Last of the Summer Wine series 20

Last of the Summer Wine's twentieth series aired on BBC One. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine
Series 20
No. of episodes	10
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	18 April (1999-04-18) – 27 June 1999 (1999-06-27)
Additional information
Filming dates	Series 20: 1998-1999
Series chronology

Outline

The trio in this series consisted of:

Actor	Role
Bill Owen	Compo
Peter Sallis	Clegg
Frank Thornton	Truly

First appearances

• Billy Hardcastle (1999–2006)

List of Episodes

Regular series

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
The Pony Set	18 April	Compo decides to take up horse riding to impress Nora Batty, and it's up to Clegg and Truly to help him thanks to Auntie Wainwright's special horse-riding promotion. On their way to Wainwright's, the trio come across a man intending to 'end it all' because of problems with his wife.	This is the first episode to be made in 16:9 widescreen. Audience of 8.4m – 30th most watched programme of the week. Guest appearance of Malcolm Hebden (Norris Cole of Coronation Street).
How Errol Flynn Discovered the Secret Scar of Nora Batty	25 April	The trio come across Billy Hardcastle, a man who believes he is a direct descendant of Robin Hood and takes up dressing like his "ancestor" and recruit a band of Merry Men, but when Compo sees Nora fussing over him, he decides to take matters into his own hands.	First appearance of Billy Hardcastle (guest star). Audience of 7.76m – 32nd most watched programme of the week.
Who's Thrown Away her Tom Cruise Photographs?	2 May	Marina finally gets fed up with Howard and swears off men entirely. Truly thinks he can change her mind if only they can make Howard appear more desirable.	Audience of 6.22m – 47th most watched programme of the week.
What's Happened to Barry's Nose?	16 May	Truly tries to help Barry become more confident, but things turn nasty leading to some damage to Barry's nose. Meanwhile, Howard and Marina buy megaphones from Auntie Wainwright.	Audience of 6.52m – 47th most watched programme of the week.
Optimism in the Housing Market	23 May	Smiler injures his foot while selling door to door for Auntie Wainwright. The trio tries to assist him in recovering from his injury, with disastrous results.	Audience of 6.95m – 43rd most watched programme of the week.
Will Barry go Septic Despite Listening to Classical Music?	30 May	Compo, Clegg and Truly are intrigued when they meet a man testing for earthquakes.	Guest appearance of Colin Bennett Audience of 7.21m – 17th most watched programme of the week.
Beware the Vanilla Slice	6 June	Compo tries to revive interest in the childhood game of "thumpy-dub", Truly tries to sell his useless lawn-mower and Marina generates gossip with her pastry purchase.	Audience of 6.98m – 31st most watched programme of the week.
Howard Throws a Wobbler	13 June	Howard seethes with jealousy when he becomes positive that Pearl is having an affair. Eager to show off his detective skills, Truly volunteers to shadow her and find out what she's up to.	Audience of 6.37m – 37th most watched programme of the week.
The Phantom Number 14 Bus	20 June	Truly investigates the curious case of 'The Phantom Number 14 Bus' which disappeared between stops.	Audience of 7.46m – 48th most watched programme of the week. Guest appearance of Stanley Lebor.
Ironing Day	27 June	Smiler gets drunk and adventurous on Auntie Wainwright's homemade wine, and Truly and Compo attempt to keep him under control.	Audience of 7.22m – 27th most watched programme of the week.

Special (1999)

Title	Airdate	Description	Notes
The Batsman	1999	A selection of many famous comedy characters telling the story of the Batsman, this included Norman Clegg as portrayed by Peter Sallis.	Audience of 6 million Shown as a promotion for comedy on the BBC.

DVD release

The box set for series twenty was released by Universal Playback in March 2012, mislabelled as a box set for series 21 & 22.

The Complete Series 21 & 22

Set Details

21 episodes 4-disc set Language: English

Release Date

Region 2

26 March 2012

See also

• List of Last of the Summer Wine episodes