List of Open All Hours characters

This is a list of characters from the BBC situation comedy Open All Hours and its sequel, Still Open All Hours.

Overview

Character	Played by	Series										Appearances
		Open All Hours				Still Open All Hours
		1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	5	6	First	Last	Eps
Granville	David Jason											1973	2019	67
Mrs Featherstone	Stephanie Cole											1982	2019	51
Mavis	Maggie Ollerenshaw											1981	2019	48
Leroy	James Baxter											2013	2019	41
Madge	Brigit Forsyth											2013	2019	41
Eric Agnew	Johnny Vegas											2013	2019	40
Gastric	Tim Healy											2014	2019	40
Cyril	Kulvinder Ghir											2013	2019	40
Nurse Gladys	Lynda Baron											1973	2016	39
Kath Agnew	Sally Lindsay											2013	2019	36
Wilburn Newbold	Geoffrey Whitehead											2015	2019	31
Albert Arkwright	Ronnie Barker											1973	1985	26
Mrs Hussein	Nina Wadia											2013	2018	22
Beth	Katie Redford											2017	2019	17
Milk Woman	Barbara Flynn											1981	1985	11
Mrs Rossi	Sue Holderness											2018	2019	10
Mrs Blewett	Kathy Staff											1976	1981	7

Regular characters

Albert Arkwright

Albert Arkwright
Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Ronnie Barker
Duration	1973–85
First appearance	Pilot: Open All Hours (1973)
Last appearance	"The Mystical Boudoir of Nurse Gladys Emmanuel" (1985)
Introduced by	James Gilbert (1973) Sydney Lotterby (1976)
Profile
Occupation	Shopkeeper
Home	Yorkshire
Family Father Mr Arkwright Mother Mrs Arkwright Stepmother Unnamed Half-sisters Unnamed (deceased) Lily Wife Gladys Emmanuel (fiancée) Uncles Dudley Nephews Granville Leroy Arkwright (great)

Albert Arkwright is a fictional character played by Ronnie Barker in the British sitcom Open All Hours who has died and passed the shop down to Granville by the first episode of Still Open All Hours in 2013.

Albert Arkwright is a pragmatic, miserly man with old-fashioned values, whose world seems to stop at his shop door, except for his lusting for Nurse Gladys Emmanuel (Lynda Baron), which may prompt him on occasion to wander across the road, usually with a ladder, to gain access to her bedroom window. Arkwright is a devious, and mildly dishonest character, who has many crafty tricks to try to persuade a customer to leave his store having bought at least one thing, and will avoid spending his own money at all cost. He is also very conservative about his savings, keeping some in his pocket wrapped in a fine gold chain, and some in an old, battered Oxo tin that he hides under the kitchen sink. This includes, or so he claims, coins from before 1922, when they were "solid silver". He loves money so much that the last time he spent a whole night away from the shop was in 1957, when he went to have his appendix out. The till itself is old fashioned, and possesses a tight spring-clip that regularly puts Granville and his fingers in danger. Arkwright refuses to replace it because of the price of a replacement, and because it prevents people from taking his precious money. Although an avid political commentator, he has few political convictions and never sides with either the left or right wing, instead implying they are all useless. Arkwright does however seem fervently opposed to nationalisation, once commenting "My top lip went all stiff and dead, as if it had been nationalised." His political comments usually show no allegiances, instead making remarks like When Wales get home rule, do you think they'll nationalise Clive Jenkins?

Arkwright maintains an openly polite demeanour around customers, but will often insult those who offend him in a veiled or open manner. Arkwright appears to believe in God, although he is certainly not portrayed as a religious man. Most episodes end with him on the pavement outside the shop during closing time, contemplating on the days' events. His thoughts often start with an expression like "Soon they'll only be me and thee that aren't either nationalised or a limited company."

Arkwright, like most characters in the series, is a rational, practical man, who shows no signs of any sentimentality, unlike Granville, who seems to dream away most of his days, and longs for a life away from the shop. Arkwright speaks with a stammer, which he acknowledges sometimes makes it difficult to express himself. He often makes his impediment into a joke, for example asking: Granville, how do you spell P-p-p-pepper? Is it 6 Ps or 7?, Granville occasionally mocks his uncle's speech pattern (such as calling the "weather fore-fore-forecast" the "weather twelvecast", and referring to the "B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BC" as morse code), although never in a malicious or hurtful manner. Arkwright was shocked on one occasion to find that he also appears to stutter even when thinking to himself.

As by way of background, we know that Arkwright was an air raid warden during the World War Two.

