Spoof news: The Curse Of The Last Of The Summer Wine The Curse Of The Last Of The Summer Wine Saturday, 30 August 2008 Beware of appearing in "The Last Of The Summer Wine"! Actor Stephen Lewis today revealed why he left the popular BBC comedy series "The Last Of The Summer Wine". This show written by Roy Clarke has been running continuously since it began back in 1973 and remains popular Sunday teatime viewing due to it's quiet rural and gentle nature. Mr Lewis (78) played the miserable character of "Smiler" for ten years and is best known for the role as the miserable bus conductor "Blakey" in the 1970's hit comedy "On The Buses".

Lewis told us, "There is a curse on the Summer Wine show and I wanted to try and escape it before I fell victim to it!" This "curse" as Lewis describes it is, "it has become a retirement home for comedy actors and actresses and they end up dying because of their association with it!" Mr Lewis has a point for over it's time on air, Dame Thora Hird, Brian Wilde, Bill Owen, and Joe Gladwin to name a few have all died. "I'm really concerned for the mortality of my old co stars Frank Thornton (86) and Peter Sallis (88)" mutters Lewis. "June Whitfield and Jean Alexander are no spring chickens either." he added. "We had Norman Wisdom in one episode and look at what's since happened to him... he's in a home on the Isle of Man suffering from senility... poor old Norman..." "Writer Roy Clarke told me he wanted to write a part for my old co-star Reg Varney...

Reg is in a retirement home now, aged 90 and unable to control his bowels, but Roy thought it might do Reg some good to appear in the show, but I rang Reg and told him not to take the job" reveals Mr Lewis. "I was horrified when June Whitfield joined... I saw this list that Clarke had of all the stars he wants in the show and God help them if they accept!" We asked Mr Lewis to elaborate further and reveal some of the names on the list and he revealed the list included Bruce Forsyth, Patrick McNee, The Duke Of Edinburgh, John Noakes, Ronnie Corbett and Tom Baker. Lewis quipped "Why not Jeremy Clarkson? Andrew Lloyd Webber? Eamonn Holmes? Or even Lily Allen? It's time we got rid of some lousy talent by inflicting the curse upon them!" Shooting has just begun on the 79th series of "The Last Of The Summer Wine" which will be broadcast early next year... providing the curse doesn't take away any more of the shows' stars.

"It's terrible" mumbled Lewis before we parted, "it ceased to be funny about 17 years ago, but on and on the show runs and on and on actors continue to fall to it's awful curse... please excuse me, I'm not feeling at all well myself..." We would like to wish Stephen Lewis a speedy recovery from a heart attack he suffered seconds after we spoke to him. He is currently appearing in bed number 56 in the Fosdick Ward in Leamington Spa Hospital. Make Elliott Peters's day - give this story five thumbs-up (there's no need to register, the thumbs are just down there!) Stephen Lewis dead: On the Buses and Last of the Summer Wine star dies aged 88 | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV | Daily Express Stephen Lewis dead: On the Buses and Last of the Summer Wine star dies aged 88 ACTOR Stephen Lewis has died at the age of 88, his family have confirmed.

06:09, Fri, Aug 14, 2015 | UPDATED: 07:42, Fri, Aug 14, 2015 PA Stephen Lewis has died aged 88 The star made his name in the 1970s when he starred in sitcom On The Buses, playing jobsworth ticket inspector Blakey. Stephen's death leaves Anna Karen, who played Olive Rudge, at the only surviving main cast member of the sitcom. Stephen also played Smiler in the BBC's Last of the Summer Wine. Today many fans took to Twitter to pay their respects, including a few notable names. Related articles Dora Bryan February 7, 1923 - July 23, 2014 Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp – who worked with Steven on The Krays – said: "RIP Stephen Lewis... So pleased we worked together on The Krays. My thoughts are with your family and friends." His brother Gary added: "Stephen Lewis, a major part of Joan Littlewood's revolution, a big part of my childhood and a gentleman to work with." Paddy McGuinness wrote: "Gutted to hear Stephen Lewis has sadly passed away.

Another piece of my childhood telly gone. #Blakey" According to his family, the actor died "quite peacefully" in a nursing home in Wanstead, east London, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. He was "in high spirits" right until the end, his niece Rebecca Lewis said, adding that he had been in the care home for around three years. PA Stephen was best known for playing Blakey in On The Buses "He was always singing and joking," she said. His nephew Peter Lewis said said his uncle's health had gradually declined over the past few years, but said he died "quite peacefully". He added "I'll remember him as being a funny man." Peter continued: "He had terrible arthritis in one knee which really badly affected him, and many years ago he had prostate cancer - and whether that had come back we don't know." Stephen's nursing home manager, Rashid Ebrahimkhan, revealed the actor would often deliver his famous lines from On The Buses, including "I'll get you for this Butler" and "Get these buses out Butler".

