Blamire, Foggy, Seymour & Truly, Take Charge in Yorkshire | Summer Wine Decanted
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Our main characters seem to need a leader, a “Third Man” to take command. Over time this function was fulfilled by several Third Men. Join me in the Yorkshire countryside and re-trace their parts in this record-breaking TV sitcom.
The year 2023 marks 50 years since the pilot and first series of “Last of the Summer Wine” were broadcast. This series of videos is filmed in many of the well-known, and some less well-known, locations seen in the programme.
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The "Summer Wine Decanted" book is available on Amazon: www.amazon.co.... and many online book sellers - and now from the Wrinkled Stocking Tearoom, Holmfirth.
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Will always be Seymour for me the wonderful Michael Aldridge, wish he could have been in more episodes, Never forget The 3 Men & a Mangle. Thank you
Michael Aldridge had quite a varied career, and it showed in his performance as Seymour!
Your right he did i saw him in the 1954 film Suicide Mission the other day, a good film. BW
Fascinating stuff to we Summer Wine fans. Very well done.
Thanks Tony... for some reason I only just noticed your comment! Pleased you enjoy the videos!
As much as I enjoyed the Foggy years, I also like the Truelove years because it gave me another chance to see "Captain Peacock" lol. Also, Truelove was mellow; he wasn't snarky or mean-spirited towards Compo like the other Third Men were.
That is one of the reasons i liked Frank Thornton's character 'Truly', he didn't look down on Compo, he was my favourite of the 'third men'.
Thank you for sharing these "lookbacks" at Last Of The Summer Wine" characters.
I know I'm in the minority here, but my favourite Third Man is Seymour. It frustrates me that he's all but overlooked now. I watched a 'tribute' video to Summer Wine here on TH-cam the other day and they showed one picture of Seymour and that was it. In the entire 5 min vid one pic of Seymour was flashed up for a few seconds. Really annoying.
Hi Scott, the Seymour character was taking over from long-established Foggy, and I think some people didn't like change - whatever it was. He involved Compo and Clegg in his daft schemes, much like Foggy did ... but perhaps people wanted him to be less similar to Foggy. Roy Clarke had the difficult job of creating a new main character, possibly without much notice - he probably had script outline ideas well ahead of time for Foggy, so I think he did a good job creating such a rounded character, and Michael Aldridge caught his persona just right!
@@upstagedbyadog That's interesting that you say perhaps people wanted him to be "less similar to Foggy" as I've always felt that Foggy and Seymour are not just different but *very* different, in both the way they're written and played, I would never have thought that being "too similar" would be something that people had a problem with. But I'm about to undertake one of my many yearly rewatches of Summer Wine (I rewatch at least 3 times a year) so I'll watch out for similarities when I watch it this time.
Lovely video again thank you, I always especially loved the era of Seymour and I think Uncle of the bride is Last of the summer wine at its best, also The tramp, with the wonderful Ray McAnnaly. Many thanks again. G.
Glad you enjoyed it, Gérard!
Interesting episode Leigh, thanks. I always felt that Roy Clarke had a winning formula for the show so each third man was basically the same as the last, a delusional, pompous bag of wind…
15:09 nice to see Benny get a mention. Frank was great in his BBC radio show from the early 60's, doing the 'Henry McGee' role brilliantly.
Frank Thornton was one of those performers that seemed to be everywhere!
Purely a personal perspective and based only on the first three - the best 'Third Man' for me was Cyril Blamire. He not only bore some resemblence to my late father, but shared an army background in the Royal Signals. During and after my own army service I encountered several Foggy-like fantasists whose stories, had they been true, would have earned them all a chestful of medals For my wife, her favourite character was Seymour. She spent her working life as a teacher and had met some who, like Seymour, had become teachers as a result of the Emergency Training Scheme to fill shortages in the profession after the war. Seymour has all the mannerisms of a teacher and the exaggerated gestures, too.
