Open All Hours Theme Tune

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  2. Still Open All Hours Theme Tune
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Still Open All Hours
GenreComedy
Created byRoy Clarke
Written byRoy Clarke
Directed byDewi Humphreys
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series5
No. of episodes34 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)Gareth Edwards
Production location(s)Dock10, MediaCityUK(2013)
Teddington Studios(2014)
Pinewood Studios(2015—)
Running time30 minutes
Production company(s)BBC
DistributorBBC Worldwide
2entertain
ABC (Australia, home video)
Release
Original networkBBC One
Picture format1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio formatDolby Digital 5.1
Original release26 December 2013 –
Present
Chronology
Preceded byOpen All Hours
Related showsSeven of One
External links
Still Open All Hours at BBC Comedy

Still Open All Hours is a British sitcom created by Roy Clarke for the BBC set in Balby, Doncaster, starring David Jason. It is the sequel to the sitcom Open All Hours, which both Clarke and Jason worked on throughout its 26-episode run from 1973 to 1985, following a 40th Anniversary Special in December 2013 commemorating the original series.[1] Like the original series, the story focuses on the life of Granville as he continues to run his uncle Arkwright's shop, with the assistance of his son Leroy, while seeking to be with his love interest. Unlike the original series, the cast includes a more regular group of characters and additional side-plots concerning them, and features the return of Lynda Baron, Stephanie Cole, and Maggie Ollerenshaw as their respective characters in Open All Hours.

  1. Check out Open All Hours Theme (Alice, Where Art Thou?) by TV Theme Tune Factory on Amazon Music. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on Amazon.co.uk. Open All Hours Theme (Alice, Where Art Thou?) by TV Theme Tune Factory on Amazon Music - Amazon.co.uk.
  2. Open All Hours: Volume One (AU - DVD R4). I particularly enjoy the theme song that provides for a light- hearted opening and a warm closure at the end of each episode. This addition to the DVD surely makes Open All Hours value for money in buying or renting.

Following the 2013 special, the show has run five full-length series, with the first of them premiering on 26 December 2014.

The tune to Open All Hours was written by Max Harris adapted from a melody 'Alice, Where Art Thou?' Music sheet page 1 and page 2 from the book 'It's easy to play TV themes 2': [music! /arranged by Frank Booth]. Title: Open All Hours (score) Author: Gavin Somerset Created Date: 8/13/2018 11:25:43 AM.

  • 2Characters
  • 4Production

Premise[edit]

Set within the same small grocer's shop in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, the show focuses on the life of Granville (David Jason), now much older and the owner of Arkwright's shop after his uncle's death. Granville has since grown into the same person as his uncle, having learned from him how to sell to customers. Assisting him with the running of his shop is Leroy (James Baxter), Granville's son by one of his previous girlfriends, who maintains a rather robust love life with several girls but struggles to cope with the work and sales approach of his father.

Like his uncle, Granville maintains a love life with Mavis (Maggie Ollerenshaw), an absent-minded but sweet woman who loves him in return, but who lives across the road alongside her sister Madge (Brigit Forsyth), a miserable woman who does not like men and chooses to keep Mavis from following a relationship with Granville. Both are regular customers of the shop, alongside others from the neighbourhood whom Granville tries to offload products onto, which he has bought and had little success selling on.

Characters[edit]

Granville[edit]

Kitchenaid serial number decoder. Since Open All Hours, having lived his youth as a nice, yet shy and awkward man who struggled with shop life, Granville has changed into a more toned-down version of his uncle Arkwright, who thanks to his uncle's training, now exhibits a similar manner of selling goods at inflated prices, fabricating stories to sell useless and/or unsalable items to hapless customers, and keeping a close watch on the money he spends, often through employing the use of a special money belt that cause slight issues and embarrassment at times. During his uncle's training, Granville engaged in relationships with several girlfriends, in which a fling in Blackpool resulted in the procreation of his son Leroy, whom he was left in charge of by his mother. Following his uncle's death, Granville inherited his shop, which he runs alongside Leroy, often teasing his son over the identity of his mother, secretly concealing the fact he knows who it is, while subjecting him to practical jokes and teaching him some of the tricks that his uncle taught him. In Still Open All Hours, he maintains a belief that his uncle lives on through the shop's till, often referring to it as Arkwright in later episodes, due to the nature of it opening up or closing shut suddenly at times for various reasons, such as when there is mention of spending considerable money on something.

