Tom's tribute to dad Compo

Jun 11 2002 By Val Javin, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

And when he arrived in Holmfirth from London to start work on the show after his father's death, Tom was hit by what he confesses is probably paranoia.

"I thought what the hell am I doing. By default I'm going into the world's longest running TV series and on to my father's patch.

"I took a walk through Holmfirth, on to the Co-op. I felt this tug on my sleeve and a voice said: `Oh Tom, we're so glad you're going into the show. Your dad would be ever so proud.' "

That little old lady allayed many of Tom's immediate worries, but he admits the circumstances of his arrival in Holmfirth to join the show made filming far from easy - it probably never will be.

"It's particularly poignant. I'm looking at the same views, I'm treading in his footsteps. The others are looking at the same views they looked at with him and suddenly, he's not there any more."

But Tom feels that in some ways, perhaps his father's presence remains in the valley he loved so much. "A couple of strange things have happened in the last three years, people getting almost a physical feeling that Bill's around because he loved these valleys."

Tom is keen to acknowledge the support he has had from cast and crew of this TV favourite and from the people of an area his father loved so much that he chose to be buried in the quiet churchyard at St John's in Upperthong within sight of the hills he enjoyed.

For Tom, the demands of joining Summer Wine and the attention focused on him have left precious little time to exorcise his own grief.

A one-man show, 14 By 3 is perhaps part of that process.

"It as just something I wanted to do, tell the story of Bill and Tom. I wrote the original draft in three days. Three hours worth of material."