Open All Hours

This was the pilot for Open all Hours made in 1973 and shown on the comedy strand 7 of 1 that featured other Ronnie Barker one off comedies.

Although the setting is Yorkshire, filming took place in London and the producers were unhappy about this.

So when the subsequent series started they decide to film the exteriors in Doncaster. It also meant that many of the guest stars would be northern based. Here we get actresses such as Yootha Joyce popping up with a northern accent.

The pilot sets up Open all Hours from the word go with Arkwright (a more darker haired Ronnie Barker) as the tight fisted shop owner and Granville (David Jason) as the put upon nephew, in his mid 20s and stuck to the long hours of shop life

We have Granville doing deliveries on the shop bike, the snappy till but Nurse Gladys Emmanuel is played by a different actress in the pilot episode, although still a sight for sore eyes.

The pilot provides good laughs, Barker always had an eye for comic timing and has a good rapport with Jason.

The series proper started three years later and was a sleeper hit until its final series getting blockbuster ratings. A re-jigged version (Still Open all Hours) with an older Granville taking over the shop had a pilot in 2013 with great viewing figures that led to a follow on series.