Last of the Summer Wine Barry trying to better himself (at the insistence of Glenda), and Tom trying to stay one step ahead of the repo man. "Last of the Summer Wine" is the longest-running comedy programme in Britain, and the longest running situation comedy in the world. Each series has between six and twelve episodes; most were thirty minutes in length, with some specials running longer. There were 295 episodes and 31 series between 1973 and 2010, counting the pilot, all episodes of the series, specials, and two films. In 1978, the BBC commissioned a "Last of the Summer Wine" Christmas special instead of
Which Way to the War figures one were read on the official report commissioned by ITV) and was never brought back for or developed into a series despite the success David Croft had with "Dad's Army", "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" and "'Allo 'Allo!". The pilot was directed by Roy Gould who had worked for David Croft at the BBC. Which Way to the War Which Way to the War is an intended British television sitcom written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, which was discontinued after a one-off broadcast pilot on 19 August 1994. It was also Croft and Lloyd's only ITV sitcom and