PA Stephen began his career as a merchant seaman before getting into acting PA His family said Stephen 'died peacefully' at his nursing home Britains Best Loved Comedians WENN 1 of 11 Peter Kay - "I met a Dutch girl with inflatable shoes last week, phoned her up to arrange a date but unfortunately she'd popped her clogs." [WENN] Rashid added: "He was very resilient until the last." Lewis was born in Poplar, east London, and began his career as a merchant seaman before getting into acting. His break out role in On The Buses came in 1969, and the series ran for 74 half-hour episodes and spawned three films. The first movie, On the Buses, was the biggest box office smash of 1971, out-performing the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. Stephen's funeral will take place on Tuesday August 25 at Our Lady Of Lourdes Church in Wanstead, east London. Most read in TV & Radio Last of the Summer Wine (Series) - TV Tropes Last of the Summer Wine You need to login to do this.

Get Known if you don't have an account Share Series / Last of the Summer Wine × WMG Just another day. (l-r) Clegg, Compo and Foggy, pursued by the formidable Nora Batty Last of the Summer Wine was a gentle, family-friendly TV comedy set in rural Yorkshire, Oop North in England, which became the world's longest -running Sitcom . First aired in 1973 and running almost continually until 2010 , its remarkable longevity is starkly ironic in light of the fact that it centred from the word go upon a Comic Trio of elderly men who — as the show's title suggests — were meant to be living out the autumn of their years, and their friends and neighbours of a similar, erm, vintage. Frequently regressing to a kind of eccentric second youth, the trio routinely got themselves into comic scrapes , often while trying to help somebody or partake in a perfectly sensible-sounding Zany Scheme . Just quite how old the characters were meant to be originally is unsure, but the actors were actually in their 50s when the show was first aired, and by the final episode the oldest surviving cast members were in their late 80s.

The original trio was Compo (scruffy and lazy, played by Bill Owen), Clegg (meek, quiet and sensible, played by ever-present Peter Sallis) and Blamire (pompous, opinionated conservative, played by Michael Bates); Blamire was replaced in 1976 by the first of several suspiciously similar substitutes , "Foggy" Dewhirst (pompous, ex-military), played by Brian Wilde and who quickly elected himself the leader of the other two, who put up with this arrangement because his schemes always went so amusingly wrong. Subsequent leaders, all pompous, were incompetent inventor and ex-teacher Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge, 1986-90), a returning Foggy (1990-97) and ex-policeman 'Truly' Truelove (Frank Thornton, 1998-2010). Toward the end, a new trio took the central role, while Clegg and Truly receded into supporting roles. Most of the characters had a Yorkshire accent , and exemplified many of the associated stereotypes.

During its run, the show used the majority of Comedy Tropes , most commonly Zany Scheme . It also had many running gags: Howard and Marina's affair, Auntie Wainwright's shop, Nora Batty's stockings. The quintessential sight, at least in public perception, was someone ï¿½ usually Compo ï¿½ whizzing down a hill in some Homemade Invention like a tin bathtub with wheels on, crashing into a low drystone wall at the bottom and disappearing over it into a field. Despite their age, the characters appeared to have rubber bones, routinely suffering accidents like this which would leave most people severely injured, let alone someone of their advanced years. Unsurprisingly perhaps, after decades on the air the show was frequently a target of those who saw it as stale and repetitive and wished to see it axed. The BBC kept producing new episodes, however, as it remained highly popular, in particular among older generations; several older members of The British Royal Family were known to have apparently stated Summer Wine was their favourite television programme, including HM The Queen and the Queen Mother. More bizarrely, so did President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.

New seasons were broadcast most years of its run (1973, 1975-79, 1982-83, 1985-86, 1988-2010), as well as multiple holiday specials and a two-season Spin-Off , First of the Summer Wine, a Prequel broadcast in 1988-89. In August 2010, the show was finally concluded by the BBC after 31 series. Every episode ever was written by just one man: Roy Clarke. Came fourteenth in Britain's Best Sitcom . It would be easier to list the tropes this series did NOT used by the end of its epic run, but some of the more frequently invoked were: Abhorrent Admirer : Marina to Clegg. Supposedly Compo to Nora Batty, but there were increasing hints over the years that she secretly welcomed his attentions. Absentee Actor : The actor who played Barry, Mike Grady, was gone between 1990-96 working on other shows. Glenda mentioned him very frequently during that time in order to indicate that he hadn't just run off.

Anyone Can Die : Not worked into the show so much as it is the fact that many of the actors on the show were rather elderly. Despite this, the show had a very long run indeed. Apron Matron : This is perhaps THE Sitcom for Apron Matrons, as practically every female cast member fell under this trope. Those who didn't when they were introduced only needed a decade or two to assimilate. Clegg says of their town in the first episode: "This is God's number-one area for unpleasant women of strong character." It's implied that most of the female cast were quite good-looking in their younger days, and strongly implied that given the nature of their respective menfolk, their subsequent character development is entirely understandable The Artifact : A close miss with the name of the show itself ï¿½ it was nearly titled "The Library Mob", in anticipation of the location being central to the core characters' lives and Zany Schemes . Early on, however, the library's importance as a setting dwindled considerably from its original conception. The character Tom Simmonite was initially intended to take his father Compo's place in the central trio. However, the result was awkward because Tom was so much younger than the other two.