By the time of the 2013 episode Still Open All Hours and the sequel series of the same name, Arkwright has long since died (Barker died in 2005), but almost all of his personality traits have passed onto Granville. Granville keeps a framed photograph of Arkwright in the shop's kitchen which he occasionally talks to. Several people in the town, including Granville, believe that Arkwright's ghost still haunts the shop, particularly the cash register, attributing events such as the lights switching on and off or the register randomly opening and closing to him.

Granville

Granville (Open All Hours)
Open All Hours & Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	David Jason
Duration	1973–85, 2013–
First appearance	25 March 1973
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	James Gilbert (1973) Sydney Lotterby (1976) Gareth Edwards (2013)
Profile
Occupation	Errand boy Shopkeeper
Home	Yorkshire
Family Father Unknown Mother Unnamed (deceased) Sons Leroy Arkwright Grandfathers Mr Arkwright Grandmothers Mrs Arkwright Uncles Arkwright Dudley (great) Aunts Lily

Granville is a fictional character played by David Jason in the British sitcom Open All Hours and its sequel, Still Open All Hours. Granville is an errand boy to his uncle and employer, Arkwright, who is the proprietor of an old-fashioned Yorkshire corner shop.

Granville was born to Arkwright's sister, who died while Granville was a young child, leaving Arkwright as his sole guardian. Granville's father's identity is not known, as his mother is implied to be a woman of loose morals, and Arkwright considers him to have likely been a Hungarian, although it's revealed that Arkwright isn't really sure if Granville's father is actually Hungarian. Raised alone by Arkwright, Granville is often curious and engrossed in thoughts about who his father was and saddened not to have known his mother.

Although a kind provider (as long as it isn't too stressful on his wallet), Arkwright's miserly and eccentric personality makes him withdraw Granville from school and he starts helping in his uncle's shop at age eleven. The tedious routine weighs heavily on Granville, who hates getting up well before dawn in the morning and not being free until nine at night. He is poorly paid, at three pounds a week, and is made to pay for anything he helps himself to from the shop shelves, even if Arkwright gave it to him. He is curious and anxious to explore the outside world and mingle with his peers, especially girls. Granville spends most of the day dreaming of being somewhere else, or doing something else, a custom which is seen as alien in the working class Yorkshire environment. Granville seems fairly sharp and quick witted, and is often quick to make satirical jokes about Arkwright's stammer or mannerisms whilst he will often flippantly make fun at customers to their faces, all of them seemingly being too unintelligent to realise this.

Unlike his uncle who is a practical man (and a miser), Granville is a carefree man, yet is treated as if he is still a child. The series never reveals his real age, and with an obviously older actor playing younger, David Jason, in the role, its easy to assume that Granville really is much older. Granville's mundane existence is only brightened up by the milkwoman (Barbara Flynn), the only person other than Arkwright who is awake at the same time as him in the mornings. Despite his attraction to her, she is more worldly wise than he is and likes men of the same calibre as herself, but she is generally sympathetic towards Granville, and they have kissed on several occasions.

By the time of Still Open All Hours, Arkwright has long died and Granville has inherited the shop as promised by Arkwright, and has a young son, Leroy. Despite their radically different personalities and views on life, however, Granville has become a toned-down version of Arkwright in his old age, such as light-heartedly mocking Leroy over his mother's identity, and attempting to make money out of every customer who walks into the shop, even by telling fibs about certain items such as anchovy paste. At one point, Granville opens a bottle of whisky to pour a drink for a promoter, and then charges him for the whole bottle. As a tribute, Granville keeps a framed photograph of Arkwright in the kitchen. He occasionally speaks to the photo as if speaking to Arkwright, and continues to mock his late uncle's stutter as a joke.

Leroy

Leroy
Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	James Baxter
Duration	2013–
First appearance	26 December 2013
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Gareth Edwards
Profile
Occupation	Errand boy
Home	Yorkshire
Family Father Granville (Open All Hours) Mother Linda Uncles Arkwright (great) Aunts Lily (great)

Leroy is a fictional character played by James Baxter in the British sitcom Still Open All Hours. Leroy is an errand boy to his father and employer, Granville, who is the proprietor of an old-fashioned Yorkshire corner shop from the 2013 series.

Nurse Gladys Emmanuel

Nurse Gladys Emmanuel
Open All Hours & Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Lynda Baron (Sheila Brennan in the Seven of One pilot)
Duration	1973–85, 2013–16
First appearance	25 March 1973
Last appearance	24 January 2016
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	James Gilbert (1973) Sydney Lotterby (1976) Gareth Edwards (2013)
Profile
Occupation	District nurse
Home	Yorkshire

Nurse Gladys Emmanuel is a fictional character played by Lynda Baron in the British sitcoms Open All Hours and Still Open All Hours.

