Last of the Summer Wine/Trivia

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • The Character Died with Him: The show generally wasn't shy about having (the mostly elderly) characters die at the same time that their actors did, with the most memorable onscreen funeral being that of Compo, who had been a central character for 26 years. His actor, Bill Owen, who died the year before, was even buried in the town of Holmfirth where the series was filmed.
  • The Danza: Tom Simmonite (Tom Owen), following in the footsteps of his dad William "Compo" Simmonite" (Bill Owen).
  • Fake Nationality: Peter Sallis, a southerner, as Norman Clegg. His accent was convincing enough for Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park, upon calling him to ask him to voice Wallace, refused to believe that Sallis' natural accent was his own. The trope fits Sallis' fellow Londoner Bill Owen as well. Burt Kwouk, who is of Chinese parentage and grew up in Shanghai, appears as a Yorkshireman in the show but was actually born over the county border in Lancashire... which is a division of utmost seriousness Oop North.
  • Hey, It's That Guy!: Frank Thornton (Truly Truelove), a.k.a. Captain Peacock.
    • To a lesser extent, Brian Wilde (Foggy Dewhirst) a.k.a. Mr Barrowclough and Stephen Lewis (Smiler) a.k.a. Blakey from On the Buses. And of course Thora Hird (Edie) recognisable as herself from Songs of Praise.
    • Possibly less known is Micheal Bates, who played Rangi Ram in It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
    • Aunty Wainwright was played by Jean Alexander, who was Hilda Ogden.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Peter Sallis, the actor who plays Cleggy usually is more known to many non-British as the voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit.
  • Reality Subtext: As noted, most cast deaths were written into the series, and the most elderly actors increasingly appeared in only marginal roles toward the end. Peter Sallis as Clegg also only appeared in fewer scenes during the later series due to his macular degeneration.
  • Real Life Relative: Tom Owen as the son of his late father's character Compo.