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 (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