Last of the Summer Wine the majority of the play was improvised, with Kitson and Emerick each deriving their cues of what to do from the audience. The play was successfully performed in Holmfirth, after which dates were announced in Emerick's hometown on the Wirral Peninsula. Coronet Books released a novelisation of "Last of the Summer Wine" in 1974. Written by Roy Clarke as an unbroadcast original story, the novel featured Compo, Clegg and Blamire helping their friend, Sam, enjoy one last night with a glam girl. The book became the basis for the "Last of the Summer Wine" film, "Getting Sam Home", with Blamire
Last of the Summer Wine (series 1) of episodes, premiering on 12 November 1973. The trio in this series consisted of: Compo (1973-2000) Clegg (1973-2010) Blamire (1973-1975) Sid (1973-1983) Ivy (1973-2010) Nora Batty (1973-2001, 2002-2008) Mr Wainwright (1973, 1976) Mrs Partridge (1973) (Only series the character is in) <onlyinclude><includeonly> </onlyinclude> The first and second series were released by Universal Playback as a combined box set in September 2002. The pilot episode is not included and some episodes have been altered from their original broadcast, prompting criticism from the show's fan base, however a re-release of the box set in 2011 had the altered episodes restored to original