A Sip of Summer Wine

16 PENNINE IDENTITY (left to right) Bill Owen as Compo, Brian Wilde as Foggy and Peter Sallis as Clegg. firth might have been made for one another, they weren't. He'd really imagined the series set in a mining A Sip of village between Doncaster and Roth- erham. It's the area he grew up in and knows best, whereas before "Last of the Summer Wine" he hadn't set eyes Summer on Holmfirth! `You can see why he believes. 'Cos he's convinced God's a Tory. Hey up! If He comes in overalls there'll be some sulky Wine faces in church.' Television comedy 'Last of the Summer Wine' might seem made for Holmfirth, but it wasn't says RICHARD CATLOW, who looks at the making of the series and how Holmfirth folk have taken to The Holmfirth connection was just it. a lucky accident. Roy's pilot script for the series was read by Barry Took of Trying to imagine the television sophies sound much better when he is BBC's Light Entertainment Depart- comedy "Last of the. Summer Wine" looking out over the Holme valley ment. Barry had just finished doing a set anywhere else but Holmfirth is a with its fields and woods punctuated programme on northern clubs and had bit like being asked to picture the here and there with factory chimneys visited Holmfirth en route. He told Brontes somewhere other than Ha- or a cluster of cottages. The essence of Roy that the town and its surrounding worth. the steep Holmfirth lanes is brought villages were the perfect setting for The triumph of this gently humor- home to perfection when Compo tries the series. ous series is that the characters and to skateboard down them. Roy went to visit the place...and the landscape bring out the best in But, although writer Roy Clarke agreed. "I fell in love with it straight each other. Foggy's homespun philo- freely admits that his series and Holm- away," he said. PENNINE MAGAZINE PENNINE IDENTITY 17 There have been five series of the first few years. A Middle Class lot of civic pride, which can be seen in "Summer Wine" now and the BBC element thought we were letting the tidying-up operations and the repaint- cameras have recently been back to side down. But now we seem to be ing of buildings. Now we look forward Holmfirth to record a sixth. When I accepted." to the camera crews coming." telephoned Roy at his home near It's hardly surprising that "Summer Goole, on Humberside, he was act- Wine" has been accepted, for one of ually in the middle of writing an its side effects has been to put Holm- Vehovah's Witnesses. They're episode, but still found time to talk firth on the tourist map and that has not much bother. It's about all I about this programme with which his brought visitors and their money into life has become so closely linked. do get calling at the house. Them, the town. There's even a "Summer and that shower that keep coming He said: "It didn't take off as a series Wine Bar" now, reviewed, incident- at first, only recently has it become so ally, in the last issue of Pennine. to repossess me telly.' popular." In fact the last run of the series topped the ratings, dislodging that other saga from Northern life, When "This Is Your Life" featured Bill Owen, who plays Compo, many "Coronation Street". She were built like a lamp post. villagers were only too happy to take The much-loved central characters Tha remembers that parade on part in the tribute — including the local of "Summer Wine" — Foggy, Compo Coronation Day. She played Bo choir. and Clegg — are composites .... based Peep and you'd a job tellin' which on many people Roy has known. "I'm Meanwhile the question many "Sum- told there's a Compo in every town," were her and which were't shep- mer Wine" fans will want to know the he says. herd's crook.' answer for, is will Roy Clarke run out of inspiration. The key to success in "Summer Wine", as in all the performing arts, it He answers: "I always feel that might its apparent naturalness .... and that's Nigel Hinchcliffe, who runs a shop happen at the end of writing a series, something that only comes with pro- in Holmfirth, said locals had been but always find I can start again after a fessionalism and hard work. An inci- doubtful and suspicious when filming rest. There's no danger of me drying- up yet!" ■ dent in the formation of the Compo first began, but the national attention character illustrates this and also shows the programme has brought now en- how true to life the series is. couraged local pride. The series returns to the screen in The BBC props department had He said: "Local people seem to Autumn. been unable to come up with quite the appreciate the place more. There's a right coat for Compo. Many coats were tried, but later discarded. Eventually it was decided to tour the town until someone was seen wearing the "right" coat. Roy says: "A person was seen wearing the right coat and asked how much he wanted for it. You'd imagine he'd have been thrown out of his stride. Instead he weighed the situation up and then agreed....typical Yorkshire!" `Of course all this opulence would be completely outside my exper- ience had I not been inside the area offices of the National Coal Board.' Roy believes that using Holmfirth as a setting has influenced the series con- siderably. He said: "It's like when you write a part for an actor. Whoever's cast in the part puts his shape on it. The same applies with a town." He added: "Viewers obviously find the setting very attractive, for the BBC gets lots of letters asking where the series is filmed." Holmfirth folk had a more mixed reaction when their home town became the backcloth for a comedy which some found belittling. Roy said: "People in Holmfirth didn't like us very much in lohnfirth, the setting for the series. PENNINE MAGAZINE .

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