persuade Wally Batty to pretend to be a customer trying on some trousers. He bursts into the fitting room just in time to see Mr Scrimshaw hiding his snuff under the seat of a chair. The boys put strong pepper in Mr Scrimshaw's snuff but it does not seem to have any effect on him. Next, they add mouse droppings. This does not seem to work either, though when Mr Scrimshaw gets home he cannot understand why his cat is so interested in his moustache. [7] | ||||||
6 | 6 | "The Great Indoors" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 2 October 1988 | |
The lads decide to spend the weekend camping in the hills. Foggy finds a place to pitch their tent – in a dilapidated barn. They try to light a fire but only succeed in filling the barn with smoke. They take a trip to the nearest pub. When they get back to the barn, they find it full of cows, so they decide to pack up and go home. On the way home, they get Seymour to tow their handcart behind his car. His brakes fail and the car ends up in a ditch. [8] | ||||||
7 | 7 | "Youth Wanted" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 9 October 1988 | |
Mr Scrimshaw is advertising for a youth for light duties. Compo decides to apply for the job but Scrimshaw turns him down. Clegg's mother helps Compo to smarten himself up and gives him one of her husband's old suits. Scrimshaw still does not think he is suitable for a job at the Co-op. Clegg, Sherbet and Seymour are having a "fag break" in the cellar at the Co-op store. Compo joins them. Two men from head office make a surprise visit to check on air-raid precautions. Mr Scrimshaw takes them down to the cellar where they find the lads in the middle of their break. The men from head office want to know what Compo is doing there. Clegg tells them that he is a new member of staff. Mr Scrimshaw is in no position to contradict him. [9] |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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8 | 1 | "Not Thee Missus" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 3 September 1989 | |
Compo is washing the windows at the Co-op store. Clegg, Seymour and Sherbet swap his bucket of clean water for one containing dirty water. Foggy's mother takes him to the Co-op to buy new pyjamas. Mr Scrimshaw suggests a pair 'with a stronger gusset'. Seymour is still pining for Deborah Norbury. Compo suggests a plan to help Seymour out. He'll jump out of hiding in front of the young lady, allowing Seymour to come to her rescue. The plan goes wrong when Compo jumps out in front of Mrs Norbury by mistake. [9] | ||||||
9 | 2 | "Compo Drops In" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 10 September 1989 | |
The gang discuss the previous night's Co-op dance. Clegg is rather embarrassed because Anita Pilsworth from Accounts walked him home. Compo bemoans the fact that he cannot foxtrot. He practices with a shop dummy, thus annoying Mr Scrimshaw. Wally is still failing to impress Nora with his new motorbike, mainly because it falls over whenever he gets off. Seymour declares his intention to become a fighter pilot once the war starts. He asks Foggy what qualifications he would need. Foggy says that he would have to be able to "spin around at high speed". The lads spin him round in Mr Scrimshaw's office chair. He ends up dizzy and very unsteady on his feet. Mr Scrimshaw thinks he has been drinking. The gang goes to the cinema. Compo has no money, so he tries to sneak in through a rooftop window. He ends up dangling in front of the screen and is caught by the commissionaire. [9] | ||||||
10 | 3 | "The Gypsy Fiddler" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 17 September 1989 | |
The lads are all feeling stiff after pushing a gypsy caravan belonging to Compo's mother. Anita Pilsworth is still chasing Clegg. Foggy is practicing camouflage techniques. He is talked into pretending to be a shop window dummy and he subsequently manages to startle Wally. Compo devises a plan to help Wally by dressing up as a gypsy fortune-teller and convincing Nora that she will marry a "short miserable little nit wearing an LNER cap". All goes well until the caravan rolls away, dragging Compo past the girls and revealing the identity of the fortune-teller. [9] | ||||||
11 | 4 | "Ain't Love Dangerous" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 24 September 1989 | |
Deborah Norbury is unwell, so Seymour decides to take her a box of chocolates. He just needs to find a way of getting past her mother. Clegg's mother is upset because Mr Clegg's new Air-Raid Warden's uniform has arrived. It consists of an armband, a tin helmet and a whistle. With the help of the lads, Seymour tries climbing a ladder to Deborah Norbury's bedroom window so that he can deliver the chocolates. He only succeeds in scaring the young lady. Compo has been seeing Chunky Livesey's girlfriend. At the cinema, Compo learns that Chunky is waiting for him outside. He manages to sneak out with Wally sitting on his shoulders, wearing a long trench coat. [10] | ||||||
12 | 5 | "The Body Snatchers" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 1 October 1989 | |
The lads convince Foggy that they have 'borrowed' a dead body from the Co-op funeral service. It's actually Wally wrapped in a sheet. Mr Scrimshaw spends most of the day setting up a display of tins, only to see it collapse at closing time. At the cinema, Seymour learns that Deborah Norbury is upstairs in the circle. He goes up to see her but is tripped by Lena. He falls into Deborah's lap and she walks out on him. Compo is thrown out of the cinema. He tries to sneak back in through the window in the gents' lavatory. He manages to pull a cistern off the wall and gets soaked. [11] | ||||||
