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 to Barry (Mike Grady). Also making her first appearance in the film was Thora Hird as Seymour's sister and Glenda's mother, Edie, as well as re-introducing Gordon Wharmby as Edie's husband Wesley, previously seen in three popular one-off appearances. The second film proved a success and all four new characters were carried over to the show beginning with the ninth series in 1986. A documentary film was commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Last of the Summer Wine". Produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell, it featured interviews with the majority of cast and crew members, outtakes from