Roy Clarke

Royston Clarke (born 28 January 1930) is an English comedy writer best known for creating the sitcoms Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping Up Appearances, Open All Hours and its sequel series, Still Open All Hours. Early life Clarke was born in Austerfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His jobs before becoming a writer included a teacher, a policeman, a taxi driver and a salesman, in addition to being a soldier in the Royal Corps of Signals of the British Army. Career In the late 1960s, Clarke wrote thrillers for BBC Radio. The first in January 1968, The 17-Jewelled Shockproof Swiss-Made Bomb, featured Peter Coke, Ben Kingsley, Bob Grant and Anne Stallybrass. A couple of months later. The Events at Black Tor was a police thriller which also featured Bob Grant along with James Beck. Clarke was the sole writer of the long-running Last of the Summer Wine, which at its peak had an audience of over 18 million viewers. It featured Bill Owen, Peter Sallis, Brian Wilde, Kathy Staff and Dame Thora Hird in leading roles. While Clarke was not involved in casting, he wrote the character named Clegg with Sallis specifically in mind.