After a small number of episodes, the character Billy Hardcastle started to take Tom's place. But, Tom stayed on the show, now in a much-reduced role as Auntie Wainwright's shop assistant, for the remaining ten years of its run. Ascended Extra : Probably one of the biggest culprits of this, increasingly so as the series went on, as previous mainstays died off or had their roles reduced due to age. The characters of Wesley, Smiler, Auntie Wainright, Billy and all three policemen were originally one-off appearances, who later came back as regulars. Countless other minor characters were increased in importance, with Alvin, Billy & Entwistle graduating to members of the main trio. Auntie Wainwright appears to be a case of Throw It In , completely unrelated to the original set-up but much too good a joke and actress to be allowed to let slip. Notably, a spin-off has been announced, centering around Those Two Guys Police Constables Cooper and Walsh, of all people. Asexuality : Clegg is not classified as this outright, but he was quite open about his aversion to romance and sex, even during his marriage.

As evidence, see his squicked reaction whenever Marina or any other woman showed an interest in him. In the episode "A Landlady for Smiler" Clegg states he was quite relieved when his hormones had settled down and women didn't interest him as much, and he had woken up as a middle-aged man. When Compo asks how long ago was that, he answers that "I suppose when I was about 23 years old." Badass Grandpa : Foggy likes to make it out he's one, but really he's nothing of the sort, and nobody's fooled. Auntie Wainwright on the other hand, even ignoring her ability to continually sell worthless junk to everyone who falls into her grasp, she's done some pretty impressive things for a small old lady. For instance when someone tried to mug her, she ended up breaking their nose; another time she stopped a robber by grasping hold of their legs and holding on all the way to end of the street when they gave up. In another, she held the trio at shotgun point, just to make sure they weren't after a refund.

Beach Episode : A multi-parter was done in Scarborough early in the series, and another one, in France, just before Compo's death. Blind Mistake : Eli's whole shtick. British Brevity : ...Well. Utterly destroyed the traditional limits with its grand total of 295 episodes, which is hardly anything to sneeze at even by American standards, but it's a relatively low number for a show that ran for 37 years. Most seasons, per the Anglo norm, were 7-10 episodes long. Bungling Inventor : Seymour. The Bus Came Back : Foggy (literally!) ï¿½ his character returned in 1990, after a five-year absence, on the next actual bus after the one his replacement Seymour had just left on. Call Back : Truly was introduced in a special about wacky hijinks leading up to a wedding, "There Goes The Groom" ï¿½ as had been Seymour years before in "Uncle of the Bride". Cast Herd : Began appearing increasingly once the extended Pegden family was introduced in the '80s.

This mostly broke down into a female herd (which always stuck pretty close together) and a male herd, which would include the main trio and any other blokes they would pick up throughout the episode. After Compo died, the herds of men became less cohesive, as did the female herd after Edie's death. Edie to Glenda to shut her up after an Armour Piercing Question : "Drink your coffee!" Clegg, after coming out of Auntie Wainwright's: "I didn't buy an (X), I was sold an (X)!" Marina referring to Clegg as "...Nnnorman Clegg that was!" Clegg philosophically complaining about something: "It's flying in the face of nature!" Compo, whenever Seymour needs someone to test his latest prototype: "He's looking at me, Norm! Why's he looking at me, Norm?" Character Outlives Actor : Contrary to the above, there were occasional exceptions to the rule of killing off characters after their actors' deaths. Most notably, legendary battleaxe Nora Batty was left alive "in Australia" after a 35-year run following her actress Kathy Staff's death.

Recurrent incidental character Eli was earlier left in limbo forever after actor Danny O'Dea died, even though he appeared in most episodes over 15 years; since he was rarely crucial to the plot and wasn't closely related to any other characters, his ultimate fate remained unmentioned. Chew Toy : Smiler, the gentle, elderly, lugubrious assistant to the fearsome Auntie Wainwright. Chuck Cunningham Syndrome : While most characters were given at least passing mention when they departed, there were a few notable exceptions: Billy Hardcastle, who ascended from minor character to a member of the trio, disappeared after the 27th series without explanation or mention. Eli Duckett, a popular recurring character for 15 years, was never mentioned again after the actor playing him died, as noted just above. Ros was never mentioned again after her actress left following the 26th series. When Tom first arrived in town, he was accompanied by Mrs. Avery, a potential love interest and foil for Nora Batty, and her niece, Babs. Both characters were unpopular, and Babs disappeared after only three episodes, while Mrs. Avery was around for a series.

