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 hated this at first and insisted that it remain a temporary working title, while the cast worried that viewers would forget the name of the show. The working title was changed later to "The Library Mob", a reference to one of the trio's regular haunts early in the show. Clarke switched back to his original preference shortly before production began, a title that was shortened to "Last of the Summer Wine" after the pilot show. "The Last of the Summer Wine" premiered as an episode of BBC's "Comedy Playhouse" on 4 January 1973. The pilot, "Of Funerals and Fish", received