Recurring characters in Last of the Summer Wine
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The television show Last of the Summer Wine has a large regular cast. Ever since the show started in 1973, people have left the cast (often due to the death of the actor or actress playing the part) and many new characters have been written into the show.
[edit] Major characters
Major characters are described in the page Last of the Summer Wine.
[edit] Other regular characters
[edit] Nora Batty
(Kathy Staff: 1973-2001, 2003-present) Compo's next door neighbour, Nora is proudly devoted to strict housework, and stands as a monument to classic Northern women. Before his death, she used to keep her husband Wally very much under her thumb. Despite Nora's gruff manner (and famously wrinkled stockings), Compo is desperately in love with her: a lust that is used to great interest in generating comic situations as he attempts to impress Nora. Kathy Staff left the series in 2001 to reprise her role as cleaner Doris Luke in the doomed revival of soap Crossroads, with Nora said to be emigrating to Australia. When Crossroads folded, Staff returned, with nothing said about Nora's trip to Australia or her return.
[edit] Ivy
(Jane Freeman: 1973-present) joint owner of tea-shop with husband Sid, with whom she would often have blazing rows in the kitchen, until his death. She now runs it solely, and viciously scolds anyone who dares misbehave or criticise the food. Generally the wisest and most level-headed of the show's female social circle.
[edit] Sid
(John Comer: 1973-1983), bluff tea-shop owner, who featured prominently for the first ten years, before his death in 1983. Ivy remembers him fondly, and often mentions him in conversation. Sid was one of the few characters who actually seemed to enjoy getting involved in the misadventures of the three central characters. For John Comer's last appearances, illness affected his speech, so his lines were dubbed over by another actor.
[edit] Mr Wainwright and Mrs Partridge
Mr Wainwright (Blake Butler and Rosemary Martin) (1972-1974), library workers involved in an affair which they believe is secret. The two only featured in early episodes, when Compo, Clegg and Blamire (later Foggy) would frequently visit the library. Though the characters disappeared as the library was written out as a favourite haunt the storyline was resurrected and used of sorts for Howard and Marina. (Note: Mr. Wainwright is not (thought to be) related to Aunty Wainwright.)
[edit] Wally Batty
(Joe Gladwin, 1975-1986) Nora's husband and Compo's next-door neighbour, Wally Batty was a short quiet man, kept on a short leash by his wife. His relationship with Nora stood in stark contrast to Compo's unrequited lust after her. Wally had a passion for racing pigeons and owned a motorbike and sidecar, occasionally taking Nora for a spin around the countryside. With the death of Joe Gladwin in 1987, the character died off-screen, but is still occasionally mentioned. (Note: in the Pilot episode of the series, which was part of the Comedy Playhouse strand, Nora referred to her husband (not seen) as Harold, not Wally).
[edit] Wesley Pegden
(Gordon Wharmby: 1982, 1984-2002) Edie's husband, who spends all his time in his workshop/garage. He constantly has to walk on newspaper in his home because he is covered in oil, and Edie won't stand him making a mess. When Wharmby died in 2002, the character also died: subsequent references to him were in the past tense. The men would often come to him for mechanical assistance when the situation called for him; it always seemed Wesley would rather stick to restoring old motors.
[edit] Milburn, aka "Crusher"
(Jonathan Lindsey: 1985-1988) Ivy's gaint, lumbering nephew, although bearing a striking resemblance to Sid. Helped Ivy out in the cafe for a few years after Sid died.
[edit] Howard Sibshaw
(Robert Fyfe: 1985-present) shy, simpering, henpecked husband, and would-be lover of Marina. A creative but unconvincing liar. He tends to ignore Marina when he's out with her, partly out of fear of his wife Pearl, and partly because he gets so deeply caught up in cooking up charades to cover up his affair.
[edit] Pearl Sibshaw
(Juliette Kaplan: 1985-present) Howard's long-suffering wife and a bit of a shrew. She is almost gleefully obsessed with exposing Howard's philandering and generally tormenting him.
[edit] Marina
(Jean Fergusson: 1985-present) flashy but over-age, Howard's love interest, Marina works in a supermarket. She insinuates a smouldering past between herself and Clegg, which Clegg is always quick to deny.
[edit] Edie Pegden
(Dame Thora Hird: 1986-2003), a highly opinionated older woman, sister of Seymour Utterthwaite and houseproud host of the women's coffee mornings. She was introduced, along with Seymour, daughter Glenda and son-in-law Barry in the 1985 episode "Uncle of the Bride" (husband Wesley had previously been seen in a one-off appearance). Wesley restored a convertible car for her to drive, despite the fact that she is a terrible driver. When Hird died in 2003, Edie was also said to have died.
[edit] Glenda Wilkinson
(Sarah Thomas: 1986-present) daughter of Edie and Wesley. It is considered by the other women in the group that she is somewhat naive, despite her being middle-aged. When her mother was alive, if she attempted to join in a mature conversation, Edie would snap "drink your coffee!" She speaks glowingly of her husband Barry but is often insecure and unsatisfied with him at home.
