Royston Clarke

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 28 January 1930), usually known as Roy Clarke, is an English comedy writer best known for creating the

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

s ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes fo ...

'', ''

Keeping Up Appearances ''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 with two specials airing in 1997 and 2008 on PBS. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle class ...

'', ''

Open All Hours ''Open All Hours'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot br ...

'' and its sequel series, '' Still Open All Hours''.

Early life

Clarke was born in

Austerfield Austerfield is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is to the north-east of the market town of Bawtry on the A614 road, and adjacent to the hamlet of Newington in Nottinghamshire, c ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. His jobs before becoming a writer included teacher, policeman, taxi driver, salesman and he was a soldier in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

.Roy Clark at screenonline
Retrieved 25 January 2015

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 Peter John Coke ( "cook"; 3 April 1913 – 30 July 2008) was an English actor, playwright and artist. Early life Peter John Coke was born in Southsea, Hampshire on 3 April 1913.

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

, 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 Stanley James Carroll Beck (21 February 1929 – 6 August 1973) was an English actor who played the role of Private Walker, a cockney spiv, in the BBC sitcom '' Dad's Army'' from the show's beginning in 1968 until his sudden death in 1973. ...

. Clarke was the sole writer of the long-running ''

'', which at its peak had an audience of over 18 million viewers. It featured Bill Owen,

Peter Sallis Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Brian Wilde Brian George Wilde (13 June 1927 – 20 March 2008) was an English actor, best known for his roles in television comedy, most notably Mr Barrowclough in ''Porridge'' and Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst in ''Last of the Summer Wine''. His lugubrious wo ...

, Kathy Staff and Dame

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

in leading roles. While Clarke was not involved in casting, he wrote the character named Clegg with Sallis specifically in mind.Roy Clarke Interview at Mirror News
Retrieved 26 January 2015 He also wrote a prequel, ''

First of the Summer Wine ''First of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that aired on BBC1. The pilot originally aired on 3 January 1988, and the first series of episodes followed on 4 September 1988. The show ran for two series of six episodes eac ...

'', '' The Misfit'', starring Ronald Fraser; ''

'', starring

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. ...

and

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

; ''

'', starring

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom '' Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Awar ...

; and '' Ain't Misbehavin'''. Clarke created and wrote the short-lived fantasy drama, ''The Wanderer'' starring

Bryan Brown Bryan Neathway Brown AM (born 23 June 1947) is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include '' Breaker Morant'' (1980), ...

, for

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1 ...

. He also created the sitcom '' Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!'' in 1974, writing the pilot episode, though Alan Plater wrote the eventual series. Clarke has worked in film penning the screenplay to ''

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfa ...

'' (1988) and he wrote the well received drama '' A Foreign Field'' (1993). In 2003, Clarke adapted his ''Last of the Summer Wine'' chronicle ''The Moonbather'' for a world premiere performance at the Scunthorpe Little Theatre Club. In 2002, he received an

for his contribution to British comedy. In 1994, Clarke was granted the Freedom of the Borough of Doncaster; the highest honour the Council can bestow. He was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the 2010

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

. In 2013, he resurrected ''Open All Hours'' for a sequel series, '' Still Open All Hours'' starring

six series were broadcast. In 2016, he created a prequel to ''Keeping Up Appearances'' titled '' Young Hyacinth''. The one-off episode premiered on 2 September 2016 on BBC One.

Personal life

Clarke resided in rural

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. According to the 2011 UK census, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increa ...

in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...

with his wife, Enid Kitching. For some years he owned

Horton Rounds Horton Rounds is a modernist house in the village of Horton, Northamptonshire. The house was built in 1966 by A. A. J. Marshman, a senior partner in Marshman, Warren and Taylor, a regional architectural practice. In September 2012 the house wa ...

in Northamptonshire, a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

house designed by the Northamptonshire architect Arthur A. J. Marshman.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Roy 1930 births Living people English television writers British television writers People from the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Corps of Signals soldiers Fellows of the American Physical Society

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links