"Open All Hours" (1976) TV series 1976-1985

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

20 February 1976 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Arkwright is a tight-fisted shop owner in Doncaster, who will stop at nothing to keep his profits high and his overheads low...

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Shopkeeper | Title Spoken By Character

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Ronnie Barker	...	Albert Arkwright (25 episodes, 1976-1985)
David Jason	...	Granville (25 episodes, 1976-1985)
Lynda Baron	...	Nurse Gladys Emmanuel (25 episodes, 1976-1985)
Barbara Flynn	...	The Milk Woman (11 episodes, 1981-1985)

Series Directed by
Sydney Lotterby		(25 episodes, 1976-1985)

Series Writing credits
Roy Clarke		(25 episodes, 1976-1985)

Series Produced by
Sydney Lotterby	....	producer (25 episodes, 1976-1985)

Series Original Music by
Max Harris		(25 episodes, 1976-1985)

Series Film Editing by
Jon Gregory		(7 episodes, 1981)
Alistair McKay		(6 episodes, 1976)
Mike Jackson		(6 episodes, 1982)
John Jarvis		(6 episodes, 1985)
Stan Pow		(3 episodes, 1976)
Chris Wadsworth		(3 episodes, 1985)

Series Production Design by
Tim Gleeson		(25 episodes, 1976-1985)

Series Costume Design by
Mary Husband		(7 episodes, 1981)
Irene Whilton		(6 episodes, 1982)
John Hearne		(6 episodes, 1985)

Series Makeup Department
Judy Cain	....	makeup artist (7 episodes, 1981)
Jean Steward	....	makeup artist (6 episodes, 1976)
Sally Sutton	....	makeup artist (6 episodes, 1982)
Mary Liddell	....	makeup designer (6 episodes, 1985)

Series Production Management
Janet Bone	....	production manager (7 episodes, 1981)
Mandie Fletcher	....	production manager (6 episodes, 1982)
Sue Bysh	....	production manager (6 episodes, 1985)

Series Art Department
Pamela Hoffman	....	props buyer / properties buyer (7 episodes, 1981)
Bob Warans	....	props buyer / properties buyer (6 episodes, 1982)
Judy Ducker	....	properties buyer (6 episodes, 1985)

Series Sound Department
Terry Elms	....	film recordist (19 episodes, 1981-1985)
Paul Roberts	....	sound re-recording mixer (13 episodes, 1981-1982)
Richard Chamberlain	....	studio sound (7 episodes, 1981)
Tony Philpot	....	sound (6 episodes, 1976)
Mike Felton	....	studio sound (6 episodes, 1982)
Peter Barville	....	studio sound (6 episodes, 1985)

Series Visual Effects by
Dave Havard	....	visual effects (2 episodes, 1981)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Ron Bristow	....	studio lighting (19 episodes, 1981-1985)
Peter Ware	....	senior camera operator / senior cameraman (12 episodes, 1981-1982)
Yousuf Aziz	....	film cameraman (7 episodes, 1981)
John McGlashan	....	film cameraman (6 episodes, 1976)
Peter Smee	....	lighting (6 episodes, 1976)
Max Samett	....	film cameraman (6 episodes, 1982)
Chris Seager	....	film cameraman (6 episodes, 1985)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mary Husband	....	costume (6 episodes, 1976)

Series Editorial Department
Angela Beveridge	....	vision mixer (12 episodes, 1982-1985)
Howard Dell	....	videotape editor / editor: video tape / ... (7 episodes, 1976-1982)
Joan Duncan	....	vision mixer (7 episodes, 1981)
Graham Sisson	....	vt editor / video tape editor (7 episodes, 1981)
Chris Wadsworth	....	videotape editor (3 episodes, 1985)
Steve Murray	....	editor: video tape (2 episodes, 1982)

Series Other crew
Judy Loe	....	production assistant (19 episodes, 1981-1985)
Mandie Fletcher	....	assistant floor manager (7 episodes, 1981)
Clive Gulliver	....	technical manager (7 episodes, 1981)
John Kilby	....	production assistant (6 episodes, 1976)
Neil Banks	....	assistant floor manager (6 episodes, 1982)
Donna Rolfe	....	assistant floor manager (6 episodes, 1985)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1976-1985) (UK) (TV)
• BBC Warner (2009) (USA) (DVD) (complete series)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

30 min (26 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:PG (seasons 1-4) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

32 Lister Avenue, Balby, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

In the episode Happy Birthday Arkwright, his age is revealed as 58.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Arkwright is supposed to be engaged (on and off) to Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, yet in several episodes, he is wearing a wedding ring. It's particularly noticeable when he's counting money from the till.

Quotes:

Arkwright:I hate that scrunching sound errand boys make when you have to stand on them.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Comedy Connections: Porridge (#1.1)" (2003)

G-Granville, fer-fer-fetch your cloth!

If you're an outgoing young man, always trying to impress your peers and increase your knowledge of the opposite sex, how on earth are you going to manage it with a squeaky antique shop bike, a vicious finger-eating till and a pinny?

Well, Granville's problems don't matter to his uncle Arkwright, the meanest shopkeeper alive. Meet the man to whom modern technology is so expensive that he won't even satisfy Granville's burning desire for a new till (hopefully electronic). This is the man who wouldn't even spend £222.22 (check the episode Laundry Blues for that one) just to prove to long- desired fiancée Nurse Gladys Emmanuel that his home appliances are up-to-the-minute.

There are too many classic episodes to mention (memorable ones include the cocoa tin lid, the suit with the zip fly and Granville posing as a prowler that fails to even confuse Nurse Gladys, never mind scare her). As with Fawlty Towers, small details at the beginning of each episode come together at the end to round off each story nicely. A classic comedy from the BBC that started before I was born and is still great.