Like his uncle, Granville has a love interest of his own within Mavis, a woman he met during his youth and whom he still fondly loves. Unlike his uncle, Granville struggles to be with Mavis since the end of her previous marriage, due to her sister Madge desiring to keep them apart. To try to keep Madge distracted and hopefully remove her as an obstacle, Granville spends his time grooming one of his regulars, Gastric, into becoming Madge's love interest. In later episodes, he also finds himself trying to stop the advances of widower Delphine Featherstone, one of his uncle's customers whom he accidentally sent a love note to that was meant for Mavis, by convincing a fellow widower, Wilburn Newbold, into entering a relationship with her and maintaining it, despite Mrs Featherstone's presence unnerving him.

Leroy[edit]

Leroy was born to a mother whom his father met during a fling in Blackpool, but whom he does not know about, despite Granville secretly knowing who she is; although his mother is talked about during the first series, including a visit by her to see Leroy, references about her become rare and non-existent in later episodes. Left into his father's care by his mother at a young age, Leroy suffers similar issues like Granville did in his youth, such as having to be up early to open the shop and thus being on the receiving end of his father's practical jokes, and handling the deliveries of purchases to customers. Unlike his father, Leroy maintains an active social life with many young women, most having boyfriends that they don't mind ignoring to spend time with him, much to his father's dismay, while displaying a firm dislike of his father's practices for unloading products he buys cheaply but cannot sell. By the fourth series, Leroy becomes committed to winning the affection of a local librarian, despite her values and her lifestyle as a vegan.

Main[edit]

CharacterPlayed bySeriesEpisode count
Pilot12345
Main Characters
GranvilleDavid Jason
24
LeroyJames Baxter
24
Delphine FeatherstoneStephanie Cole
24
MavisMaggie Ollerenshaw
24
Eric AgnewJohnny Vegas
23
MadgeBrigit Forsyth
24
GastricTim Healy
23
CyrilKulvinder Ghir
23
Kath AgnewSally Lindsay
18
Mrs HusseinNina Wadia
19
Wilburn NewboldGeoffrey Whitehead
14
Nurse Gladys EmmanuelLynda Baron
13
Recurring Characters
SalesmanMark Williams
3
NikkiEmily Fleeshman
6
CindyMisha Timmins
6
Mrs HemstockCatherine Breeze
4
Mr MarshallBarry Chuckle
3
AshleyNadine Rose Mulkerrin
3
Dog ManDuggie Brown
3
Mr LomaxKeiron Self
2
Mr BentinckAlan David
2
Mrs WillisVal Tagger
2
BethKatie Redford
4

Episodes[edit]

Thirty-four episodes of Still Open All Hours, all written by Roy Clarke, have been produced for the BBC. The show began airing on 26 December 2013 with an anniversary special of original series, Open All Hours. All episodes have a running time of 30 minutes. Between Open All Hours and Still Open All Hours, there has been a total of 60 episodes and nine series broadcast between 1973 and 2018.

Production[edit]

Series development[edit]

Still Open All Hours was broadcast on 26 December 2013, with Jason reprising his role of Granville from Open All Hours. The new one-off episode written by Clarke showed Granville now running the shop with his son Leroy (played by James Baxter),[2] after inheriting it from Arkwright.[3] Clarke wrote the script in two weeks, and production began in October 2013. The exterior scenes were filmed at the original location at Lister Avenue in Doncaster from 18 to 20 November 2013. The interior scenes were recorded on 3 December 2013 at dock10, MediaCityUK in Salford in front of a studio audience. A 30-minute documentary accompanying the show's return, entitled Open All Hours: A Celebration, aired on 27 December 2013, the day after the new episode was broadcast, on BBC One.[4][5][6]

