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Back in the 1970's the average weekly wage was £26.1 in 1970 rising to £54.0 in 1975. This reflected the high price inflation rates of those times, but also the strong UK trade unions that could demand pay increases that either kept pace with inflation or beat it. Since the financial crisis of...

I was watching one of the earlier episodes recently, off hand can't remember which one, but Clegg is doing his ironing and Compo gets him to iron his tie. The tie itself is as stiff as a board in places and when Clegg hands it back ironed, Compo proceeds to put it around his waist to hold his...

People didn't earn as much back then and the 70's was actually a period of quite high price inflation in the UK, peaking between 20-30% a year. Hard to imagine but relatively speaking the cost of living was probably just as bad back then as it is today for many people. Price inflation is built...

Looking at the screenshot posted here you could see it as 1900, 1000 or 1990. It was probably obscured for reasons that as it was the first episode the date was to be left deliberately unknown. However, if it is to be assumed that Edith was around the same age as Clegg, she obviously died quite...

Perhaps he wasn't available at the time to do more? I do agree that he would have been a good regular addition though. He was one of the few new characters introduced in the later years that I did like. There was just enough silliness about his character to suggest that he was a natural fit and...

Yes, I quite like the Blamire era as well, even though it was for only 2 series. It does make you wonder how LOTSW would have developed had Michael Bates not died so young. He was only 58 and young enough to have gone on for a long time, notwithstanding illness. We might never have seen Foggy...

It's interesting when watching these old series to see who turns up in them that went on to be famous. Brian Wilde appeared, as did Ronnie Barker and Fulton Mackay at other times. There you have most of the main cast of Porridge. Peter Sallis, Burt Kwouk and Frank Thornton also make...

I have been reading George Cole's autobiography in which he mentions his first big film break playing Flash Harry in the St Trinians film, The Belles of St Trinians. He says he was paid £750 for that role, which was a lot of money in 1954, but doesn't sound like much today.

Mainstream comedy works well when characters do have something that is believable about them. For the most part LOTSW got this right. One can be picky and say that there are some instances in the series when the characters aren't believable, for example is it really possible that Howard and...

I think in LOTSW Russ Abbot is basically playing an older version of Basildon Bond from his Madhouse days.

David Jason has indicated he would do a series if asked, so there is a lot to play for in the one off episode. I also read elsewhere that Granville now has a son, which if true it will be interesting to see who gets the role.

There are some references to Stan Laurel liking Yorkshire pudding, so that could have been a story line. Stan was born in Ulveston, so perhaps not a surprise that he liked English food. Laurel and Hardy did tours of the UK, even did Butlins in 1947. In LOTSW they could have been a travelling...

I also don't think he would have been a fit for the early series, if only because of his accent. He tended to fit a posher, more Southern English upper class type role. Probably would have fit in later on when LOTSW had characters with mostly neutral accents. Ronnie Barker could have done it as...

Almost £1.6million, which is quite remarkable when you think about it. What is he best known for? Are You Being Served and LOTSW. I doubt whether he was particularly well paid for the first, although relatively speaking it would have been good money compared to many professions at the time. He...

I've felt for some time that it would come back, it was just a matter of time for Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill to sort out their differences, which for the most part seemed to be about the business side of things. Neither has been able to top Still Game since it originally ended in 2007...

Still Game, the Scottish comedy series that gets a mention in this thread is making a comeback. The writers Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill had a disagreement over business matters which saw the original series end, but it seems they have now put that behind them. A stage show is happening first...

But was he ever seen? I think Lenny is the only relation of Barry that appears in an episode. Get Out Of That Then was the last episode that Bobby Ball appeared in back in 2008. He did appear in two other episodes in 2005 and 2006 as Lenny - the swan man, but I'm wondering when it was first...

Even though the original Open All Hours was a Ronnie Barker comedy vehicle, it worked because of the dynamic of the main relationship between him and David Jason. The shop as the main set needed two central characters and Granville was an ideal foil for Barker's Arkwright. To make the new series...

In this episode Lenny is referred to as Barry's cousin. I can't recall any other relations of Barry getting a mention.

Heard an interview with David Jason where he is asked by Richard Bacon if an Open All Hours series is offered after this one off would he do it if it works and his reply was yes. He replied that if it works and the audience loved it and the BBC wanted it he would certainly do it. So, if this...