Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a "Britcom", or British sitcom, which has run longer than any other British comedy series, now in its twenty-third series. Set in and around Holmfirth, Yorkshire, the series centers around the adventures of three elderly, unmarried friends: Norman Clegg (Peter Sallis), "Cleggy", shy and self-effacing; and William "Compo" Simmonite, sly and amorous towards one of the women, Nora Batty (Bill Owen, who was replaced on his death by his son Tom Owen, playing Compo's son), and a third member, who varied through the series. The original third member was Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates), then Foggy Dewhurst (Brian Wilde), pompous and boastful, then the ineffectual eccentric would-be inventor Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge), then a return by Foggy Dewhurst and currently retired police officer Herbert "Truly" Truelove (Peter Sallis)
- Compo Simmonite (Bill Owen*)
- The third member of the trio:
- Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates*)
- Foggy Dewhurst (Brian Wilde)
- Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge)
- Truly Truelove (Frank Thornton)
- Nora Batty (Kathy Staff), Compo's love interest (especially after Wally's death)
- Wally Batty (Joe Gladwin*), Nora's husband (in early episodes)
- Howard (Robert Fyfe), henpecked husband, and lover of Marina
- Pearl (Juliet Kaplan), Howard's long-suffering wife and a bit of a shrew
- Marina (Jean Fergusson), flashy but over-age, Howard's love interest
- Aunty Wainwright (Jean Alexander), sly and grasping junkstore owner
- Sid (John Comer*), bluff tea-shop owner (in early episodes)
- Ivy (Jane Freeman), joint owner of tea-shop with husband Sid
- Edie Pegden (Dame Thora Hird*), highly opinionated older woman
- Wesley Pegden (Gordon Wharmby*), Edie's husband, who spends all his time in his workshop
- Glenda Wilkinson (Sarah Thomas), daughter of Edie and Wesley
- Barry Wilkinson (Mike Grady), hen-pecked husband of Glenda
- Smiler (Stephen Lewis), sour and not-too-bright comic foil
- Eli Duckett (Danny O'Dea), extremely near-sighted bumbler
- Tom Simmonite (Tom Owen), Compo's son on the show and in real life
- Billy Hardcastle (Keith Clifford), claimed descendent and would-be emulator of Robin Hood
- Policemen (Ken Kitson and Tony Capstick), generally seen driving around the moors and trying not to get involved with anything
- Barman (only occasionally seen)
*These actors have died and their characters' deaths have been written into the scripts.
See also