Neither character was mentioned since their departure despite their former relationship with Tom. Earlier on, the librarians, Mr. Wainwright and Mrs Partridge, were regulars during the first series but disappeared completely during the second series without mention or explanation. Mr. Wainwright would return for a few episodes during the third season but disappeared completely following the third series and was never mentioned again. Comic Trio : The core of the series for the great majority of its run, with several decades centred around the characters of Compo, Clegg and A.N. Other ï¿½ sequentially Blamire, Foggy, Seymour, Foggy (again) and Truly. Less so in the later years following Compo's death, when the series tinkered with pairs, quartets, quintets, and mobs without matching the success of the previous trios. Commuting on a Bus : In the final season, Clegg and Truly no longer received top-billing.

Actors Peter Sallis and Frank Thornton were no longer covered by insurance to shoot outdoor scenes due to their age ï¿½ born days apart in early 1921, both were pushing 90 ï¿½ and since the series mostly consisted of outdoor scenes, they were limited only to brief cameos (mostly at Clegg's flat) from then on. Convenient Replacement Character : Often, when a main trio member bowed out, a replacement character showed up to fulfill that very same role. The famous example is Seymour's last episode, where he was called out of retirement and left town; Foggy moved back into town on the very next bus. The two just barely missed one another. A less-remembered example was when Truly replaced Foggy. In this case, Truly is already hanging out with the trio (and Foggy, played by a stand-in kept facing away from the camera, is too badly hung-over to speak). By the end of the episode, Foggy has suddenly married and moved away, and Truly simply carries on in his place. Correspondence Course : Seymour ran one of these, known as the Utterthwaite Postal University.

Compo read its logo as "Up You!", to Seymour's consternation. Cousin Oliver : Babs, a brooding teenager who arrived in town in the care of Tom and Mrs. Avery but quickly disappeared after only three episodes due to negative reaction to the character. Cut a Slice, Take the Rest : Compo does it with sugar and tea. He doesn't so much take sugar with his tea as the inverse. Darker and Edgier : The original novel by Roy Clarke was noticeably darker in tone than the resulting sitcom; it was adapted fairly faithfully as a special halfway through the show's run, with Foggy instead of Blamire, and the change in tone from a usual episode is quite jarring. (It uses all the usual Yorkshire themes, like adultery- and death-based plot, but does so in a much more serious manner). Daydream Believer : Referenced by Clegg when Howard is trying to get him to judge the quality of a disguise, and Clegg says he wouldn't be any use because he's too gullible: Clegg: I thought Sooty was real! Deadpan Snarker : Clegg and Ivy both spoke sarcasm like it was a second language.

Driving Stick : Edie ("This stupid stick thing! It's your father, he keeps moving the pedals around!"). Not that she'd be any better in an automatic... An inversion with Clegg, who's terrified at the prospect of driving an automatic. But then, he's terrified of driving anyway... Due to the Dead : The focus of a three-episode arc centering on Compo's death and funeral , the final shot of which was the funeral procession taking Compo on one last hillside stroll on the way to his final resting place. Everyone Went to School Together : True of almost the whole cast, except maybe second-generation people like Barry and Glenda. Ignores the sometimes wide age disparity between actors, or the fact that some characters were introduced as newcomers. Expy : Series writer Roy Clarke has pulled a number of Expies on his own shows. Auntie Wainwright is a female variation of Arkwright from Open All Hours , while Hyacinth from Keeping Up Appearances took Edie Pegden's pretentions to a greater extreme. Nora Batty's actress also played a very similar character, Mrs Blewitt, in Open All Hours.

First-Name Basis : Barry and Glenda: Barry's surname, Wilkinson, was only given in the special that introduced the two and saw them married, "Uncle of the Bride". Marina, despite appearing for 25 years as Howard's continual extramarital love interest, never gained a surname. Of the 'central trio', most were known by nicknames (e.g. Compo, Foggy, Truly) or surname (Clegg), but Seymour is always referred to as such ï¿½ possibly because 'Utterthwaite' is a little unwieldy. Perhaps the most extreme example of this trope is Ivy, the only character besides Clegg to last through the series from beginning to end, appearing in 291 of 295 episodes, and never once being given a surname. Five-Man Band : The "Trio" 2002-06 was arranged as follows: Foggy, too (see Multiple-Choice Past ). In fact, all of the characters were eventually reduced to their best-known personality trait, if only for expediency's sake... Loads and Loads of Characters , and all that.

