 In 1978 , the BBC commissioned a Last of the Summer Wine Christmas special instead of a new series . Titled " Small Tune on a Penny Wassail " , it was broadcast on 26 December 1978 . Other Christmas programmes followed in 1979 and 1981 . The 1981 special , " Whoops " , gained 17 million viewers and was beaten only by Coronation Street for the number one spot . Christmas shows were produced infrequently thereafter and sometimes were the only new episodes in years without an order for a new series . This happened often during the 1980s when Roy Clarke 's commitment to Open All Hours prevented the production of a full series every year . The specials often included well @-@ known guest stars such as John Cleese and June Whitfield . 
