Open All Hours creator talks making legendary sitcom: “It would never happen again”

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This month marks the 50th anniversary of the beloved comedy series, Open All Hours. Though instantly recognizable as a quintessentially Northern England show, it became popular with audiences everywhere and even led to a sequel. However, the very first glimpse of Arkwright’s shop actually appeared in a pilot episode back in 1973. Recently, RT had the opportunity to speak with the show’s creator, Sir Roy Clarke…

Roy Clarke, the writer behind popular comedies like Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping Up Appearances, and Open All Hours, has been knighted for his contributions to entertainment. When asked if he was surprised by the honor, the 96-year-old writer jokingly replied, “Absolutely!”

But what of the other birthday boy, Open All Hours: how did that come about?

Clarke explains that the BBC paired him with Ronnie for lunch to brainstorm ideas. During that lunch, Ronnie mentioned he’d always wanted to play a small shopkeeper. This immediately resonated with Clarke, as his wife’s father was a grocer, she grew up in the business, and she even ran a small shop when they were first married. Clarke felt comfortable with the subject matter and was excited to start working on it.

This comedy show was originally made for Ronnie Barker’s 1973 series, Seven of One – the same show that launched Porridge. But it took three years between the initial pilot and the full series – what caused the delay?

Ronnie Corbett’s other commitments were always a factor. Alongside The Two Ronnies, Barker was gaining recognition for his role as the mischievous Norman Stanley Fletcher in the prison sitcom. This made his portrayal of Albert Arkwright, the tightfisted shopkeeper in Open All Hours, alongside David Jason’s innocent nephew Granville, a perfect comedic pairing.

Clarke explains that the opportunity was unique. David was just becoming famous, and she believes it’s unlikely such a pairing of prominent stars could happen on one show again. She considers it a major benefit to have had both of them involved.

The cast wasn’t fully set at the beginning. The role of Nurse Gladys Emanuel, who Arkwright was constantly smitten with, was originally played by Sheila Brennan in the first episode. Later, Lynda Baron took over the part. According to Brennan, the producers decided the initial performance didn’t quite fit, and the change wasn’t her fault.

The location of exterior shots also changed after the first episode. While the initial scenes featuring Arkwright’s shop were filmed in Ealing, West London, later scenes were shot in Balby, near Doncaster.

The show’s core dynamic was established: enthusiastic Arkwright repeatedly failed to win over the stern Nurse Gladys, while the naive Granville constantly messed up his chances at romance due to his clumsiness.

It speaks volumes about Arthur Clarke’s popularity that so many actors, before they became famous, were eager to appear as extras on his show. This included well-known faces like Yootha Joyce (from George and Mildred), John Challis (Only Fools and Horses), Liz Dawn (Coronation Street), and Barbara Flynn (A Very Peculiar Practice).

The shop felt like a little theater, and that was a wonderful part of what made it special. We had two regular customers, Ronnie and David, who always kept things light and funny. Every customer who came in felt like a performer doing their bit, then moving on. It was a truly special atmosphere – a real gift.

Ronnie seemed to instinctively know that pursuing that idea was right for him. He just had a feeling it would work. Clarke actually wrote another pilot episode for the show ‘Seven of One,’ called ‘Spanner’s Eleven.’ It was a comedy about a really bad football team, but he jokes that he’d rather not discuss it much.

I absolutely loved Open All Hours! It was such a brilliant mix of silly slapstick, clever wordplay, and those classic, slightly cheeky seaside-pier jokes. But it wasn’t just funny – there was a little bit of sadness too, especially when Arkwright would have those thoughtful moments at the end of each episode. It ran for four series, 26 episodes in total, and finished in 1985. I was always curious about where Ronnie Clarke, the creator, got his comedy ideas. He once said he was a big fan of George Formby, and he really enjoyed American humor and groups like the Crazy Gang – that gives you a good idea of his influences!

Clarke was known for writing his first scripts entirely by hand. He explained that when his handwriting was neat enough, it was simply easier than using a typewriter. Back then, making changes on a typed page was a lot of work, but with pencil, he could quickly erase and rewrite sections as needed.

The character of Arkwright, the show’s central figure, could have easily come across as unpleasant – he was stingy and grumpy. To avoid that, Clarke and Barker gave him a stutter. Clarke explains he doesn’t regret that decision, stating Arkwright was strong enough to carry it. He believes such a prominent character needed a small imperfection to feel more real.

He could have easily been a truly awful person, but that’s the amazing thing about Ronnie Barker – his inherent goodness always shone through, even when I wrote him into some really difficult and unpleasant situations!

Bringing back ‘Still Open All Hours’ in 2013 was a risky move, especially after the death of original star Ronnie Barker in 2005. However, the show proved popular, with over 13 million viewers watching and running for six series and 41 episodes – surpassing the length of the original. As writer Roy Clarke puts it, revisiting a successful show is always dangerous, but David (Jason Manford, the new lead) had the talent to make it work.

Clarke’s performance as Granville, who took over the shop after Arkwright passed away, proved to be another success. The show brought back beloved characters like Wavy Mavis (Maggie Ollerenshaw) and the memorable Mrs. Featherstone (Stephanie Cole), and also introduced a host of talented comedic actors including Brigit Forsyth, Johnny Vegas, Tim Healy, Sally Lindsay, and Nina Wadia.

The team successfully acknowledged Barker’s absence by consistently highlighting his contributions. “We absolutely did that on purpose,” explains Clarke. “His picture was always visible, and I think his influence was really strong.” They also made sure to feature Arkwright’s well-known cash register. “Of course,” Clarke adds with a laugh.

Despite the cancellation of Still Open in 2023, David Clarke has written a short concluding segment for a documentary celebrating Open All Hours and its impact. This segment will air on U&Gold later this year. Clarke describes it as a way to wrap up the documentary, rather than a traditional script.

Roy Clarke considers his two most popular shows, Open All Hours and Last of the Summer Wine, as distinct from each other, despite both being humorous depictions of life in the north of England. He notes that Last of the Summer Wine features broad landscapes, while Open All Hours is set within the confined space of a shop, but emphasizes that both were successful.

When asked about favorite episodes, the speaker mentioned enjoying the storyline with Ronnie and the nurse attending a wedding, as well as the funeral episode where Ronnie unexpectedly placed buns inside the hearse. Overall, they expressed fondness for most of the episodes, praising the talented people they worked with.

Later this year, Ten Acre Books will release “Writing All Hours,” an official biography of Roy Clarke by Andrew T. Smith.

You can watch “Roy Clarke Remembers…” on BBC Four this Tuesday, February 10th, at 7:30 PM. It will also be available to watch later on BBC iPlayer.

Authors

Mark Braxton
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2026-02-10 04:14