Open All Hours

Arkwright is a miserly and eccentric shopkeeper with a stammer, who longs to marry his lifelong love Nurse Gladys. He runs a small town grocery store along with his errand boy and nephew, Granville and a particularly dangerous till.

Genre: Comedy

Cast:Ronnie Barker , David Jason , Lynda Baron , Barbara Flynn , Stephanie Cole , Kathy Staff , Maggie Ollerenshaw , Frances Cox , Tom Mennard , Madge Hindle , Helen Cotterill , Sandra Voe , Teddy Turner , Howard Crossley , Alan Starkey , Barbara Keogh , Nick Stringer , George Innes

1Season 1

S1.E1 ∙ Full of Mysterious Promise

Fri, Feb 20, 1976

Stuttering shopkeeper Arkwright, assisted by his much put upon nephew Granville, runs the corner shop in a suburb of Doncaster, boasting that it is open all hours.When not pursuing Gladys Emanuel, the district nurse who lives opposite the shop, Arkwright is ever on the look-out to save money, such as buying a load of fire-damaged tinned food. Unfortunately the damage means that all the labels have come off so nobody knows exactly what they are meant to be buying.

2Season 1

S1.E2 ∙ A Mattress on Wheels

Fri, Feb 27, 1976

Fed up with having to do deliveries for the shop in all weathers on his bike Granville suggests that Arkwright invest in a van. Needless to say his uncle baulks at the expense until Granville points out that it could be a mattress on wheels, a means of impressing Nurse Gladys. So Arkwright buys a second hand one and Granville wishes he hadn't when he takes it out on the road.

3Season 1

S1.E3 ∙ A Nice Cosy Little Disease

Fri, Mar 5, 1976

Arkwright feels that Nurse Gladys has been neglecting him and, in order to get her undivided attention, he must come down with a 'disease', nothing too serious, just something that will have her lavishing attention on him. Needless to say she sees through the ruse and is ready to beat him at his own game.

4Season 1

S1.E4 ∙ Beware of the Dog

Fri, Mar 12, 1976

When a crime wave hits the area Arkwright decides to scare off any potential burglars by putting up a notice that says Beware of the Dog but, since everybody knows that he has no dog, he goes out to borrow one for the weekend from the local kennels. Sadly it is better at scaring off customers than burglars.

5Season 1

S1.E5 ∙ Well Catered Funeral

Fri, Mar 19, 1976

Arkwright goes with Nurse Gladys to the funeral of his friend Parsloe. He's not keen to leave Granville in charge but it does afford the opportunity to get rid of some unwanted bakery products for the wake. Having rung the shop constantly to ensure that Granville has got things under control he later tells him he should get out more - as this will give Arkwright more opportunity with Nurse Gladys.

6Season 1

S1.E6 ∙ Apples and Self Service

Fri, Mar 26, 1976

Arkwright has bought too many apples and desperately tries in vain to persuade each successive customer to buy some. After raising eyebrows around town after finding a pair of shop window dummy's legs, Granville tells his uncle he should adopt the personal touch in his sales methods. Arkwright, however, plumps for self-service and then suspects everyone of trying to shop-lift.

1Season 2

S2.E1 ∙ Laundry Blues

Sun, Mar 1, 1981

Nurse Gladys feels sorry for Granville, struggling to do the laundry by hand, and suggests to Arkwright that he buys a washing-machine. Arkwright wants to keep the affections of Gladys but does not want to spend too much money, so he makes sure she sees a brand new machine being delivered - which is then taken away and replaced by an elderly second hand one. Exposure follows.

2Season 2

S2.E2 ∙ The Reluctant Traveller

Sun, Mar 8, 1981

Arkwright decides to take Nurse Gladys away to a hotel. This leaves Granville in a position to make his play for the milk round lady, but Arkwright, hands on as ever and never keen to be too far away from the shop, has booked himself and Nurse Gladys into a hotel just round the corner - where he has problems with an extra tight money belt.

3Season 2

S2.E3 ∙ Fig Biscuits and Inspirational Toilet Rolls

Sun, Mar 15, 1981

Whilst Granville moans about the shop opening at dawn Arkwright bewails his inability to sell a load of fig biscuits and toilet rolls imprinted with biblical texts. The opportunity arises when regular customer Mavis mistakes the sepulchral voice of Granville in the cellar for a ghost advising her what to buy but sadly for Arkwright he falls through the open trap door and breaks his leg.

4Season 2

S2.E4 ∙ The New Suit

Sun, Mar 22, 1981

Tired of being seen around with the shabby Arkwright Nurse Gladys Emmanuel gives him an ultimatum and tells him that he must buy a new suit...or else.

5Season 2

S2.E5 ∙ Arkwright's Mobile Store

Sun, Mar 29, 1981

In order to convince Nurse Gladys that he is a man of enterprise, Arkwright decides that he will invest in a mobile shop, to be driven around by Granville, but, given his customary meanness, the best that he can come up with is an old ice cream van, leading to Granville having a close encounter with some perishables.

