Open all Hours

Open All Hours was a true British classic which was made in the late 70s but made a name for itself in the early 80s. It ran for four series. It starred comedy legend, Ronnie Barker as store owner, Albert Arkwright and his nephew, Granville, played by David Jason who would also go on to become a comedy legend in his own right.  

Created and written by Roy Clarke, you can see many similarities between this show and another one of his great ones, “Last of the Summer Wine”. Like Summer Wine it portrays aging English women as old battle axes and even has one of them crossing over: Mrs Blewitt, played by Kathy Staff who also played a similar character, Nora Batty in Summer Wine.  Then of course there is the imposing Mrs Featherstone, played by Stephanie Cole, whose character admired Arkwright’s miserly ways but disdained poor old Granville. 

You did have some nicer female characters though, like the milk woman, the object of Granville’s desires, who he never managed to woo. There was Mavis, the ditsy customer who could never make up her mind what to buy. Then of course there was Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, played by Linda Baron, the object of Arkwright’s unrequited lust.  No matter how hard Arkwright tried to get into Nurse Gladys’ boudoir, there would always be something selfish and miserly he would do that would turn her off him. No matter how hard Nurse Gladys tried to get him to change he never would. Even getting him to buy a new suit so he would look and smell nicer when they went out was a mission!

Many episodes involved Arkwright coming up with some scheme to fleece money from his customers. Eg, Selling dated stock, like his ger-ger- genuine ger-ger-Jamaican ger-ger-ginger cake. Offering free gifts of paper bags to put their purchased products into. Making out some common product had special properties. Any customer who entered the shop would somehow be conned into buying products they never wanted. Roy Clarke used a similar gimmick in Summer Wine with his character Aunty Wainwright. Surely no coincidence there, even having a similar surname.

When he wasn’t trying to rip off his customers, Arkwright would be attempting some crazy scheme to woo Nurse Gladys. ‘Even doing neighbourhood watch duties so that he could hang around Nurse Glady’s apartment building. 'Bare-bare-BURGLARS!’ 

Many laughs came from Arkwright’s old till which he’d had altered so that it would spring shut suddenly to take off the fingers of any would-be thief. This also created a danger for both him and Granville. Granville would often refuse to go near the till, seeing it as vicious. 

Poor old Granville had to suffer all manner of humiliations at the hands of his uncle. He had to work virtually as a slave and was often told to “Fair- fair-fetch a cloth!’ or “Jer-jer-jiggle it a bit”. Arkwright often indicated, rather meanly, that Granville’s mother was a loose woman and he was the son of a Hungarian man she had a one-night stand with. Granville wore the Hungarian badge with pride, but it was never revealed if Arkwright was telling the truth. Being a 40-year-old virgin, Granville had a strong desire to find love, but riding around on a rickety old bicycle performing deliveries was not something that made him attractive to women. Nor was the clothing he was forced to wear. Even when he attempted to improve his image with “trendier” clothing, including a “dangler” hanging from his neck, it still did him no good. 

Granville’s fortunes would change in more ways than one. In 2013, David Jason would become the star of a brand new Open All Hours show, ‘Still Open all Hours”. Ronnie Barker had died several years earlier. Granville was now the shop owner and had, over the years, become a miser just like Arkwright, employing similar tricks of the trade to fleece his customers. Nurse Gladys was still around, as was Mrs Featherstone and Mavis. Granville now had a romance going with Mavis, although this was usually thwarted in some way by her over-protective sister, Madge. Mrs Featherstone was now taking an unhealthy interest in him, liking what he’d become. The shop was haunted by the ghost of Arkwright who sometimes controlled the old till which was still there in the shop.

Open All Hours was definitely an iconic TV show and the characters in it were loveable, even the skinflint, Arkwright. It showed exactly how talented its cast was. It would be Barker’s last big ratings winner after “Porridge” and “The Two Ronnies”. It would be the first big role for David Jason who would go on to star in many hit shows after this one and would get a knighthood.   

I’m sorry the original show is over and now simply a fond memory. I miss Ronnie Barker. I miss Arkwright and Granville. One of these days, I’ll rock up to Doncaster in England, find that old shop used for the TV show and see if those hundreds of locks are still on the front door. Maybe I’ll cast a gaze across the street at Gladys Emmanuel’s house and wonder if Arkwright ever did manage to gain her affections before he died. But most of all I will chuckle as I remember the hilarious antics of both Arkwright and Granville who spent their lives in a little corner store that was open all hours.