Photo courtesy: BBC

The “grocer with the gift of gab” once again will stand behind the till when series 6 of Still Open All Hours resumes filming in early 2019, with a targeted transmission on BBC One later this year.

The BBC confirmed in late December that the reboot of classic sitcom Open All Hours, which starred Ronnie Barker and David Jason, will return with Sir David Jason and James Baxter reprising their roles as Granville and Leroy, respectively. In a statement, the BBC teased some very interesting plotlines for longtime fans of the series.

• There is “in-tents” excitement in the new series for Eric (Johnny Vegas) and Cyril (Kulvinder Ghir) when they get a little too close to nature trying to impress their wives on a camping trip.
• Gastric (Tim Healy) may be ready to die for love of Madge (Brigit Forsythe), but is he ready to diet?
• Mr Newbold (Geoffrey Whitehead)’s love life begins a new chapter after meeting Mrs Rossi (Sue Holderness) in the library, but will Mrs Featherstone (Stephanie Cole) throw the book at him if she ever finds out?
• Madge (Maggie Ollerenshaw) finally stands up for herself, but will anybody notice? And Kath (Sally Lindsay) stages a jumble sale starring Eric’s favorite clothes.
• Meanwhile, Leroy (James Baxter) is still longing for Beth (Katie Redford) almost as much as he’s longing for a lie in. Plus there’s the driving lesson of doom, a dog whispering sweet nothings, a bicycle ride full of surprises, all sorts of interesting new uses for a mangle and the snapping drawer of that famous till.

Speaking on the fact that he will once again put on the tan coat of Arkwright’s, Sir David Jason said: “It always gives me great pleasure to look forward to working with such a wonderful and talented cast and crew, kick-started by the creation of such a surreal and silly world courtesy of Roy Clarke. I am delighted that we will start filming again next year as I know we will all have fun recording each episode and that the viewers get the chance to enjoy the fun on their screens.”

Now that Sir David Jason mentioned Roy Clarke, it’s a name you may or may not be familiar with but, I’m guessing, you are VERY familiar with his lifetime of work. Now the tender young age of 88 (89 on January 28), Clarke was the sole writer for a number of your favorite British comedies over the years, including all the episodes of Last of the Summer Wine (31 series and 295 episodes), Open All Hours, Keeping Up Appearances and now, Still Open All Hours. 

Clarke even found time in the middle of all this to write the one-off “prequel” to Keeping Up Appearances, Young Hyacinth, starring Kerry Howard.

Thankfully, for us all, Clarke settled on being a writer after jobs as a teacher, policeman, taxi driver, salesman and also soldier in the Royal Corps of Signals of the British Army.

Look for the new series of Still Open All Hours later this year on BBC One with a public television broadcast to follow.