Many characters were first seen in "one-off" appearances and were popular enough or felt to have enough potential for them to be brought back as regulars, in some instances replacing previous members of the cast.
[1] He served as a corporal in the British Army in the Royal Signals regiment during "The Great Fight for Freedom"[2] as a "supply wallah" (a storeman) in India and retains his military bearing.
(Bill Owen; 1973–2000) (Peter Sallis; 1973–2010) (Brian Wilde; 1976–1985, 1990–1997, Colin Harris; 1997) Walter C. "Foggy" Dewhurst was the second ‘Third Man’, a former soldier who liked to boast of his military exploits in Burma during the Second World War.
When Wilde left the series in 1985 to star in his own sitcom and to pursue other TV work, it was explained that Foggy had moved to Bridlington to take over his family's egg-painting business.
In 1997, when Wilde's illness stopped him taking part, he was written out of the series in the Special, "There Goes the Groom", in which the character was only seen in brief, non-face shots, played by a double (performed by regular art department crew member Colin Harris).
(In Series 10, episode 5, "Downhill Racer", Nora Batty undermines Edie's bragging about Seymour's intellect by pointing out that their grandmother was on the Education Committee).
[citation needed] He did have occasional bouts of bravery: in series 9, episode 6 ("The Ice-Cream Man Cometh") he contradicted Pearl, Ivy and Nora Batty in one sitting for which Clegg, Compo and a random passer-by heartily congratulated him.
When Aldridge left the series in 1990 for personal reasons, Seymour was last seen leaving on a bus to take up a new job as interim headmaster at a private school—just as Foggy returned.
[8] As he is less snobbish and pompous, like his predecessors (sometimes taking out his police notebook in unnecessary situations), he gradually became more likeable and made fewer snide remarks over Compo's attire.
[18] Although he publicly claimed to hate Nora Batty, he felt it is his duty to try to bring some joy to her life, often in the form of practical jokes similar to those Compo once played on her.
When Wesley died, Entwistle took over his job of shuttling the others across the countryside, in a battered red Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, and occasionally constructing the various contraptions the main trio produce.
However, occasionally he was shown to be extremely irritated by some of their schemes and antics (most notably in the episode "Getting on Sidney's wire" where he gets angry with Foggy for ruining his attempts to fit a new doorbell to the cafe and subsequently throws him out).
For John Comer's last ever appearance, in the 1983 feature-length Christmas special, "Getting Sam Home", illness caused by cancer affected his speech, and so his lines were dubbed over by another actor, Tony Melody.
Generally the wisest and most level-headed of the show's female social circle, she was also on occasion a target of Compo's unwanted affection, who often said that if it wasn't for Nora Batty, he'd be all over her.
In one of the most popular and often reused scenes in the series, Edie would call Wesley in from his garage and lay down a trail of newspaper for him to stand on, often also slipping sheets onto chairs and walls he was inclined to sit or lean against.
In his early years in the series, Wesley seemed to have a love of loud rock music, which led to the trio desperately trying to call over it to get his attention on a number of occasions.
In the 1988 Christmas Special "Crums" he was shown to have a girlfriend (though Crusher himself did not appear in this episode as Jonathan Linsley had left the show by then) named Fran (played by Yvette Fielding) who, according to Ivy, was as daft as he is.
Despite her carefree appearance, Marina is a long-suffering type, having to deal with the disapproval of the prominent village women, the indirect wrath of Pearl, and timorous and neglectful romancing by Howard.
As a result, their relationship does not appear to have gone beyond hand-holding and gazing into each other's eyes (much to the annoyance of Marina), and the occasional kiss in a field, haystack, or mobile hut somewhere, and it is hinted that if Howard ever did get the chance, he would be too cowardly to go through with it anyway.
In later series Howard was shown to be out of the house more regularly (despite Pearl knowing about his attempted affair with Marina) and eventually became more involved in the schemes of the main trio.
The ladies' coffee mornings, where they would sit and discuss life (particularly the shortcomings of men), became a popular staple of the show from the early 1990s onwards; they were usually held in Edie's front room.
The other women in the group consider that she is somewhat naive, even when she reaches middle-age; when her mother was alive, if she attempted to join in a mature conversation, Edie would snap "Drink your coffee!"
Likewise she is generally shown to be kinder to the main trio than the other ladies (particularly when her uncle Seymour was with them and notably in the episode "The McDonaghs of Jamieson Street" she lends Billy a skirt after his trousers are mauled by a vicious dog).
Although the rest of the ladies (particularly Pearl) disliked the flirtatious Marina, Glenda was seen to strike up friendship with her on a number of occasions (although this role was generally taken by Miss Davenport in the later series).
In the 1995 New Year Special episode featuring Sir Norman Wisdom, "The Man Who Nearly Knew Pavarotti", Eli is the conductor of the Holme Silver Band.
Originally brought in as a friend of Wally Batty, the character was so popular that Eli remained on the show after the death of actor Joe Gladwin.
Smiler also owned a big, but rather beaten up and poorly maintained, white convertible 1972 Chevrolet Impala, in which he sometimes drove around with Tom, and which on occasion has been used in various promotions for Auntie Wainwright.
The character returned in a 2007 episode of the show; and again in the 2008 New Year special, saying that he has retired from debt collecting and changed his name to Morton Beemish in order to start a new life for himself.
In series 30 he moves in next door to Barry and Glenda and shortly after gains Morton Beemish (aka Herman Teesdale), the former repo man, as a near-lodger, since he's always there doing tasks around the house.
A very emotional woman haunted by a string of past rejections, she first appeared as a guest, driving Gavin Hinchcliffe (Bernard Cribbins) around while he skied on the van roof.