Still Open All Hours

Still Open All Hours review

Still Open All Hours wasn't quite the car crash I anticipated but neither was it the triumphant return to form that I think Roy Clarke and David Jason imagined it to be.

There are very few British sitcoms more beloved than Open All Hours, a slice of comic northern life as comforting as warm Yorkshire parkin.

Of course Ronnie Barker, who added grumpy, low-level-swindling shopkeeper Albert Arkwright to his portmanteau of great comedy characters, is no longer with us. But David Jason, his put-upon nephew and protégé Granville, has become an all-conquering TV star in the years since Open All Hours ended in 1985 and he returns to that little corner shop as its new owner.

He's helped by his son Leroy (Emmerdale's James Baxter), the result of a one-night stand 25 years ago - a handsome, ambitious lad who fights off female attention very much as Granville used to back in the old days.

This special episode, written by Open All Hours creator Roy Clarke, takes us back to the shop for a day, and reintroduces us to some familiar faces.

David Jason - back to the shop floor

"Classic comedy is classic comedy and it will go on for years," says David Jason, with all the confidence of Del Boy giving it the big one.

Anyone remember the Christmas 2007 revival of much-loved landed gentry sitcom To the Manor Born? Or have you done your best to expunge it from your memory, viewing it as an object lesson in the dangers of going back?

We weren't allowed to see any previews of this return to the Doncaster corner shop once haunted by Ronnie Barker's Albert Arkwright and his bumbling nephew Granville - which in itself, may not be a good sign. So here's what we've managed to piece together. Arkwright is no longer with us - the shop is now run by Granville (David Jason) and his rather too handsome son Leroy (James Baxter). Granville's still on the look out for some hot loving; tonight, he'll be attempting to arrange a date with old flame Mavis without her scary sister Madge finding out. Oh, and there's rather a lot of anchovy paste to be shifted. No doubt we can expect hilarious consequences.

There's apparently the prospect of a new series next year; we can't help but wince slightly at the prospect. G-g-g-give up while the g-g-g-going's g-g-g-good, G-G-G-Granville.

A w-w-worthy effort - but there's only one Arkwright

With Ronnie Barker gone, it was TV as Garfunkel without Simon, Wise without Morecambe, Hale and Pace without one of Pace or Hale.

Still Open All Hours, BBC One, review

This one-off revival of Roy Clarke's much-loved sitcom felt like a sad relic from another era, says Ben Lawrence.

TV viewers hail the one-off return of Open All Hours

TV viewers hail the one-off return of classic sitcom Open All Hours as 'warmly nostalgic' and 'a fitting tribute to Ronnie Barker'.

David Jason: Back to the shop floor

Still Open All Hours comes at a time when TV comedy is hungry for a little nostalgia, just as TV in general is finally paying heed to an older audience.

Open All Hours set to return for a new series

Classic comedy could face a big comeback after the Christmas special arrives later this year.