We Ain’t Seen the Last of the Summer Wine

Posted by TellyBelle on Jun 30, 2009 in Comedy, Drama | 1 comment

The BBC has commissioned another series of the long-running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. That brings it to a record-breaking 31 series! But there are signals this could be the last, as the new series will only be six episodes long, as opposed to the usual 10 or 11. Hardly surprising given that viewing figures have dropped from its heyday in the 1980s when it averaged over 18million viewers; now it’s more like 3million. It’s still an impressive record for the programme that brought us comedy characters such as Nora Batty and Compo, played by the late actors Kathy Staff and Bill Owen respectively. The actors that ARE still with us, and will be returning to our screens next year, include Russ Abbot, June Whitfield and Peter Sallis. Nice to see the Beeb is still representing the senior citizens.