On 30 January 2014, the BBC commissioned Still Open All Hours for six new episodes beginning on 26 December 2014.[7][8] The controller of BBC comedy commissioning, Shane Allen, said: 'The resounding success of the Christmas revival showed the huge and enduring audience affection for this much-loved classic. Roy has done a terrific job of updating the characters whilst keeping what was warm-hearted and enjoyable about the world of the original series.'[9]

Production for series one started in August 2014, exterior filming started on 15 September and location recording was completed on 26 September 2014.[10][11] Interior scenes were recorded in front of a studio audience from 10 October until 21 November 2014 at Teddington Studios.[12]

The show later returned for a second series, beginning on 26 December 2015.[13][14] with production starting in September 2015. Exterior scenes were filmed on location from 14[15]-24 September 2015.[16] Interior scenes were recorded in front of a studio audience at Pinewood Studios from 9 October until 20 November 2015.[17]

Open all hours theme tuners

In January 2016, David Jason revealed that a third series would be produced in 2016. The series began airing on 26 December 2016.[18] Production started in September 2016 with on location for exterior scenes being shot in Balby Doncaster from 12 September 2016.[19]Lynda Baron could not reprise her role as Nurse Gladys Emmanuel as the filming dates clashed with Baron's current contract with EastEnders.[20]

David Jason announced that a fourth series would be filmed in 2017.[21] Filming began in September 2017 with David Jason seen on location in Doncaster with co-star Tim Healy.[22] The series began airing on 28 December 2017.[23] Interior scenes were recorded at Pinewood Studios in front of a live-studio-audience on 7, 14, and 21 October and on the 4, 11, 18, and 24 November 2016.[24]In early 2017 a fourth series was commissioned production started in August 2017. On location exterior scenes for the fourth series commenced on 11 September 2017 in Doncaster.[25]

In January 2018, it was revealed the show will return for a fifth series late 2018.[26] The fifth series was officially confirmed on 2 May 2018, with filming due to commence in the summer. The series premiere aired on BBC1, on 7 October 2018.[27]On 21 December 2018 the BBC confirmed that a sixth series had been commissioned for transmission later in 2019.[28]

Filming locations[edit]

Lister Avenue in Balby is used for the filming of Still Open All Hours; 'Beautique' (sic) on the right, doubles as Arkwright's

The exterior shots reused the original shop from the series, on Lister Avenue in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster. The shop had to be extensively redressed (for both programmes) to resemble a traditional corner shop, as it has been a hair salon since 1962. This process took two days, before filming on location for three consecutive days.[29]

The studio recordings for the 2013 special were recorded at dock10 at MediaCityUK. For the first series, Teddington Studios were used and the second, third, fourth and fifth series were all recorded at Pinewood Studios.

Broadcast and reception[edit]

The special was broadcast on BBC One on 26 December 2013 and received 9.43m (39.9% of the audience) viewers according to overnight figures and was the most watched programme on that day.[30] Final viewing figures showed that it was watched by 12.23m and was the most watched programme for that week.[31] It received generally poor reviews from critics. Will Dean of The Independent, referencing Arkwright's trademark stutter, called it 'a w-w-worthy effort' but criticised the attempt to revive the show without the late Ronnie Barker.[32] Ben Lawrence of The Telegraph said it 'felt like a relic of another era' criticising the jokes and Jason's performance.[33] Jacob Mason, writing on the Radio Times website, described the show as 'warmly nostalgic', whilst others noted it as 'a fitting tribute to Ronnie Barker'.[34] On 21 November 2014, the BBC confirmed that Still Open All Hours would return for a full series in 2014. This began airing on 26 December 2014 and finished on 25 January 2015. Series 2 began on 26 December 2015 with a run of 6 episodes and finished on 26 January 2016, Season 3 which began airing on 26 December 2016 with 7 episodes, Season 4 which began airing on 28 December 2017, followed by Season 5 which began on 7 October 2018

DVD releases[edit]

Although filmed and broadcast in High-definition, no Blu-ray releases have been announced to date. Series One and the 2013 Christmas Special was released on DVD on 2 February 2015 by 2 entertain. Series 2 was released on 1 February 2016. Series 3 was released on 13 February 2017. Series 4 was released on 19 February 2018. Series Five was released on 7 January 2019.