Thank for your interesting insights! I recently realised that I disliked Blamire for the wrong reason - Michael Bates seemed to shout too much, but I like the character more than Bates' performance. Good point about Foggy's lack of medals, you can guarantee if he was ever asked if he had any he would have said he was too modest to accept them! I wasn't aware of the Emergency Training Scheme - that would explain why he was not entirely suited to teaching! Be careful what you say about teachers, Peter my cameraman is an education professional! 😉
In about writing about an early episide, you mention the trio visiting a stately home This was Cannon Hall. I spent most Sundays in my early teens fishing in the three lakes there. Given Billy Hardcastle's supposed ancestry, it may be of interest to remember that Cannon Hall has the alleged bow of Little John. I remember seeing it there more than sixty years ago.
@@eyesopen1850 I was aware of Cannon Hall, it was one of the bits of detail that didn't make the final script. I knew Robin Hod's (supposed) grave was local, but Little john's bow is an interesting detail I'd not heard before.
Foggy was my favourite third man and it was never as good after he left for the second time and Bill Owen died.
I agree, Truly of the yard was OK but certainly after Compo died the series wasn't the same
Foggy, compo & Clegg is the classic line up. Great chemistry, perfect interplay. The best years of LOTSW.
Michael Bates had a very distinguished appearance in every role he performed. He died too soon. His character was the contrast to Compo. There was a chemistry among all of the three friends that made the show fun to watch. Each man had their own persona and the cast worked well together.
Seymour Utterthwaite for me was the best third man. I felt that the three main characters seemed to get on much better than when Foggy was around. The episodes felt more friendly and with better comradeship.
I'd say that for the Truelove years too
Yes I liked the characters of Seymour uttherswaite and Herbert Trulove played by Michael Aldridge and Frank Thornton respectively whilst Brian Wilde was good as Walter Foggy Dewhirst I found Brian Wildes character as foggy a bit repetitive after a few years but still a classic sitcom
I nearly choked the other day when the barmaid said to Foggy Gobble Gobble. Foggy was the best
Hi Mossy, wouldn't you say "gobble gobble" if you thought it might get a millionaire to be your friend!?
My favourite era of LOTSW was Foggy(1st time),Clegg and Compo . Favourite episode was when Compo tried waterskiing and favourite moment was when Compo went to buy a magazine. Favourite Foggy moment his speech about walking the corgis.
Hi 'Winters'! I think a lot of people would agree with you. 'From Wellies To Wet Suit' was also Bill Owen's favourite episode! Brian Wilde's favourite episode was 'Full Steam Behind' in series 5, I think walking dogs was safer than driving a train.
Very interesting, thanks for showing 👍👍
Loving this, Leigh. As a life-long fan of 'Last of the Summer Wine', I have always wanted to know the character backgrounds. Cleggy is a favourite of mine but, the best 3rd Man is Foggy
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Thank you!
I remember watching the compo, clegg and foggy era as a kid and that to me is the golden era, remember truly after but it went seriously off the boil as soon as bill owen died.
Hi GC. Part of the problem when Bill Owen died was just how to carry on, so there were a lot of changes, and of course that spoiled the show for some people. If the BBC didn't think it was popular - and profitable - the show might have ended when Compo passed.
Have to agree
Loving these my friend 👍👍👍👍, cannae pick a favourite third man as one simply loved them all😄😄😄, cheers 🍺🍺🍺 from a very chilly new🥝🥝🥝zealand ⛈⛈🥶🥶☔️☔️
You must be down south by the sound of it.
Russ Abott was a failer and the last nail in the coffin of the greatest comedy series ever
Hi James, you're one of many people who felt the Hobbo character was a mistake. Both Writer, Roy Clarke, and actor, Russ Abbot, had ample time to refine the character, but he didn't seem to develop and fit with the existing team. The BBC didn't need an excuse to end the show, it was going to happen with or without Hobbo, but it could have been a better end without Hobbo.
Another great video Leigh, I think the photo of "The former Mrs Truelove" was actually a photo of Burt Kwouk, Entwhistle, who was pretending to be The former Mrs Truelove to play a joke on Trully...
Truly shows the photo to Alvin and Billy in the series 25 episode "Yours Truly - If You're Not Careful" which inspires them to convince Truly she is in town looking for him, but in the pub Entwistle is revealed in a skirt and wig.
Hi Leigh I finished last of the summer wine the 90s with Foggy once again I started in October finished on 16th of November it’s crazy 1990 to 1997 goes fast series
All 69 episodes? You must have seen 2 every weekday...
