Last of the Summer Wine (series 30) Last of the Summer Wine (series 30) Last of the Summer Wine's 30th series originally aired 19 April 2009. All eleven episodes in series 30 were 30 minutes in length. A New Years Special aired on 31 December 2008. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and directed by Alan J. W. Bell. This series is notable for forming a new trio composed of Alvin, Entwistle and Hobbo, who was introduced in the New Years Special. Peter Sallis (Clegg) and Frank Thornton (Truly) are now demoted to secondary characters, filmed only in studio scenes due to the cost
Are You Being Served? declared the play to be worthless except for the final line, though he admitted he'd never seen the television show. The play has occasionally been run at other theaters since, including in 2012 at the Manifest Theater in Manningtree. In 1979, Garry Marshall, in the midst of success producing and directing "Happy Days" and its spin-offs, produced a pilot for an American version of "Are You Being Served?" At the time, Americanized versions of British series, including "Three's Company", "All in the Family", and "Sanford and Son" were doing well in the ratings, and Marshall hoped to capitalize on this