On 26 December 2013, Baron reprised her role in a special one-off episode of Open All Hours on BBC One, entitled Still Open All Hours.[1] It was watched by 9.43 million viewers, almost a 40% share in audience figures on Boxing Day.[2] The following day, Baron took part in Open All Hours: A Celebration, a programme looking back on the sitcom. Following the success of the Christmas episode, the cast made a full series, which began on 26 December 2014. A second series started in December 2015. A third series began in December 2016, but Baron was unable to return because of other commitments.[3]

Delphine Featherstone

Delphine Featherstone
Open All Hours & Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Stephanie Cole
Duration	1982–85, 2013–
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Sydney Lotterby (1982) Gareth Edwards (2013)
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Delphine Featherstone is a fictional character played by Stephanie Cole in the British sitcoms Open All Hours and Still Open All Hours. Known behind her back as The Black Widow due to her long black coat and black hat, she openly admires Arkwright's penny-pinching nature.

Mavis

Mavis
Open All Hours & Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Maggie Ollerenshaw
Duration	1981–82, 2013–
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Sydney Lotterby (1981) Gareth Edwards (2013)
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Mavis is a fictional character played by Maggie Ollerenshaw in the British sitcoms Open All Hours and Still Open All Hours. Known to Arkwright as 'wavy Mavis' due to her indecisiveness, it is implied that her marriage is not a happy one. She appears to be good friends with Granville, but wonders if her concern for his welfare is simply an outlet for her maternal instincts.

Madge

Madge
Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Brigit Forsyth
Duration	2013–
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Gareth Edwards
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Madge is a fictional character played by Brigit Forsyth in the British sitcom Still Open All Hours.

Eric Agnew

Eric Agnew
Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Johnny Vegas
Duration	2013–present
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Gareth Edwards
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Eric Agnew is a fictional character played by Johnny Vegas in the British sitcom Still Open All Hours.

Gastric

Gastric
Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Tim Healy
Duration	2014–
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Gareth Edwards
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Gastric is a fictional character played by Tim Healy in the British sitcom Still Open All Hours.

Cyril

Cyril
Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Kulvinder Ghir
Duration	2013–
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Gareth Edwards
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Cyril is a fictional character played by Kulvinder Ghir in the British sitcom Still Open All Hours.

Recurring characters

Mrs Blewett

Mrs Blewett
Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Kathy Staff
Duration	1976–1981
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Sydney Lotterby
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Mrs Blewett is a fictional character played by Kathy Staff in the British sitcom Open All Hours. A somewhat cheerless woman who raised seven children, her personality resembles Staff's character Nora Batty in Roy Clarke's sitcom Last of the Summer Wine.

Milk Woman

Milk Woman
Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Barbara Flynn
Duration	1981–1985
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Sydney Lotterby
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Milk Woman is a fictional character played by Barbara Flynn in the British sitcom Open All Hours. Never named in the series, she is the ongoing object of Granville's desire. A divorcee who combines her milk rounds with her Open University studies, she is occasionally receptive to Granville's interests, but makes it clear he's not her only potential suitor and in later episodes she is engaged to another man.

Lily Parslow

Lily Parslow
Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Frances Cox
Duration	1981–1985
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Sydney Lotterby
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Lily Parslow is a fictional character played by Frances Cox in the British sitcom Open All Hours.

Kath Agnew

Kath Agnew
Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Sally Lindsay
Duration	2013–
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Gareth Edwards
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Kath Agnew is a fictional character played by Sally Lindsay in the British sitcom Still Open All Hours. She is the wife of Eric Agnew.

Mrs Hussein

Mrs Hussein
Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Nina Wadia
Duration	2013–2018
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Gareth Edwards
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Mrs Hussein is a fictional character played by Nina Wadia in the British sitcom Still Open All Hours.

Wilburn Newbold

Wilburn Newbold
Still Open All Hours character
Portrayed by	Geoffrey Whitehead
Duration	2015–
Created by	Roy Clarke
Introduced by	Gareth Edwards
Profile
Home	Yorkshire

Wilburn Newbold is a fictional character played by Geoffrey Whitehead in the British sitcom Still Open All Hours.

References

1. "Sir David Jason back for Open All Hours Christmas show". BBC News. 7 October 2013.
2. "Open All Hours tops Boxing Day ratings". 27 December 2013.
3. "Still Open All Hours to return for third series, but without Nurse Gladys". 12 September 2016.

External links

• Open All Hours at the bbc.co.uk Guide to Comedy
• Open All Hours at the British Film Institute
• List of Open All Hours characters at the BFI's Screenonline
• Open All Hours at IMDb
• Image of Arkwright's shop in April 2007