Last of the Summer Wine

Cast

This show is very unusual for its large regular cast:

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• Norman Clegg (Peter Sallis)- The cast's comparatively level-headed anchor who can't seem to avoid trouble no matter how hard he tries.
• The second member of the trio:
• Compo Simmonite (Bill Owen*) - The character was killed off in 2000 after the real life death of Owen a year earlier. Although Compo was already seriously ill, it was the sight of Nora Batty in fish-net stocking which finished him off and he died with a smile on his face.
• Billy Hardcastle (Keith Clifford)- Compo's replacement of sorts, an avid outdoorsman who claims ancestral ties to Robin Hood.
• The third member of the trio:
• Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates*) - When Bates left the cast due to illness in 1975, Blamire was written out of the series, it was said that he had left to get married
• Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst (Brian Wilde) - When Wilde left the series in 1985 to star in his own sitcom, it was explained that Foggy had moved to Bridlington to take over his family's egg-painting business. Returning in 1990, he claimed he had tired of a life of egg painting. In 1997 he left again when he was swept away to Blackpool by the local postmistress at the wedding of a friend.
• Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge*) - Aldridge left the series in 1990 to care for his sick wife. Seymour was last seen leaving on a bus to take up a new job as an assistant headteacher at a private school. However, he was upset when, shortly before his departure, Compo and Clegg informed him corporal punishment was now illegal.
• Truly Truelove (Frank Thornton)- A bit more fun-loving than previous "third men", Truly is a mildly arrogant ex-police detective.
• Nora Batty (Kathy Staff), Compo's next door neighbour and love interest (especially after husband Wally's death) much to prudish Nora's dispair. Compo's only complaint is her wrinkly stockings.
• Wally Batty (Joe Gladwin*), Nora's husband, until his death in 1985.
• Sid (John Comer*), 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 cental characters.
• Ivy (Jane Freeman), 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.
• Edie Pegden (Dame Thora Hird*), a highly opinionated older woman, sister of Seymour Utterthwaite and houseproud host of the womens coffee mornings. She was introduced, along with Seymour, her husband Wesley, daughter Glenda and son-in-law Barry in the 1985 episode "Uncle of the Bride". Wesley restored a convertable 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.
• Wesley Pegden (Gordon Wharmby*), Edie's husband, who spends all his time in his workshop/garage. He constantly has to walk on newpaper in his home because he is covered in oil, and Edie won't stand him making a mess. When Wharmby died in 2002, Wesley also died, and a funeral was held for him. 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 automobiles.
• Glenda Wilkinson (Sarah Thomas), 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. Whenever she attempts to join in a mature conversation, her mother would snap "drink your coffee!" She speaks glowingly of her husband Barry but is often insecure and unsatisfied with him at home.
• Barry Wilkinson (Mike Grady), hen-pecked husband of Glenda. Dull and ineffectual, Barry strives for adventure but seems destined for paperwork and domesticity.
• Howard (Robert Fyfe), shy, simpering, henpecked husband, and lover of Marina. A creative but unconvincing liar.
• Pearl (Juliette Kaplan), Howard's long-suffering wife and a bit of a shrew.
• Marina (Jean Fergusson), flashy but over-age, Howard's love interest. Marina works in a supermarket.
• Aunty Wainwright (Jean Alexander), sly and grasping junk shop owner.
• Roz (Dora Bryan), Edie's sister, who has always been more romantically adventurous, to Edie's unending shame.
• Smiler (Stephen Lewis), sour and not-too-bright comic foil.
• Eli Duckett (Danny O'Dea*), extremely near-sighted bumbler. Eli has not appeared since the death of O'Dea, though the character has not been killed off.
• Tom Simmonite (Tom Owen), 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.
• Entwistle (Burt Kwouk), Electrician and fortune-teller. His real name is McIntyre but he changed it so people wouldn't mistake him for a Scotsman.
• Alvin Smedley (Brian Murphy), Nora's neighbour after Compo dies. His eccentricities bother her to no end; the two can't seem to stop arguing.
• 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.
• Barman (only occasionally seen).
• Mr Wainwright and Mrs Partridge, library workers involved in an affair which they believe is secret. The two only featured in early episodes, when Compo, Clegg and Blamire 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 for Howard and Marina.

*These actors have died and their characters' deaths have been written into the scripts.

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