Forgotten Theme Tune Lyrics : Only used in the adaptation of the original novel (see above). Alternative, more specific but equally poignant lyrics were used in the episode where Compo dies. The Friend Nobody Likes : Foggy. He's pompous, delusional, hypocritical and sometimes seems to have a desire to get Compo killed. In fact, the only reason Compo and Clegg hang out with him is because Blamire asked them to, so their whole "friendship" is a favor to their real friend. Compo: (about Foggy) Nice fella. Nobody likes him. Subverted with the other third men (Blamire, Seymour and Truly), who are genuinely well-liked by Compo and Clegg. Glad I Thought of It : Foggy tended to do this very frequently, but he was so unsubtle about it that most people just pitied him and went along with it. Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have : At least, Howard thinks so about Marina. Based on her wardrobe, Marina thinks so also. Compo claims this about Nora Batty. Henpecked Husband : Practically all of them, but especially Wally, Howard, and Wesley.

Heterosexual Life-Partners : Compo and Clegg were virtually inseparable for the first twenty seasons of the show's run, right up until Compo's death in Series 21, which devastated Clegg. Then, when Truly helped Clegg through his grief, he and Clegg were almost always seen together. Hollywood Geography : Holmfirth is actually a fairly large town; the locations such as the cafe, the row of houses, Compo's flat and the moorland road all exist but their implied proximity is an artefact of the format and editing. Homemade Inventions : The fuel for umpteen plots and mishaps through the series' long run. Chief sources were Seymour, Foggy and Wesley. Iconic Outfit : Compo's trousers and wellies. Nora Batty's curlers and wrinkled stockings.

Idiosyncratic Episode Naming : Nearly every episode name just adds to the eccentricity of the show but there are some that stick out more then others such as "The Inventor of the 40ft Ferret," "When You Take A Good Bite, Yorkshire Tastes Terrible," and "The Only Diesel Saxophone in Captivity." In fact a lot of the more unusual episode names are actually a line of dialogue from the episode ï¿½ being done many years before TwoAndAHalfMen had the idea! The Last Title : The title of the series. Loads and Loads of Characters : Started off with a fair number of characters, and over the decades this increased as many popular guest stars and other Ascended Extras became regular cast members. Nonetheless, all the characters usually appeared in every episode. This meant that there were conveniently plenty of characters to fall back on if one of the cast members died, retired, or became too infirm to participate. Similarly, having such a large supporting cast reduced the strain on the principal actors, who in the later years were well into their 80s.

Conversely, a later episode could only afford to have the tiniest shred of a plot so they could fit in enough scenes to accommodate all the players. Long-Runner Cast Turnover : Due not just to the length of the show's run, but to the advanced age of most of the cast. Long-Runners : Defied its premise ï¿½ a trio of elderly men enjoying the autumn of their years ï¿½ to set the boundaries for its genre, with a span of 37 years: the BBC claims it as the longest-running Sitcom in the world, ever. If they had known how long it would go, one wonders if they would've started the main characters out as preteens : ever-present Peter Sallis was in his early fifties when the show started and nearly 90 when it ended. Despite its extraordinarily long run, it is not the sitcom with the most episodes overall ï¿½ that would be The Simpsons ï¿½ due to British Brevity meaning there were 6-12 episodes in most seasons, resulting in 'only' 295. This gives it easily the most for any Brit Com , naturally.

Made of Iron : Despite all the potentially dangerous scrapes the main characters get themselves into, they always avoid serious injury. Mars-and-Venus Gender Contrast : One of the main drivers of the humour. Usually approached by the women, but occasionally the men would weigh in as well, such as Norman Clegg stating the reason why women scare him is that they don't like The Goon Show . Mayï¿½December Romance : Well, perhaps August-December ï¿½ it's not quite certain how old Marina is, though she's of 'a certain age', but still considerably younger than her lust object Howard. Mistaken Nationality / Inscrutable Oriental : Subverted with Entwistle, a deeply Yorkshire-sounding name, played by the Chinese-ethnicity actor Burt Kwouk and apt to come out with gnomic aphorisms. When question about where in the Far East he comes from, he says he's from... Hull, on the Yorkshire coast: "You can't get further east than Hull." His original surname was McIntyre, but he changed it so that people wouldn't mistake him for a Scotsman . Mr.

Fixit : Wesley, sometimes bordering on Gadgeteer Genius , though he had to be roped in to whatever Foggy or Seymour's latest Zany Scheme is. Multiple-Choice Past : Foggy. Although he always had the attribute of 'exaggerating his military experience', in his first run he seemed to have some such experience and exaggerated it a little, whereas in his second run this was Flanderized into apparently never having seen action at all, but claiming to be a master of martial arts, trained silent killer and having been offered the crowns of several native tribes. No Accounting for Taste : Just about all the aforementioned Apron Matron & Henpecked Husband pairings. Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other sometimes applies. What DOES Marina see in Howard? And then there's Clegg, who was married for a couple of decades, despite an apparently life-long record of asexuality. No, Except Yes : Every time Clegg walks out of Auntie Wainwright's having been bullied into buying something useless. Another character: Why did you buy an (X)? Clegg: I didn't buy an (X), I was sold an (X)!