DVD TitleNo. of DiscsSpecial featuresNo. of EpisodesRelease Dates
Region 2Region 4
Series 112013 Christmas Special72 February 2015[35]24 June 2015
Series 212015 Christmas Special61 February 2016[36]TBA
Series 312016 Christmas Special713 February 2017[37]TBA
Series 412017 Christmas Special719 February 2018[38]TBA
Series 512018 Christmas Special77 January 2019[39]TBA

References[edit]

  1. ^Goodacre, Kate (7 October 2013). 'Sir David Jason to star in 'Open All Hours' Christmas special'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  2. ^'Look who's the b-b-boss now: Granville pulls on Arkwright's famous brown coat as David Jason returns in Open All Hours after 30 years'. Daily Mail. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  3. ^'Sir David Jason back for Open All Hours Christmas show'. BBC News. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  4. ^'Open All Hours: A Celebration'. BBC. 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  5. ^'Open All Hours special could lead to new series'. Doncaster Free Press. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. ^'BREAKING: New version of Open All Hours will be filmed in Doncaster'. Doncaster Free Press. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  7. ^'Still Open All Hours commissioned for full series'. BBC News. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  8. ^Glanfield, Tim (30 January 2014). 'Still Open All Hours series confirmed'. Radio Times. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  9. ^Plunkett, John (30 January 2014). 'BBC commissions full series of Still Open All Hours'. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  10. ^'Video: Open All Hours filming starts in Doncaster'. Doncaster Free Press. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  11. ^'Open All Hours filming set to end in Doncaster'. Sheffield Star. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  12. ^'Still Open All Hours Series 1'. The Pinewood Studios Group. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  13. ^'The Chuckle Brothers: To me, to you.. to Swansea!'. South Wales Evening Post. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  14. ^'Still Open All Hours series 2 confirmed'. British Comedy Guide. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  15. ^'Sir David Jason, 75, steps out as comedy character Granville as he films new series of BBC's Still Open All Hours in Doncaster'. The Daily Mail. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  16. ^'Tim Healy gets into a spot of bother while dressed as Santa as he joins Sir David Jason on the set of the Still Open All Hours Christmas special'. The Daily Mail. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  17. ^Burke Darren (30 September 2015). 'Still Open All Hours to be filmed at world famous Pinewood Studios'. Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  18. ^'David Jason confirms Still Open All Hours will return and reveals his Hollywood dream'. The Mirror. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  19. ^Staff, Radio Times (12 September 2016). 'David Jason to return for new series of Still Open All Hours'. Radio Times. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  20. ^Crockery, Claire (12 September 2016). 'Still Open All Hours third series WITHOUT Nurse Emmanuel'. Daily Express. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  21. ^'Only Fools And Horses reboot? Sir David Jason says he would play Del Boy one last time'. The Mirror. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  22. ^'David Jason is unrecognisable as he sports bushy beard for new sitcom series'.
  23. ^'TV legend David Jason: Mrs Brown's Boys is too rude for family audiences'. The Mirror. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  24. ^Staff, BBC Shows and tours (12 September 2016). 'Still Open All Hours shows and tours'. BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  25. ^'PICTURES: Still Open All Hours filming gets underway in Doncaster - but not at Arkwright's shop'. Doncaster Free Press. 12 September 2016.
  26. ^'TV legend David Jason: Mrs Brown's Boys is too rude for family audiences'. The Mirror. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  27. ^'BBC iPlayer - BBC One Guide - Sun Oct 07 2018'. BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  28. ^'Still Open All Hours will return to BBC One in 2019 for a sixth series'. BBC Media Center. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018..
  29. ^Wilkes, David (19 November 2013). 'The real life shops behind Open All Hours: How a hairdressers and a c-c-convenience store helped inspire the BBC sitcom that is about to be resurrected for Christmas special'. Mail Online. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  30. ^Rigby, Sam (27 December 2013). 'Still Open All Hours tops Boxing Day ratings with 9.4m'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  31. ^'Top 30s'. The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  32. ^Dean, Will (26 December 2013). 'Still Open All Hours review: It was a w-w-worthy effort – but there's only one Arkwright'. The Independent. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  33. ^Lawrence, Ben (26 December 2013). 'Still Open All Hours, BBC One, review'. The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  34. ^Andrews, Marc (26 December 2013). 'TV viewers hail the one-off return of classic sitcom Open All Hours as 'warmly nostalgic' and 'a fitting tribute to Ronnie Barker''. Daily Mail. Retrieved 4 January 2014. Jojo Martin praised the show saying ' I loved Open All Hours and I love Still Open All Hours even more, Still Open is the one of the best comedy series on our screens'.
  35. ^'Still Open All Hours Series One + 2013 Christmas Special [DVD]'. Amazon.co.uk. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  36. ^'Still Open All Hours: Series Two + 2015 Christmas Special [DVD]'. Amazon.co.uk. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  37. ^'Still Open All Hours: Series Three + 2016 Christmas Special [DVD]'. Amazon.co.uk. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  38. ^'Still Open All Hours: Series Four + 2017 Christmas Special [DVD]'. Amazon.co.uk. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  39. ^'Still Open All Hours: Series Five + 2018 Christmas Special [DVD]'. Amazon.co.uk. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.

