Argument 'threatened Summer Wine'

Last Of The Summer Wine actor Peter Sallis has revealed how a political argument nearly derailed the comedy series before it started.

Speaking to Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Sallis said his co-stars Michael Bates and Bill Owen fell out over their political affiliations when they met.

Funny, fantastically inventive, warm and just wonderful, this W&G adventure was the most watched TV programme last Christmas. It's packed with multiple layers of jokes and plenty of fine visual gags, including delightful homages to movies - from The Matrix to Ghost - and it loses none of its charm with a repeat viewing. The ever resourceful pair are now earning their living as bakers, and once more Wallace's (Peter Sallis) soft heart gets him into trouble when he falls for Bake-o-Lite girl Piella Bakewell (voiced by Sally Lindsay). But she's trouble, and it's up to Gromit - whose gloriously expressive eyebrows say everything - to save the day.

I was disappointed with Wallace & Gromit. Great animation, some fun moments, imaginative action scenes, a few good in-jokes (especially Ghost and Aliens), but it all felt too insular, predictable and repetitive to me. Wallace gets another love-interest, there's another killer on the loose (human this time), Wallace just gets dopier and needs rescuing again. The only notable change was having the obligatory dog turn out not to be the villain's accomplice. After the Curse Of The Were-Rabbit feature-length movie, Loaf & Death felt like a step backwards for Nick Park. Why not create some new characters, instead of sticking to the safe bet of W&G? Oh well, 15 million people watched, which will hopefully bankroll a BBC-funded movie before Peter Sallis snuffs it.