Only Known by Their Nickname / Only One Name : Quite a few of the male cast in particular, with many characters referred to habitually by only one name, from Blamire to Entwistle ï¿½ sometimes a real name, often not. Clegg was usually called 'Cleggy' and only rarely 'Norman', Seymour was in contrast referred to by his first name only. Compo's real name of William (Bill) Simmonite was very rarely indeed referred to: you'd be able to watch for years without ever divining his surname, let alone his real first name. Foggy's full name was Walter C. Dewhirst, Truly's Herbert Truelove. Smiler's real name, Clem Hemingway, was only given in his introductory episode. The practice was more or less de rigeur by the end of the show's run, hence 'Hobbo' (Luther Hobdyke), while Entwistle's only extant first name appeared to be 'Electrical'. Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping : Played for laughs with Edie, who would often put on an exaggerated posh southern accent that quickly broke down.

Oop North Ostentatious Secret : Compo's matchbox, with its unknown but terrifying contents. Joke shops in England used to stock matchboxes exactly like that one, each containing a rubber severed penis. Pantomime Dame : Inverted by Marina and Nora Batty, at times. Marina's appearance verged at times on the grotesque or parodic, and Nora Batty's views regarding Compo come very close to Aside Glance at times. Pet the Dog : Fierce as the ladies were, they were all given their tender-hearted moments. This mostly happened for Pearl, arguably the meanest female on the programme, who noticeably kept an eye out for the widowed Clegg, particularly after Compo died. It might be inferred that Pearl and Clegg might have been quite fond of each other at some earlier stage of their lives, and Pearl still carried a torch for him to some extent. Pearl's "mean nature" is really an artefact of her basic role as foil to the absurd Howard; she has the basic problem of defending an untenable position and deals with this by treating her husband as the fool he is, rather than be treated as a laughing-stock by the other Apron Matrons.

The Pig Pen : Wesley, being continuously covered in motor oil. On one occasion when Edie actually managed to get him clean, the others pretended not to recognise him. Put on a Bus : Mostly when one of the cast would die, the show quietly killed off their character, but mentioned the death in passing. However, when Kathy Staff died, her character, Nora Batty, packed up and moved off to Australia, and was never mentioned again, despite having been one of the show's iconic characters. Averted in the case of Compo, whose in-universe funeral following the real-life death of Bill Owen formed a complete episode. Rage Against the Heavens : After yet another failed invention : "Why? What have you got against Seymour Utterthwaite?" Real Life Writes the Plot : Younger characters became the protagonists towards the latter end of the series as the BBC was having major difficulty finding insurance cover for Sallis (Clegg) and Thornton (Truly), who were both well over eighty, for location shooting so the actors were restricted to studio shooting only. When Bill Owen, the actor playing Compo died in 1999, his real-life son Tom joined the cast playing Compo's long lost son... Tom.

Many of the supporting actors died during the show's run, with their deaths being written into the script. Michael Aldridge had no desire to quit as Seymour, but was forced to by the need to care for his wife, who had dementia. Robin Hood : Compo's eventual replacement as a member of the central trio was Billy Hardcastle, who modelled himself on Robin Hood. His first appearance on the show showed him attempting to recruit a band of Merry Men to go with him to rob from the rich and give to the poor. Running Gag The ladies over at Edie's house for tea and buns had two: always sipping their tea in an unconscious synchronized movement, and having a Politeness Judo contest over the big cream eclair. Edie laying down a trail of newspapers for Wesley to walk on whenever she called him into the house, due to him being covered in oil. Howard's many complicated plans for ensuring that his adultery with Marina wasn't discovered (even though Everybody Knew Already ) ï¿½ "I think we've really cracked it this time love!" It was sometimes implied that he was more interested in coming up with the Zany Schemes than the adultery itself.

Indeed it's implied that no actual infidelity ever takes place. Sadist Teacher : Seymour. When he is called back to work after years of retirement ï¿½ "What do you mean, you're not allowed to hit small boys? That's what they're for!" Scenery Porn : Yorkshire is pretty. Yorkshire is very pretty. Seinfeldian Conversation : Initially the show was almost entirely devoted to this. Latterly it was mainly limited to token scenes, but it was still always there. In the Foggy years, this usually consisted of Foggy carrying a thread about his heroic war experiences/how the other two needed to get into shape, while Compo monologues about Nora Batty, and Clegg mused on something randomly philosophical, such as the implications of the fact that all men are equally purple on the inside. Serious Business : In interview, Peter Sallis noted that the show almost never got off the ground, as Owen and Bates had been cast a little too well as political opposites and were forever having violent political arguments during the pilot and early series. No, really.