External links[edit]

  • Still Open All Hours at BBC Programmes
  • Still Open All Hours on IMDb
  • Still Open All Hours at British Comedy Guide.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Still_Open_All_Hours&oldid=908450884'
Genre:Sitcom
Creator:Roy Clarke
Director:Sydney Lotterby
Theme Music Composer:Joseph Ascher
Opentheme:'Alice, Where Art Thou?'
Endtheme:'Alice, Where Art Thou?'
Composer:Max Harris
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Num Series:4
Num Episodes:26
List Episodes:List of Open All Hours episodes
Executive Producer:James Gilbert
(pilot episode)
Producer:Sydney Lotterby
(1973–1985)
Location:England
Runtime:30 minutes
Company:BBC
Distributor:BBC Worldwide
2entertain
ABC (Australia, home video)
Warner Home Video (US, home video)
Picture Format:576i (4:3 SDTV)
Audio Format:Mono
Followed By:Still Open All Hours
Related:Seven of One
Website:http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/openallhours/
Website Title:Open All Hours at BBC Comedy

Open All Hours is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which premiered in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronnie Barker's comedy anthology series, Seven of One (1973). Open All Hours ranked eighth in the 2004 Britain's Best Sitcom poll.[1] A sequel, entitled Still Open All Hours, was created in 2013.

Premise

The setting is a small grocer's shop in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster in South Yorkshire. The owner, Arkwright (Ronnie Barker), is a middle-aged miser with a stammer and a knack for selling. His nephew Granville (David Jason) is his put-upon errand boy, who blames his work schedule for his lacklustre social life.

Across the road lives Nurse Gladys Emmanuel (Lynda Baron), occupied by her professional rounds, and her elderly mother. Arkwright longs to marry Gladys, but she resists his persistent pressures. In later episodes, it is explained that the two have been engaged for many years but have been unable to go through with a wedding due to the advanced age of her mother, for whom she cares at home. Though short-tempered with Arkwright, she is concerned for his and Granville's welfare.

Characters

See main article: article and List of Open All Hours characters.

Arkwright

See main article: Arkwright and Arkwright (Open All Hours). Albert Arkwright is a pragmatic, miserly man with old-fashioned values, whose world seems to stop at his shop door, except for his uncontrollable lust for Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, which may prompt him on occasion to wander across the road, usually with a ladder, to gain access to her bedroom window. Arkwright is a devious and mildly dishonest character, who has many crafty tricks to try to persuade a customer to leave his shop having bought at least one thing, and will avoid spending his own money at all costs. He is also very protective of his savings, keeping some in his pocket wrapped in a fine gold chain, and some in an old, battered Oxo tin that he hides under the kitchen sink. This includes, or so he claims, coins from before 1922, when they were 'solid silver'.

Granville

Frost

See main article: Granville and Granville (Open All Hours). Granville is the son of Arkwright's sister. She died a single mother when Granville was very young, leaving Arkwright to bring up the boy. Arkwright's jokes imply that his sister was promiscuous; he frequently speculates that Granville's father is Hungarian, and was forbidden to marry Granville's mother because she was English. He is often referred to as a 'youth' or 'young lad', even though Granville is well into his adult years.

