 Last of the Summer Wine focused on a trio of older men and their youthful antics . The original trio consisted of Compo Simmonite , Norman Clegg , and Cyril Blamire . Blamire left in 1976 , when Michael Bates fell ill shortly before filming of the third series , requiring Clarke to hastily rewrite the series with a new third man . The third member of the trio would be recast four times over the next three decades : Foggy Dewhurst in 1976 , Seymour <unk> in 1986 , Foggy again in 1990 , and Truly Truelove in 1997 . After Compo died in 2000 , Compo 's son , Tom Simmonite , filled the gap for the rest of that series , and Billy Hardcastle joined the cast as the third lead character in 2001 . The trio became a quartet between 2003 and 2006 when Alvin Smedley moved in next @-@ door to Nora Batty , but returned to the usual threesome in 2006 when Billy Hardcastle left the show . The role of supporting character Entwistle steadily grew on the show until the beginning of the 30th series , when he and Alvin were recruited by Hobbo Hobdyke , a former milkman with ties to MI5 , to form a new trio of volunteers who respond to any emergency . 
