Still Open All Hours most watched programme for that week. It received generally poor reviews from critics. Will Dean of "The Independent", referencing Arkwright's trademark stutter, called it "a w-w-worthy effort" but criticised the attempt to revive the show without the late Ronnie Barker. Ben Lawrence of "The Telegraph" said it "felt like a relic of another era" criticising the jokes and Jason's performance. Jacob Mason, writing on the Radio Times website, described the show as "warmly nostalgic", whilst others noted it as "a fitting tribute to Ronnie Barker". On 21 November 2014, the BBC confirmed that "Still Open All Hours" would return for
Ronnie Barker personality of my own, I have to be someone else to be happy. That's why I became an actor, I suppose." Barker was a heavy smoker until 1972, when he gave up the habit after having a pre-cancerous growth removed from his throat; he took to drinking wine and using placebo cigarettes to maintain his concentration and help him sleep. He underwent a heart bypass in 1996 and survived a pulmonary embolism the following year. Barker opted not to have heart valve replacement surgery, and his health rapidly declined after the recording of "The Two Ronnies Christmas Sketchbook". He died