Granville is shy and awkward, but kind. His priorities differ from those of his uncle. He always feels that life is passing him by. Occasionally, people from Granville's past come into the shop. To Granville, who is ever saddled with his shop duties and bearing his uncle's belittling, their lives seem richer and more fulfilling.

When Granville has a fling with the milkwoman (played by Barbara Flynn), his uncle is unsupportive.

Recurring characters

Character Pilot Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Series 4
Arkwright
Ronnie Barker
Granville
David Jason
Nurse Gladys Emmanuel
Sheila Brennan
Lynda Baron
The Milk Woman
Barbara Flynn
Mrs Delphine Featherstone
Stephanie Cole
Mrs Blewett
Kathy Staff
Mavis
Maggie Ollerenshaw
Mrs Doris Parslow
Frances Cox
Cyril
Tom Mennard
Mrs Ellis
Barbara Keogh
Sue Race
Gordon Stackpool
Teddy Turner
Thorndyke
Alan Starkey
Julie
Helen Cotterill
Mrs Bickerdyke
Sandra Voe
Mrs Scully
Yootha Joyce
Mrs Tattersall
Paula Tilbrook
Bread Man
David Valla
John Challis
Bert Gaunt

Episodes

See main article: article and List of Open All Hours episodes. Twenty-six episodes of Open All Hours, all written by Roy Clarke, have been produced for the BBC. The show began airing in 1973 with the pilot episode and ended in 1985 after the fourth series. All episodes have a running time of 30 minutes.

Production

Series development

The shop is based on a little store called L E Riddiford in Thornbury, Gloucestershire. Roy Clarke visited this small town whilst travelling and was said to have fallen in love with the shop layout and its owner, Len Riddiford. This shop is referenced in numerous Open All Hours episodes by Arkwright.

Ronnie Barker proposed that Arkwright should have a stammer, and this was written into the character. Barker also co-created the premise of the dangerous till. In the series, the shop's antiquated till has a drawer that tends to snap shut suddenly. Even though this terrifies Granville and Arkwright, Arkwright refuses to replace the till due to the cost of a replacement, and because he believes it discourages burglars. By the time of Still Open All Hours, it is suggested that the till is now haunted by Arkwright's ghost as it sporadically opens and closes violently at the mere suggestion of Granville spending money.

Filming locations

The exterior shots were recorded on Lister Avenue in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster; South Yorkshire. The shop itself is a hairdresser's salon, which closed for a Summer break during each year the series was being filmed by the BBC. The same location is used for the sequel series Still Open All Hours. The pilot episode (featured in the series Seven of One) used a shop front on the western intersection of Drayton Avenue and Manor Road in Ealing, London for exterior filming.

In the first series, Nurse Gladys lives at 34 Lister Avenue. This is changed to 32 from the second series.

The local council considered demolishing the shop used in Open All Hours. A fan created a web site to garner support for preserving it. The shop was to be auctioned in Leeds on 24 November 2008, and was expected to fetch between £120,000 and £130,000; however, all bids fell short of the reserve price.[2][3][4]

Three years earlier, a different sort of auction commemorated the programme. The BBC donated, to the British Stammering Association, two of the false moustaches worn by Ronnie Barker in the series. The BSA auctioned the moustaches at their London conference in September 2005, shortly before Barker's death.

Theme tune

The show's theme tune is a song called 'Alice, Where Art Thou?', written by Joseph Ascher. It was arranged for a brass band and performed by Max Harris, who also wrote the incidental music for the programme.[5][6]

Reception

At the time of the programme's airing, it was widely known that some viewers objected to the show's reliance on a speech impediment for some of its laughs. Even so, Ronnie Barker's character was so amiable and the humour good-natured enough that most deemed it an unmalicious portrayal. Barker also noted in his autobiography 'It's Hello from Him' that he received a letter which began 'We are a family of stutterers..', that made his heart sink. However, the writer went on to praise his portrayal and added that the whole family found the character hilarious.

Merchandise

Books

Two books related to the programme have been released in the UK. One was written by Graham McCann and published by BBC Books in October 2014 and the other one, a 'novelisation' based on scripts for the first series, was written by Christine Sparks and was published by BBC Books.

