Still Open All Hours 

Having inherited the shop from his uncle, it's business as usual for Granville at Arkwright's corner shop.

Stars:

James Baxter, Stephanie Cole, Brigit Forsyth

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
James Baxter	...	Leroy 39 episodes, 2013-2019
Stephanie Cole	...	Mrs. Delphine Featherstone / ... 39 episodes, 2013-2019
Brigit Forsyth	...	Madge 39 episodes, 2013-2019
David Jason	...	Granville 39 episodes, 2013-2019
Maggie Ollerenshaw	...	Mavis 39 episodes, 2013-2019
Kulvinder Ghir	...	Cyril 38 episodes, 2013-2019
Tim Healy	...	Gastric 38 episodes, 2014-2019
Johnny Vegas	...	Eric / ... 38 episodes, 2013-2019
Sally Lindsay	...	Kath / ... 34 episodes, 2013-2019
Geoffrey Whitehead	...	Mr. Newbold 29 episodes, 2015-2019
Nina Wadia	...	Mrs. Hussein 22 episodes, 2013-2018

Storyline

Arkwright is long dead and Granville now runs the shop with his daft son Leroy, the result of a one night stand in Blackpool. Granville has inherited his uncle's parsimony, trying to sell nappy rash cream as a body building aid whilst the handsome boy is a hit with the female customers. Granville would like to get back with old flame Mavis, now back on the market, but she is guarded by her fearsome sister Madge though Mrs Featherstone, the one time Black Widow, is extremely interested in a dalliance with Granville - unlike retired nurse Gladys, who is no more interested in Granville than she was in his uncle. Nonetheless, after a trying day with his most annoying customer Wet Eric, Granville realizes that a little affection from the Black Widow may not come amiss.

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Plot Keywords:

shopkeeper | northern town | sitcom | corner shop | british comedy | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 2013 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Balby, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Comedy, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Razor Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Is the most watched comedy programme on any television channel in the UK in recent years, averaging audiences of nearly 6 million viewers per episode.

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Quotes

[the previous day, Granville sold some anchovy paste to Wet Eric as an aphrodisiac; now Wet Eric comes limping up the street in considerable pain]
Wet Eric: You ought to be locked up, selling diabolical stuff like that. I've never had an easy moment since I put it on. Talk about scratching! I'm going to be red raw.
Granville: It was for *internal* use, you barmpot! When I said "Spread it on thinly", I meant on a piece of toast.
Wet Eric: Now he tells me!

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Connections

Referenced in Good Morning Britain: Episode dated 2 February 2018 (2018)

User Reviews

Some baffling reviews of this series on IMDb.

Reviewer "dhysom" rages at the series for having a "canned" laughter track, calling it "moronic", clearly unaware that the series is, like almost all UK sitcoms, shot before a live studio audience. That isn't "canned" laughter. It's the people in the stalls. He might not like the programme, as is his right, but he's objectively wrong about it being "canned" laughter, with this inaccuracy making his insults seem even more puerile.

Other reviews lambast the BBC for daring to make a sequel to Open All Hours. But this series is entirely written by Roy Clarke, the creator and sole writer of Open All Hours. It was always his series and these are his characters and situations.

Surely he has an absolute moral and legal right to use his own intellectual property? (BBC programmes are, for historical reasons, usually owned by their writer/creators, not the corporation, which has usually been more honourable in this respect than US networks. Or even UK commercial channels.)

Given that the first episode was seen by 12.23m people in the UK, and was one of the ten most watched programmes of the entire year for 2013, there is clearly a sizable audience that is happy for him to do so.

Me? I think it's a silly, family-friendly, old-fashioned sitcom, which occasionally shows unexpected depths of character and theme. The performances are all immaculate, especially David Jason and Stephanie Cole. I also appreciate Clarke's decision to reflect the ethnic diversification of Northern England since the original all run ended, showing a Muslim family, headed by Nina Wadia, living near the shop, and another British Asian family featuring her Goodness Gracious Me co-star Kulvinder Ghir.

While unlikely to break new ground or win awards, Still Open All Hours is a well thought out update of a classic series, which clearly commands an audience.