Smith of the Yard : Not that he was ever recognised for any great detective skills, but retired policeman Herbert Truelove liked to give himself the epithet "Truly of the Yard". Spot of Tea : All the time in Ivy's cafe. Seymour would sometimes revive Compo after being injured by one of his inventions with "hot sweet tea" ï¿½ which to Compo was never sweet enough, being a 'take one spoonful out of the bowl, tip the rest of the bowl into your cup, then return the spoon' type of fellow. Strictly Formula : The beginning of most of the '90s Foggy episodes followed a very set routine. Each show would start ï¿½ not necessarily in this order ï¿½ with a scene of Compo trying to romance Nora, a scene of Foggy boring/repelling a stranger (or Barry ) with a made-up war story, and a scene of Howard bursting into Clegg's house to ask a favor. Once Foggy left, the openings became a little more varied, although there were still many scenes of Compo pursuing Nora and Howard bothering Clegg.

Suspiciously Similar Substitute : Burly, dark-haired Crusher certainly appeared to be this, because of his resemblance to burly, dark-haired Sid (John Comer). Although oddly, Crusher was supposed to be related to Ivy's side of the family. All the characters referred to as the "third man" of the central trio were physically similar ï¿½ usually much taller than the short Clegg and Compo, as well as tending to be of a higher social class ï¿½ and had a bossy temperament, but are not without their own quirks. Tantrum Throwing : A stock gag; crockery was generally the projectile of choice. Those Two Guys : The two policemen who appeared as regular supporting characters in the later series, who'd sit in their car and just watch the main characters with baffled expressions. Unreliable Narrator : Foggy's war stories. Unusual Euphemism : Ivy's "What the blood and stomach pillsï¿½?!" exclamation. Vitriolic Best Buds : Blamire and Compo's relationship, to a tee.

They constantly bickered and sniped at one anothers' politics and personalities, but nonetheless spent tons of time hanging out together (even in the absence of Clegg). Your Cheating Heart : The Howard/Pearl/Marina storyline was in later years the second-most prominent on the show, but even before they came along, many of the plots surrounded the trio blackmailing some fellow they'd caught fooling around in the hills. Before Howard and Marina were introduced, there was the librarian and his female assistant in the earliest episodes. SUMMER WINE INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN LEWIS SUMMER WINE INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN LEWIS INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN LEWIS (SMILER) January 1995 Reproduced by kind permission of Summer Wine Appreciation Society. Cast as the character Clem Hemingway for the episode "That Certain Smile" Stephen Lewis had no idea that his character would be so popular, and that he would appear again and again on a semi-regular basis.

I caught up with Stephen while he was in pantomime in Barnsley to discuss Summer Wine and some of the other favourite characters including Insp Blake of "On the Buses." Q First of all, Stephen, could you tell me how you started in the acting profession? I started with Joan Littlewood, the famous Joan Littlewood, in the East London Theatre Workshop Company. I was a merchant seaman at the time but I was a great fan of the theatre, and my mates were as well. I was home at the time and a mate said "Come and see this Company that are down from the East End - they're great." We went and were very impressed. They had this thing of asking the audience if they would like to stay after the show and ask the actors what they thought of it. The curtain came up again and we all sat on the stage and talked to them. Afterwards we went to be bar with them and had a drink and got to know them better. The next week that we came back they did another show and we went to see that, and eventually got to know them.

When they came back a couple of years later a mate of mine said "That company are back." We went down to see them and we were chatting away as if we know them. Joan Littlewood was talking to me in the bar. She said I'd said something about what was happening on the stage, so she said "You're so blooming clever, why not do it yourself." So I said "Alright" and she said "We're doing auditions." Just for a laugh I turned up and did a little thing for them and I thought "There's no way." Anyway, afterward in the bar, Joan said she'd let me come in the play. The show got very good notices and afterwards she said "Are you going to be in the next thing?" I replied that I didn't know as I was going off to sea. She was angry with me at the time you know, but I had no intention of becoming an actor. At that time, I just liked enjoying myself. When I came back again the manager came round and said to me "We're doing a show. Would you like to come and be in it?" I went back with them and stayed. It really got into me.

We went into town with The Hostage" and and "Mrs Wilson's Diary". That's how I got into the business and stayed. Q - Years later you became popular as Blakey in the long running comedy series "On the Buses". What was it like working with the cast? It wasn't like work at all. It was great fun you know. The scripts were good and it was always worthwhile working on it. It was just easy, something the public knew about - buses. Everyone used to know about buses. We used to film in the street so we were always with the public, not like in a studio. We went to a real bus station in London to work, and London Transport wouldn't have us. They got a letter from London Transport at the beginning of the series saying that they felt it might damage their image. The director framed this letter and hung it in his office. We had to use Eastern National Bus Company (much laughter) which went out of Wood Green. We had a lot of fun there because they'd had a sort of running strike for three months before we started, so manager/worker relations were not too good, and we got loads of angles from that which I was to embody and put in to the part.

