Kathy Staff Kathy Staff Kathy Staff (born Minnie Higginbottom; 12 July 1928 – 13 December 2008) was an English actress, well known for her work on British television. She is most famous for her portrayal of Nora Batty on the longest running sitcom in the world, "Last of the Summer Wine". Born in Dukinfield, Cheshire, Staff was best known for her role as one of the main characters, Nora Batty, in the long-running BBC sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine". She played Nora Batty from the pilot episode in 1973 (though in the pilot and first series, she was referred to as
Comedy Playhouse (series 1) which was broadcast at 8:40pm. Comedy Playhouse (series 1) The first series of Comedy Playhouse, that continued to be a long-running BBC series, broadcast from 15 December 1961 to 16 February 1962. All the episodes were written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The first series, which was in black and white, consisted of ten episodes, each of which had a different cast and storyline. Only the fourth episode, "The Offer", made it to its own series becoming "Steptoe and Son"; all other episodes of this series of "Comedy Playhouse" are lost. The episodes were broadcast on Friday at 8:45pm,