About the show
Last of the Summer Wine
Overview
Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running comedy programme in Britain, and the longest running situation comedy in the world.
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 (until 18 July 2010 when the 31st and final series started on 25 July of that year), Gold, Yesterday, and Drama.
It is also seen in more than 25 countries, including various PBS stations in the United States and on Vision TV in Canada. With the exception of programmes ‘rebooted’ 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.
Last of the Summer Wine was set and filmed in and around Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England, and centred on a trio of elderly men and their youthful misadventures. The programme was nominated for numerous awards and won the National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Programme in 1999. There were twenty-one Christmas specials, three 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.
Episodes
- 1973 - Series 1 (6 Episodes)
- 1975 - Series 2 (7 Episodes)
- 1976 - Series 3 (7 Episodes)
- 1977 - Series 4 (9 Episodes)
- 1979 - Series 5 (8 Episodes)
- 1982 - Series 6 (8 Episodes)
- 1983 - Series 7 (8 Episodes)
- 1985 - Series 8 (7 Episodes)
- 1986 - Series 9 (15 Episodes)
- 1988 - Series 10 (7 Episodes)
- 1989 - Series 11 (8 Episodes)
- 1990 - Series 12 (11 Episodes)
- 1991 - Series 13 (7 Episodes)
- 1992 - Series 14 (10 Episodes)
- 1993 - Series 15 (10 Episodes)
- 1995 - Series 16 (9 Episodes)
- 1995 - Series 17 (11 Episodes)
- 1997 - Series 18 (11 Episodes)
- 1998 - Series 19 (11 Episodes)
- 1999 - Series 20 (10 Episodes)
- 2000 - Series 21 (11 Episodes)
- 2001 - Series 22 (10 Episodes)
- 2002 - Series 23 (11 Episodes)
- 2003 - Series 24 (11 Episodes)
- 2004 - Series 25 (11 Episodes)
- 2005 - Series 26 (11 Episodes)
- 2006 - Series 27 (11 Episodes)
- 2007 - Series 28 (10 Episodes)
- 2008 - Series 29 (11 Episodes)
- 2009 - Series 30 (11 Episodes)
- 2010 - Series 31 (6 Episodes)
Directors & Writers
JAMES GILBERT
Director
RAY BUTT
Director
ALAN JW BELL
Director
SYDNEY LOTTERBY
Director
ROY CLARKE
Writer
Featured In