13 | 6 | "Quiet Wedding" | Mike Stephens | Roy Clarke | 8 October 1989 | |
Dilys and Brad are getting married. The lads travel to the registry office on Compo's old motorbike and sidecar, which keeps tipping up. At the reception, Compo has to sit with his trousers around his ankles because he has got oil all over them. Mr Clegg reads out the telegrams, one of which is from Brad's airbase, recalling him to duty. Later, the lads go for a walk and find Foggy guarding a bridge. He shows them his new bayonet, but manages to drop it into the river. Compo is lowered over the bridge using Seymour's long scarf. He falls in but manages to retrieve the missing bayonet. The next morning, war is declared on Germany. [11] |
Series | Originally aired | Region 2 (UK) | Region 4 (Aus) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1988 | 6 June 2011 [12] | 1 September 2011 [13] | |
2 | 1989 | 18 June 2012 [14] | 10 April 2013 [15] |
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. Subsequently, the final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. Since its original release, all 295 episodes, comprising thirty-one series—including the pilot and all films and specials—have been released on DVD. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on BBC One, Gold, Yesterday, and Drama. It is also seen in more than 25 countries, including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. With the exception of programmes relaunched 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.
William John Owen Rowbotham, was an English actor and songwriter. He was the father of actor Tom Owen. He is best known for portraying Compo Simmonite in the Yorkshire-based BBC comedy series Last of the Summer Wine for over a quarter of a century. He died on 12 July 1999, his last appearance on-screen being shown in April 2000.
Peter John Sallis was an English actor, known for his work on British television. He was the voice of Wallace in the Academy Award-winning Wallace and Gromit films and played Norman "Cleggy" Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine from its 1973 inception until the final episode in 2010, making him the only actor to appear in all 295 episodes. Additionally, he portrayed Norman Clegg's father in the prequel series First of the Summer Wine.
Royston Clarke is an English comedy writer best known for creating the sitcoms Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping Up Appearances, Open All Hours and its sequel series, Still Open All Hours.
William Simmonite, better known by his nickname of Compo, was a character in the world's longest-running sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine.
"There Goes the Groom" is the 1997 Christmas special of the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine first shown on 28 December 1997. It was the first to feature Frank Thornton as new third man leader Herbert "Truly of the Yard" Truelove. The episode also marked the final appearance of Foggy. The trio in this episode consisted of: Compo, Clegg and Truly.
Last of the Summer Wine's first series originally aired on BBC1 between 4 January 1973 and 17 December 1973. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by James Gilbert.
Last of the Summer Wine'ssecond series originally aired on BBC1 between 5 March and 16 April 1975. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Bernard Thompson.
Last of the Summer Wine'sthird series originally aired on BBC1 between 27 October 1976 and 24 December 1976. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced by Sydney Lotterby Five episodes were directed by Sydney Lotterby but two: the two-parter, "The Great Boarding House Bathroom Caper" and "Cheering Up Gordon", were directed by Ray Butt.
Last of the Summer Wine'sfourth series originally aired on BBC1 between 9 November 1977 and 4 January 1978. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Sydney Lotterby.
Last of the Summer Wine'sfifth series originally aired on BBC1 between 18 September and 30 October 1979. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Sydney Lotterby.
Last of the Summer Wine'ssixth series originally aired on BBC1 between 4 January and 15 February 1982. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.
Last of the Summer Wine'sseventh series originally aired on BBC1 between 25 December 1982 and 27 December 1983. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Sydney Lotterby, except for "Getting Sam Home", which is produced and directed by Alan J.W. Bell.
Last of the Summer Wine'seighth series originally aired on BBC1 between 30 December 1984 and 17 March 1985. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.
Last of the Summer Wine'sninth series originally aired on BBC1 between 1 January 1986 and 27 December 1987. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.
Last of the Summer Wine's 30th series originally aired 19 April 2009. All eleven episodes in series 30 were 30 minutes in length. A New Years Special aired on 31 December 2008. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.
Margaret Ollerenshaw is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Mavis in the BBC sitcom Open All Hours (1981–1982) and its sequel Still Open All Hours (2013–2019). Her other television credits include First of the Summer Wine (1988–1989), The House of Eliott (1992) and Lovejoy (1993–1994).
Last of the Summer Wine's thirty-first and final series was aired in 2010, beginning on 25 July. All six episodes in series 31 were 30 minutes in length. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.
Norman Clegg, often nicknamed Cleggy, is a fictional character from the world's longest-running sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine. He was the only character to appear in every episode of the programme.