@@upstagedbyadogyep I like last of the summer wine the 90s is great and I watch Truelove with Compo and Clegg few months ago dvd and I nearly finished the 00s then I will take a break as I watched every years from the series lol 😆
I loved the first three third men. Not a big fan of Truly though, but by then in my humble opinion the writing got a little too formulaic and silly. But I absolutely loved this show. But I loved the 70s 80s and early 90s stuff the best.
Sitcoms usually have some sort of formula, I think it was a victim of it's own success that the formula/s became more obvious.
Hey Leigh when I watch Seymour years with Clegg and Compo I noticed the crowd have some light laughter in the crowd some light laughter
The audience reaction might sound different depending which studio they have used, there might be smaller audiences, sometimes. Also how the engineers have mixed the sound will affect how it sounds.
Nice video I liked all 3rd men
Cyril and Foggy and Seymour and Foggy in the 90s and Truelove and Hobbo was good to 😊
Hi Leigh this week I watched Seymour with Clegg and Compo episode go with the flow when Nora says oh go get some clothes on to Compo you look like a used teabag lol 🤣
I think Nora was being generous!
Grew up with foggy as the third man, never liked seymor but in later life watching repeats I really like Truly
Hi Ezza, before watching every episode, many times, for research, Foggy was the third man I knew best. I've grown to like Blamire, and never had a problem with Truly!
The RAF seems to have produced some talent
Hi Chris, yes you're right - good job none of them stayed in the forces!
Hi did Foggy and Seymour ever meet? This video was really interesting, thank you
Hi Kevin, thank you. Nearly. In the first episode of series 12, "Return of the Warrior" Clegg and Compo see Seymour off on a bus to a new teaching job, as Foggy arrives on another bus, shortly afterwards. Michael Aldridge decided to leave the show to look after his wife, but agreed to make the one-off appearance in series 12. I only know of one photograph featuring both actors together in costume, presumably taken while filming that episode.
@@upstagedbyadog thank you very much, I wish there were episodes of them together, lovely show, I used to watch this on a Sunday night with my late dad, also I never knew about Blamire, I thought Foggy was there from the start, interesting
@@Kevin-1969 However, you can see them together in "First of the Summer Wine"!
Foggy for me love Brian wild
He does generally seem to be the favourite Third man!
To me it will always be Foggy and Blamire, and Truly in a few episodes but must admit, the Three men and a mangle episode with Seymour is one of my favourite but the number one episode is with Foggy in Getting Sam home, it shows the humanity and true friendship, even Ivy gets involved in the end ( felt sorry for Comer as this was his last ever, Sid was my number 4 favourite and should have had more involvement) Each to their own , keep watching out there fans or they stop showing it on the Drama channel.
Truly had more episodes than Foggy, but the fact that Foggy left and returned made him more of a "fixture"! I've said elsewhere that I initially didn't like Blamire, he was too loud and snobby - but he was the first "effort" at Third Man, so if he'd been able to stay he might have developed. I can tolerate him now I'm older and I understand him more! Truly was "ok", no bad opinion of him. More tolerant with a bit of bravado and possibly invented backstory!
@ Spot on on Blamire, he grew on me ( as they say ) , Truly and Seymour were also fine to watch but to be honestly blunt, after Compo funeral I lost quite a bit of interest, in fact I bought the dvd series from 1-18, will buy 19 & 20 soon but skipping the rest. In a way I would like to “ remember them in their prime “ . P.S.
Fantastic job as usual on your part.
@@70sboy98 Many thanks! 🙂
I always wished Seymour and Foggy had an encounter with each other.
The pompous schoolteacher and the military man fantasist.
Who could outdo each other in self importance ?
Hi Storm! It would have been interesting. They *did* meet in the 1988 prequel, but even then did not interact with each other very much. That might have been deliberate.
I meant foggy(as 3rd man of course)😊🫣🤣
Hello sir. What is the name of the road your standing on by the bus stop? I can't see the full name of the road.
It is Meal Hill Road, the school where Compo and Tom walk on the wall is a bit further along.
@@upstagedbyadog thank you
Foggy, every time.
Very popular choice!
They were all important,but cleggy was #1😊
I meant FOGGY,of course😮😊🫣🤣
@@dougreed2257 Hi Doug! I did do a double-take when I saw your comment, but I guessed you were full of Christmas spirit!