  • Open All Hours

This was published in February 1981 which is based on the original programme. Book: Sparks , Christine. February 1981. Open All Hours:[Papercover] . BBC Books. 0563179244. [7]

  • Still Open All Hours: The Story of a Classic Comedy

This was published on 30 October 2014. Book: McCann , Graham . 30 October 2014. Still Open All Hours: The Story of a Classic Comedy [Hardcover] . BBC Books. 1849908869. [8]

VHS releases

A selection of 15 episodes of the series was released on five VHS cassettes by BBC Video on 28 February 1995, 12 June 1995, 3 June 1996, 2 June 1997 and 2 March 1998. Universal Playback, under licence by BBC Worldwide, released Series 1 and 2 as a three tape boxset on 19 August 2002 and Series 3 and 4 as a three tape set boxset on 2 June 2003.

DVD releases

All four series have been released in Regions 2 and 4, both individually and in box sets.Region 1 has released the box set but the series have not been released individually.In Australia, the BBC with Roadshow released 'Series One: Episodes 1–3 Comedy Bites' in 2010.

DVD TitleDiscsYearEp. No.DVD releasesNotes
Region 1Region 2Region 4
Complete Series 111973 and 1976730 September 20021 April 2003Includes the 1973 pilot
Complete Series 211981729 September 20033 December 2003
Complete Series 31198264 October 20042 March 2005
Complete Series 411985631 October 20058 August 2006
Complete Series 1–441973–1985269 June 200913 November 20061 August 2007Includes the 1973 pilot

Sequel

In 1984, at which time no new episodes of the series had been produced for two years, a spin-off was proposed based around Lynda Baron's character, Nurse Gladys Emmanuel. Given the working title Call the Nurse, this spin-off series would have followed Nurse Gladys as she visited various eccentric and demanding patients. The characters of Arkwright and Granville were not written to appear, and Roy Clarke was keen to develop a new set of supporting characters rather than rely on those already built up for Open All Hours. A thirty minute pilot was written but did not enter production as the BBC turned down the series; instead, Open All Hours returned for its fourth and what would be final series the following year.

See main article: Still Open All Hours. A sequel, entitled Still Open All Hours, was created in 2013 by original writer Roy Clarke and featuring several original cast members, including David Jason, Lynda Baron, Stephanie Cole and Maggie Ollerenshaw. On 30 January 2014, the BBC commissioned Still Open All Hours for six new episodes beginning on 26 December 2014.[9] The show later returned for a second series, beginning on 26 December 2015.[10] In January 2016, David Jason revealed that a third series would be produced in 2016. The series began airing on 26 December 2016.[11] The series returned for a fourth series, beginning on 28 December 2017.[12] The series returned for a fifth series, beginning on 7 October 2018.

See also

Open All Hours Theme Tune

External links

Still Open All Hours Theme Tune

  • Guide to Comedy.
    • Open All Hours at the British Film Institute.
  • .
  • .
  • .

Notes and References

  1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sitcom/winner.shtml Britain's Best Sitcom:Top Ten
  2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/4769568.stm Famous TV shop faces demolition
  3. Web site: 'Open All Hours' shop to be auctioned. Digital Spy.
  4. News: Open All Hours shop fails to sell . BBC. 25 November 2008 . 25 November 2008.
  5. Web site: Alice, Where Art Thou?, by J. Ascher (1829–1869). mutopiaproject.org.
  6. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074036/fullcredits Credits
  7. Web site: Open All Hours. Amazon.co.uk . 2014-06-07.
  8. Web site: Still Open All Hours: The Story of a Classic Comedy . Amazon.co.uk . 2014-06-07.
  9. Web site: Still Open All Hours commissioned for full series. BBC News. 30 January 2014. 31 January 2014.
  10. Web site: The Chuckle Brothers: To me, to you.. to Swansea!. South Wales Evening Post. 19 June 2015. 19 June 2015.
  11. Web site: David Jason confirms Still Open All Hours will return and reveals his Hollywood dream . The Mirror . 20 January 2016 . 21 January 2016.

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