31/08/2026
On this day in 2010, Britain said goodbye to Last of the Summer W**e after an incredible 37 years.
The final episode, How Not to Cry at Weddings, was shown on BBC One on 29 August 2010 and brought to an end a run that had started all the way back in January 1973. In total there were 31 series and 295 episodes, every single one written by Roy Clarke.
By the time it ended, Last of the Summer W**e had become the longest-running sitcom in Britain and was recognised by Guinness World Records for its longevity.
The final episode wasn’t originally written as a big farewell, which probably explains why it feels more like another visit to Holmfirth than a dramatic goodbye.
The story revolves around everyone preparing for a wedding, only for the bridegroom to do a runner. Howard and Pearl also finally make some progress in their long-running marriage problems, while the closing moments give Peter Sallis, as Clegg, the very last line of the entire series:
“Did I lock the door?”
Peter Sallis was particularly important to that final episode because he was the only member of the original cast still appearing in the programme by 2010.
And people certainly tuned in to say goodbye.
The final episode attracted just over 5.3 million viewers, with overnight figures widely rounded to 5.4 million, and a 23.4% audience share. It even beat Heartbeat on ITV that evening.
That was still a long way from the programme’s peak years, when audiences could reach around 20 million, but it showed there was plenty of affection left for it right to the end.
So the wording on the picture is essentially right: 37 years is correct, and saying around 5.4 million viewers for the finale is fair.
For generations of viewers, those Yorkshire hills, the familiar theme tune and the various trios getting themselves into trouble had simply become part of British television.
And 16 years ago today, it finally came to an end.