Q - I understand they made three feature films for the cinema after the series. Can you recall any funny or unusual incidents while filming these? They were all funny. Some of them were quite dangerous. In "Mutiny on the Buses" there's a scene in the bus garage with foam used and I slipped in the foam and went into the pit under the bus. It was real foam we used to make it look good, you know, and I went completely under the foam. While I was down there waiting for the signal to come up I realised suddenly, how dangerous it was, because as I breathed in, the foam went into my throat, and I suddenly rose up and started to choke. I tried to get out of the pit but it was all slippery, and I kept slipping back. It was one of the guys on the crew who realised how dangerous it might be and he started reaching down into the pit and grabbed me. It was him pulling me and more people pulling me up, but I had to be given respiration. It was very, very dangerous. The scene itself looked very, very funny. The director said that it was well worthwhile. There's the one with the lion in the bus in the same film.

The favourite is the skid pan from "On the Buses", lavatories blowing up - they're all very dangerous. Q Which character do you get most recognised for - Blakey or Smiler? Its Smiler now, because the series is so recent. You know it's really great that all the people who recognise you are complementary. Its nice to know its something they liked so much, and, of course, I'm doing panto now. As I come on stage in different scenes, when I have some sad news to tell the audience I go "Aww Aww" (Smiler impersonation) and the whole audience goes "Aww Aww " with me (much laughter). Q - On to "Last of the Summer Wine". Were you a fan? I was always a fan. Its got so much charm, set in countryside like this. I don't think any other country in the world has comedy like that. The characters are so marvellous in the way they're acted and written. Ronnie Hazlehurst's music and everything about it has tremendous charm and good humour, and still little serious bits about life as well. Q How did you become involved?

Did someone contact you and say "This is what we want you to do"? Yes. The first one I did with Michael Aldridge. They sent me a script and said "Would you like to play this part?" I said I would read it and it was absolutely smashing. It was about being in a hospital, seeing my dog brought to me, and when they showed it to me it was lying upside down with its legs up and I thought it was dead (laughs). It was the only friend I ever had. Q After that episode ("That Certain Smile") you came back as a semi regular from 1990. Have you any idea why? Was it that the episode was so popular? They liked me and asked me to come back again, and I've been doing it ever since. Q What was it like working with the late Michael Aldridge? Oh smashing, a great man. He lived at the time quite close to where I lived. I had great regard for him in the show. He was lovely. Q Has Smiler developed since he first appeared? No. Only in that all the characters now know about him and occasionally make remarks about him. Yes, I suppose he's now known as one of the community.

It's a good character and I like playing the part. I like to spread the little bit of gloom into other peoples' lives! The public love it. They seem to think we're onto a good thing. Funny how misery gets a laugh. Q What was your favourite episode from the series? I like the one with the little tractor thing - the Christmas one ("Stop that Castle") . "Aladdin gets on your Wick" was another favourite, and I very much liked the 1994 special with Norman Wisdom. There are some more coming up that I liked, where I am avoiding Marina ("Concerto for Solo Bicycle"). That's a regular thing now avoiding her. When you're as handsome as me you get women chasing you, and in one episode I jump over a bridge into a river to escape her ("Dewhirsts of Ogleby Hall"). They've set me up as a fall guy now, you know, when they want to get an idiot to stand in they think of me right away. To avoid her, they put me in instead of one of them. I was the lover! Marina was even sitting next to me in the concert (Christmas 1994) - touching my knee.

Q - You were thrown out by Nora at the end of the 1993 series, so where are you living now? That will all come to light in later editions (much laughter). Well, you've got to hide yourself when you're sought after by women! Q - Moving on from Summer Wine - what's it like appearing in pantomime? It's absolutely marvellous. The people are so warm and enthusiastic, and the kids are so warm and loving. It's going to be hard the night we finish. I'm not too happy about it coming to an end as I'll be in tears as well. It's a great experience to meet the people face to face. I wouldn't miss a panto for the world. I've never had such a warm reaction as I've had from the people in Yorkshire - it's been marvellous. Q You told me that you are appearing in a film for the BBC. What else have you got planned for the future? Well, I've done a film for television called "The Great Kandinsky" which is based on a character like Houdini.

I've got some good stuff to do in that I'm a birdman doing bird imitations, and all sorts of things. I'm also working on a sitcom myself, but I can't tell you anything about that at the moment. Q - Now there is an "On the Buses" fan club, how do you feel about having two fan clubs? It means a lot of letters. I've never had as many fan letters as I'm having now. 99 per cent are about Summer Wine, so it shows how popular the show is. Q - How do you relax between series? What do you like to watch on TV? Well, I like to watch repeats of "Last of the Summer Wine". I like to watch documentaries and whodunnits. I loved Sherlock Holmes when I was a kid. Things like "Murder She Wrote". I like to watch and work out whodunnits. Some you can spot a mile off, but not always. I like the David Attenboroughs, which are tremendous, and of course "Summer Wine." Q - Thank you for the interview, Stephen. Thank you and good luck with the Society. Interview by Clive S Eardley (President)

Question: What was the nickname of Stephen Lewis’s character in Last of the Summer Wine?
Answer: Smiler