30 Years Of Last Of The Summer Wine by Morris Bright and Robert Ross

(BBC Worldwide, £12.99)

THE adventures of the three bumbling buffoons have been delighting viewers for an incredible three decades.

They inhabit a world where everyone is old, yet each dawn heralds the first day of spring. And although our three geriatrics certainly have the years against them, like the heroes in Kenneth Grahame's Wind In The Willows, the exploits of he Winos are really stories of eternal youth.

This charming book contains exclusive interviews with the show's major stars Compo (the late Bill Owen), Clegg (Peter Sallis), Foggy (Brian Wilde) and Truly (Frank Thornton).

Plus... the battleaxe women of the series, including Kathy Staff, who turned the character of Nora Batty into an unforgettable national icon.

Revised and updated to cover the programme's history to 2002, with new photographs, interviews, and an episode guide covering every show made since its beginning in 1973, 30 Years Of Last Of The Summer Wine is both a nostalgic trip down memory lane for long-standing fans and the ultimate guide for those who would like to gain a better understanding of one of television's national treasures. John Phillpott