Last of the Summer Wine enjoyed the show. The programme was nominated for numerous awards and won the National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Programme in 1999. There were twenty-one Christmas specials, three television films and a documentary film about the series. "Last of the Summer Wine" inspired other adaptations, including a television prequel, several novelisations, and stage adaptations. In 1972, Duncan Wood, the BBC's Head of Comedy, watched a comedy on television called "The Misfit". Impressed by writer Roy Clarke's ability to inject both comedy and drama into the sitcom, Wood offered Clarke the opportunity to write a sitcom. Clarke nearly turned the
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