Last of the Summer Wine (series 1) Last of the Summer Wine (series 1) Last of the Summer Wine's first series originally aired on BBC1 between 4 January 1973 and 29 December 1973. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by James Gilbert. The pilot episode, alternately known as "The Last of the Summer Wine" and "Of Funerals and Fish," originally premiered on the BBC's "Comedy Playhouse" on 4 January 1973 "The Last of the Summer Wine" was the first episode of that show's fourteenth series. The pilot received a positive enough reaction that the BBC ordered a full series
Last of the Summer Wine (series 31) axing in December 2008, whilst director Alan J.W. Bell also credited the series to fan reaction. The series continued with the same trio from series 30, with Russ Abbot (Hobbo), Burt Kwouk (Entwistle), and Brian Murphy (Alvin). Peter Sallis (Clegg) and Frank Thornton (Truly), who were previously central characters, remained, but were now secondary characters, only taping studio scenes owing to the cost of insurance for actors of their advanced age on location. Jane Freeman (Ivy) also filmed only in-studio scenes. On 2 June 2010, the BBC announced that the 31st series would be the last, despite the show still