Last of the Summer Wine criticised the BBC for not permitting a special final episode. Roy Clarke, however, stated that he was fully aware this was the last series, and preferred the show to have a quiet ending. The final episode of the show, "How Not to Cry at Weddings", was subsequently broadcast on 29 August 2010. The final line was said by Peter Sallis, the longest-serving actor. Initially, the only certain cast member for the show was Peter Sallis. Clarke had already collaborated on a few scripts with him and knew he wanted Sallis on the show. The character of Norman Clegg was created
Last of the Summer Wine share of viewers in the 6:20 time slot with an average of 3.2 million viewers. "Last of the Summer Wine's" audience grew from 2.7 million to 3.4 million over the 30 minutes. The show was beaten for the night only by Channel 4's "Big Brother" with 3.6 million viewers at 9:00 p.m., although the reality show had a smaller share of viewers for its time slot. The 29th series finale, which was broadcast on 31 August 2008, was watched by 4.2 million people, giving the network a 22.5% share for the night. Several members of the royal family were viewers