U&Gold is trailing The Last Drop of Summer Wine honouring the work of Sir Roy Clarke
Brian Conley will host new U&Gold documentary Last Drop of Summer Wine(Image: supplied image)
TV channel U&Gold has today (Saturday, August 1) released a first look at a new programme, Last Drop of Summer Wine, which honours the creative work of celebrated East Yorkshire scriptwriter Sir Roy Clarke. Fronted by comedian and actor Brian Conley, The Last Drop of Summer Wine comes to U&Gold in early 2027.
As today is Yorkshire Day, the UKTV channel thought it apt to put out a teaser. The Last Drop of Summer Wine is an exploration of Sir Roy’s classic series, Last of the Summer Wine, the longest‑running TV sitcom in the world. First aired on the BBC in 1973, the gentle sitcom ran for 31 series, with the last series ending in 2010.
All 295 episodes, including Christmas specials, television films and a one-off prequel, were written by Sir Roy. Now 96, Sir Roy was born in South Yorkshire but has lived near Goole for many years in the home he previously shared with his late wife, Enid Kitching.
Before his writing career took off – his Keeping Up Appearances, with the lead role of Hyacinth Bucket (“it’s pronounced Bouquet”) played by the late Dame Patricia Routledge, became BBC Worldwide’s most exported television programme – Sir Roy had a variety of jobs, including teacher, policeman and taxi driver. Last Drop of Summer Wine host Conley will take viewers on a jaunt to Holmfirth and the heart of Summer Wine country to revisit the locations that became a worldwide tourist attraction, and meet the families of cast members, local residents and friends of the show.
In the preview, Conley says: “Sir Roy Clarke knows the lads [the stars of the sitcom] better than anyone. And so he should, because he invented them.
“Last of the Summer Wine is his love letter to the place where his heart truly belongs. Yorkshire. Under Roy’s guidance, I am setting off on a jaunt across this glorious Summer Wine county to visit the places and to find out more about the people who helped transform this sleepy valley into a worldwide tourist attraction.”
Exclusively for this new one-off special, Sir Roy has also created a selection of brand‑new written reflections inspired by the series. Woven throughout the documentary, these offer a personal response to the characters, places and enduring legacy of Last of the Summer Wine, giving Sir Roy’s unmistakable voice a central role in the celebration.
The film will also feature unseen photos, scripts and scrapbooks from the personal archives of Sir Roy, along with family photos from the families of Bill Owen, Peter Sallis, Kathy Staff, and the show’s long-term producer and director, Alan JW Bell. The original Last of the Summer Wine cast comprised the trio of Owen, Sallis and Michael Bates, alongside the likes of John Coman and Jane Freeman as café owners Sid and Ivy and Staff’s Nora Batty, but over the years has included Russ Abbot, Jean Alexander, Trevor Bannister, Dame Thora Hird, Burt Kwouk, Brian Murphy, Tom Owen, Brian Wilde, Gordon Wharmby, June Whitfield and many more – Brian Conley himself previously appeared in the series in a guest role.
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