[edit] Barry Wilkinson
(Mike Grady: 1986-1990, 1996-present) hen-pecked husband of Glenda. Dull and ineffectual, Barry strives for adventure but seems destined for paperwork and domesticity. Barry was much-mentioned but not seen for a few years, before re-appearing in the mid-1990s.
[edit] Eli Duckett
(Danny O'Dea: 1986-2002) An extremely short-sighted bumbler, Eli maintains a highly cheerful, friendly attitude despite not having a clue what's going on around him. Eli has not appeared since the death of O'Dea, though the character has not been explicitly killed off.
[edit] Aunty Wainwright
(Jean Alexander: (1988-1989,1992-) sly and grasping junk shop owner. She is Howard's "Auntie" and while both have a general predisposition towards sneakiness, Auntie Wainwright is much more adept at applying it. Clegg is reluctant to go into her store, since she always sells him something. As with several other characters, she originally was seen in a "one-off" appearance, and was so popular that she was brought back, eventually becoming a regular.
[edit] Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway
(Stephen Lewis: 1988, 1990-present) sour and not-too-bright comic foil. Seems to be suffering some sort of indentured servitude to Auntie Wainwright. First seen as a one-off character, Smiler was popular enough to be brought back on a semi-regular basis, and nowadays is a regular.
[edit] Billy Hardcastle
(Keith Clifford: 1999, 2000-present) An avid outdoorsman, who claims to be the direct descendant of Robin Hood, Billy Hardcastle attempts to follow the lifestyle of his ancestor - usually without success. The character was initially one-off guest role in 1999, which proved popular enough to return in the millennium special. Following the death of Bill Owen, Billy Hardcastle was written in as a permanent character, filling the role of Owen's character Compo in traipsing round the hills with Truly and Clegg.
[edit] Roz
(Dora Bryan: 2000-2005.) Edie's sister, who has always been more romantically adventurous, to Edie's unending shame. Dora Byran left the series in 2005 to concentrate on stage work, although the door has been left open for her to return.
[edit] Tom Simmonite
(Tom Owen: 2000-present) Compo's son on the show and in real life. Tom is a layabout like Compo but seems a bit more enterprising in his attempts to maintain his slothful lifestyle. Originally it was planned that Tom would fill the gap in the three-man line-up left by his father, but it didn't quite work. These days he works with Smiler at Auntie Wainwright's shop, and also, in one episode, goes to live with Smiler (though it's not clear if this continued or not). Has a scruffy puppet dog called Waldo. When not working for Aunty Wainwright, Tom can usually be found in his allotment shed, avoiding the repo man. (Note: Before joining the series as Tom Simmonite, Tom Owen sometimes appeared in small walk-on parts on the show, sometimes with no dialogue, and not always credited.)
[edit] Mrs. (Lolly Minerva) Avery
(Julie T. Wallace: 2000-01) Tom's live-in "associate"; much larger than him yet somewhat easily manipulated. This was not to last; she threw him out of their flat and disappeared from the series after a couple of years. Arriving on the scene with her and Tom was her niece Babs, who was considered a rather lame character and was gone with the end of the season.
[edit] Repo man
(Christopher Beeny: 2001-present) The Repo man is always pursuing Tom Simonite, claiming that he owes money. While he is determined, however, he is gullible, and Tom always evades him.
[edit] Entwistle
(Burt Kwouk: 2003- ) Electrician and fortune-teller from the land of Eastern wisdom, Hull. His real name is McIntyre but he changed it so people wouldn't mistake him for a Scotsman. Entwistle took over Wesley's job of shuttling the others across the countryside.
[edit] Alvin Smedley
(Brian Murphy: 2003- ) Nora's neighbour after Mrs. Avery relinquishes Compo's old flat following her disappearance from the show. Alvin publicly claims he can't stand Nora but he can't seem to resist trying to liven up her life a little. He is also an avid hobbyist but can never settle on which hobby to pursue. In recent times, he has shared Billy Hardcastle's role of filling the gap left by the deceased Compo, making the traditionally three-man group into a foursome (though Clegg has often dropped into the background in many more recent episodes, turning the group back into a threesome).
[edit] Miss Davenport
(Josephine Tewson: 2003- ) the current librarian, a very emotional woman. She first appeared as a guest, driving Gavin Hinchcliff around while he skied on the car roof. Originally, Glenda took up the cause of socializing her and tried to fit her in with the coffee-drinker circle of Nora, Ivy, Pearl, etc. They didn't take too well to each other; in more recent episodes, she's bonded with Marina instead.
[edit] Nellie
(June Whitfield: 2006- ) Another member of the ladies' coffee-drinking set. Nellie's never-seen husband Travis is a constant source of anecdotes. She provides a counterpoint to the other currently married ladies in the circle by not placing her husband on a pedestal (like Glenda does with Barry) or openly holding him in contempt (as Pearl does with Howard).
[edit] Policemen
(originally Ken Kitson and Tony Capstick; Louis Emerick replaced the late Capstick in 2004) generally seen driving around the moors and trying not to get involved with anything.
[edit] Billy Ingleton
(Norman Wisdom: 1995- ) Much loved comedian Norman Wisdom occasionally pops up in the series, sometimes for the storyline of an episode, other times in a small appearance. He is not always credited for smaller appearances.
