Is it the Last of Summer Wine?

Aug 16 2005 By Neil Atkinson, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

HIT TV show Last of the Summer Wine could quit Holmfirth.

Producers of the world's longest-running comedy show have dropped a bombshell on the town that thrives on tourists.

They have threatened to pull out of the town they put on the tourist map.

They claim they are being asked for huge compensation payments from local people affected by the filming schedules.

It has got so serious that show producer Alan J W Bell has already filmed a new scene - showing Nora Batty leaving her cottage home, complete with For Sale sign.

A dispute over filming at the cottage that is used as Nora's home could be the final straw for the BBC.

Now urgent talks are taking place between local residents, business leaders and the BBC in a bid to keep Summer Wine in the town.

However, Mr Bell is adamant that the show budgets will not be used to meet "ridiculous" compensation demands.

"We have paid out over the years to compensate people if the filming causes inconvenience, but it has now got ridiculous.

"We appreciate people need access to their homes and businesses, but they are making ridiculous demands on us.