LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE COUNTRY

Filming "Stop That Castle"

Filming of the episode "Stop That Castle" which was broadcast Boxing Day 1992.

Last of the Summer Wine was a delightful sit-com centred around elderly folk enjoying, not the twilight but instead, the late summer of their lives.  Filmed in and around Holmfirth and Marsden in West Yorkshire, Last of the Summer Wine became the world's longest running situation comedy, first appearing on January 4th, 1973 when the first episode was broadcast as part of BBC's Comedy Playhouse and continuing until 2010.
   
For much of the series the show centred around three characters:
William "Compo" Simmonite, played by Bill Owen,
Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst, played by Brian Wilde and
Norman Clegg, played by Peter Sallis.

For a while, Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge) replaced Foggy as one of the "main three" and after the death of Compo, his son, Tom Simmonite (played by Bill Owen's son, Tom) joined the crew.  Norman Clegg was the only character to last the whole 37 years that Last of the Summer Wine graced our TV screens and he was given the final line.

Episodes of Last of the Summer Wine continue to be repeated on various UK satellite and digital TV channels such as Gold, UK Drama and Yesterday and in the USA on various PBS channels as well as VisionTV in Canada.  TV stations in over 25 countries are currently repeating episodes of LOTSW.

Various locations around Holmfirth have become tourist attractions, especially Sid's Café where the characters often met.

I was fortunate to be in Marsden during the filming of "Stop That Castle" in Marsden in August 1992 where I had the opportunity to speak to some of the cast and also appear in a crowd scene.  "Stop That Castle" was broadcast on Boxing Day of that year.

BACK