First of the Summer Wine original series making an appearance in the prequel. With the success of "Last of the Summer Wine", the BBC approved a new series which Roy Clarke would carry over characters of the original show. With the new series, Clarke hoped to show the lives of his characters as they were in the "first summer" of their lives, as opposed to the last summer depicted in "Last of the Summer Wine". While there would still be the "shadow of the Grim Reaper" hanging over them, this time it would be because of World War II, not due to their old age.
Last of the Summer Wine (series 2) the top ten programs of the week, starting with the opening show, "Forked Lightning," which was watched by over 18 million people. Joining the cast this season was Joe Gladwin as Wally Batty, Nora Batty's henpecked husband. Series 2 would also mark the final appearance of Blamire, played by Michael Bates, who left at the end of the series due to health problems. The second series was released on DVD in region 2 as a combined box set with series 1 on 2 September 2002. The trio in this series consisted of: Wally Batty (1975, 1976-1987) Miss Probert and Miss