@upstagedbyadog 🤣😂
It’s a shame that Hobo, Alvin and Entwistle couldn’t have had a few more seasons - it all became increasingly eclectic and slapdash after Foggy departed for the final time but when Hobo arrived on scene there was suddenly a simultaneously fresh and yet very classic energy with this new and basically unplanned trio but sadly it wasn’t to be 😔
Hi Edward, while a lot of people didn't like the Hobbo character, but he was only just getting going. Roy Clarke had a difficult job to introduce a new character to keep up the momentum of the earlier Trios. [edit - typo]
Foggy will always be my favourite but did also like Truelove
I wonder where Seymour would have fit had he returned, would Foggy have left again or would he have been a kind of Wesley Character???
Excellent question JD. It might have come down to "personalities" - for example, did Brian Wilde get on with Michael Aldridge? If not Brian might have decided to leave. Seymour might have come back for a few episodes while "on holiday". I can't imagine both of them existing in the same place, they have too many similarities! It is possible that they might use Seymour to make contraptions after we lost Wesley, but remember, everything Seymour built was a disaster, just ask Edie about the waste disposal unit! Their characters were both in "First of the Summer Wine" but almost never interacted, even when in the same scenes.
Blamire was the best followed by Seymour they were by far the best 2.
Foggy was always my favourite, followed by Blamire, then Truly and Seymour. For me personally although Seymour was amiable and eccentric (and somewhat snobbish) his character lacked the 'bite' of the other third men. Or put another way, the necessary comedic friction was less. Anyway just my opinion. 😊
Michael Bates always considered himself to be, and was proud to be, Indian first, British second.
Brian Wilde also played the traumatised psychiatric patient in "Night of the Demon".
I do say in the video "Michael Bates was born and spent his early years in India". Brian Wilde payed many roles, as with all the actors mentioned, I picked a few characters that were significant, some that people would be familiar with, and sometimes an odd role that might have been less well known. If I listed everything there would not be time for anything else!
@upstagedbyadog I've amended my comment. I was trying to point out to any critics of his role in "It ain't half hot, Mum" that Bates was proud of being Indian. He loved the country and its people. From what I've heard, he was always deeply upset if anyone implied he was mocking them.
I was mentioned Wilde's role in "Night of the Demon" as it always seems to surprise people that it was him. Even though he was so distinctive.
No criticism was intended.
@@Benjiesbeenbetter. Concerning "It ain't half hot, Mum" - I reported what was said at the time, but those who criticised it - as in a lot of cases - needed to do some homework before saying anything.
@upstagedbyadog The most vocal critics don't do homework. They can form rabid opinions with nothing to back them up at all.
It's ludicrous that IAHHM is so reviled now. I seem to recall that the Indian characters were the only ones who weren't idiots.
In terms of a Seymour return, when was that considered assuming they wouldn’t want two ‘third men’. Cameos?
I think it was likely to be more of a cameo appearance, rather than coming back to takeover.
What did you think off there goes the groom the last time I watched it was January I don’t think it’s good because it’s Foggy stunt asleep Foggy last episode was A sidecar named desire
Honestly, I don't think I'm keen on any of the episodes over 30-ish minutes (except Last Post and Pigeon), nor any of the films. While there are comedy shows that have had successful longer episodes and films, for me "Summer Wine" fits a 30-minute episode.
@@upstagedbyadogyea my all time favourite episode was Last Pigeon and Post even at the end of Last Pigeon and Post in the woodlands where the late Bill Owen blows the last Post on the bugle you could see how I'll the late Bill Owen was by his face and his eyes and I think the late Bill Owen sadly passed away very soon after 😢and to be honest the first time I watched the episode Last Pigeon and Post the sight of the late Bill Owen blowing the last Post on the bugle I'm not ashamed to admit brought tears to my eyes watching it it was a very beautiful written episode and very moving end to the episode Last Pigeon and Post 😊
@@stephenchecksfield632 Bill passed away before filming for Last Post and Pigeon was completed. The final scene was filmed in a quarry near Holmfirth. Some scenes used doubles and camera tricks to make sure it could be finished. I always find that episode difficult to watch. It was even difficult talking on camera at the location of the "See Ya Compo" hill, and at the undertakers used in the funeral episode.