6Season 2

S2.E6 ∙ Shedding at the Wedding

Sun, Apr 5, 1981

To the envy of Granville who has never attended one,Arkwright is taking Nurse Gladys to a wedding and has taken his old suit out of moth-balls, but it still reeks of camphor. Nurse Gladys makes him hang it out of the car window as they drive along but the trousers end up under a tractor's wheels. Thank goodness Nurse Gladys is wearing a trouser suit.

7Season 2

S2.E7 ∙ St Albert's Day

Sun, Apr 19, 1981

Arkwright has always told Granville his father was a Hungarian but then a real Hungarian comes into the shop. Could it be him? Arkwright is more concerned that he may be a shop-lifter and hits on a cunning plan to part him from his jacket so that he can search the pockets for evidence. Welcome to the mythical feast day of St. Albert.

1Season 3

S3.E1 ∙ An Errand Boy by the Ear

Sun, Mar 21, 1982

There are protests when Arkwright is caught dragging Granville around by his ear. Whilst Arkwright reasons that this is what errand boys are for the customers choose to differ and force Arkwright to improve his nephew's lot in life.

2Season 3

S3.E2 ∙ The Ginger Men

Sun, Mar 28, 1982

When Arkwright finds himself with a surplus of Jamaican Ginger cakes he tries various marketing ploys in order to sell them off, but hits the jackpot when he claims that the cakes contain drugs, which has the customers fighting to get at them.

3Season 3

S3.E3 ∙ Duet for Solo Bicycle

Sun, Apr 4, 1982

When a smartly-dressed man comes to the shop asking for directions, Arkwright is concerned that the love of his life is seeing another whilst Granville's love life is also suffering. It is bad enough that when he accompanies Wendy he only has a bike with which to impress her - but the bike has a squeak, which he can't get rid of.

4Season 3

S3.E4 ∙ How to Ignite Your Errand Boy

Sun, Apr 11, 1982

Arkwright considers yet another money-making scheme. Everybody seems to want fire-lighters in the winter so he can save cash by making his own - or rather getting Granville to make them in the shed at the back. With explosive results.

5Season 3

S3.E5 ∙ The Man from Down Under

Sun, Apr 18, 1982

Arkwright learns that a former beau of Nurse Gladys is returning from Australia, where he emigrated a couple of decades ago to make his fortune. Naturally Arkwright is not happy to think that Nurse Gladys might be tempted by her old flame and sets about to take drastic action with the man he believes to be his rival.

6Season 3

S3.E6 ∙ The Cool Cocoa Tin Lid

Sun, Apr 25, 1982

Fed up with always wearing tank-tops and shop pinnies Granville decides to court a cool image. He gets a pair of shades and a nice fashionable shirt, but all that stops him from being the archetypal medallion man is a medallion. Perhaps a cocoa tin lid can provide a substitute.

1Season 4

S4.E1 ∙ Soulmate Wanted

Sun, Sep 1, 1985

Granville decides it is high time he did something about his single status and places an advert in the lonely hearts column of a magazine. He actually gets a result but of course he feels he has to lie about himself to the girl in question and presents himself as a yuppie. Of course Arkwright will go and ruin it for him.

2Season 4

S4.E2 ∙ Horse-Trading

Sun, Sep 8, 1985

Arkwright has a rival corner shop owner Mr. Gupta, so he sends Granville undercover - in a sari - to check him out. Arkwright believes he can get one over on his rival by selling him a load of genuine Yorkshire clothes horses but he has reckoned without Mr. Gupta's business skills.

3Season 4

S4.E3 ∙ The Housekeeper Caper

Sun, Sep 15, 1985

Arkwright believes that he can make Nurse Gladys jealous if he has a live-in housekeeper so he places an advert. Unfortunately this only succeeds in attracting the attention of Mrs. Featherstone, the Black Widow herself. Nurse Gladys is not jealous and Granville is not happy.

4Season 4

S4.E4 ∙ The Errand Boy Executive

Sun, Sep 22, 1985

Granville is anxious to impress Stephanie, a girl who works in a boutique. He passes himself off as a young executive,claiming that Arkwright is his junior assistant. Needless to say his uncle is less than happy with this idea.

5Season 4

S4.E5 ∙ Happy Birthday, Arkwright!

Sun, Sep 29, 1985

Nurse Gladys plays a trick on Arkwright, helped by Granville. They persuade the shop-keeper that a man representing the Good Shop-keepers' Guide is in the area, awarding bonuses to shops whose staff show extra courtesy. She then dresses as a male shop inspector and visits Arkwright's shop, where she is greeted with unusual civility.

6Season 4

S4.E6 ∙ The Mystical Boudoir of Nurse Gladys Emmanuel

Sun, Oct 6, 1985

Ever anxious to worm his way into Nurse Gladys's bedroom as well as her affections, Arkwright finds that flattery and chocolates are no use. But he has a cunning plan to use Granville to impersonate a burglar, wearing a stocking mask to scare Nurse Gladys so that Arkwright can come running . . . into her room. Granville is sick of trapping his hand in the dangerous old till and wants his uncle to buy a new one.