Last of the Summer Wine icon had nervous breakdown over casting – and nearly quit show

A star of The Last of the Summer Wine once admitted that they had a "nervous breakdown" and threatened to quit the show after a casting discrepancy. Gordon Wharmby, who played the role of Wesley Pegden, was impacted when he learned that acting legend Thora Hird had been cast as his wife, so much so that it landed him in hospital.

The star, who was a painter and decorator first and actor second, was sent to a psychiatric hospital after fearing that his skills wouldn't be good enough alongside his co-star while filming the Uncle of the Bride episode. Luckily, Wharmby eventually recovered in time and would have no issues working with Hird for the rest of his time with the series. He even became so comfortable around her that he reportedly started giving her "notes" - much to the veteran actress's great amusement.

Last of the Summer Wine aired on the BBC with the first episode launching in 1973 and it ran up until 2010. The beloved series was set and filmed in and around Holmfirth in West Yorkshire and followed three elderly men and their misadventures.

The trio consisted of the mischievous Compo Simmonite (played by Bill Owen), easy-going Norman Clegg (Peter Sallis) and arrogant Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates).

Wharmby made his debut in the British sitcom in 1982, after initially auditioning for a one-line part and impressing director Alan J.W. Bell.

Bell cast him as boilersuit-wearing, tinkering mechanic and would-be inventor Wesley Pegden. Wharmby appeared as a regular cast member for 16 series between 1985 and 2002.

His other titles included having small roles in the Troy Kennedy Martin nuclear thriller Edge of Darkness (1985), Brookside (as Tony Hetherington, 1985), All Creatures Great and Small (1988), A Very British Coup (1988), Agatha Christie's Poirot (1990), Heartbeat (1994) and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996).

The TV legend died of lung cancer on 18 May 2002, aged 68. Wharmby and his wife Muriel had no children.