Open All Hours was a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke which ran for four series which consisted of 26 episodes in all and were shown between 1976 and 1985. The series centres around a small grocer's shop in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster in South Yorkshire. The store's owner, Albert Arkwright played by Ronnie Barker, is a middle-aged miser with a stammer and a knack of being able to sell anything and everything to any passing visitor to his shop. His nephew Granville played by David Jason is the shop's errand boy, whose attempts at a burgeoning love-life seem to fall flat. He blames his uncle, in particular for the fact that he has to be up at an extremely early hour of the morning in order to open the shop. Almost every mistake Arkwright makes is followed by a cry of "Ger-Granville! Fer-fetch yer cloth!". A recurring joke throughout the series revolves around Arkwright's claim that Granville's estranged father was Hungarian — an issue which is never resolved. Arkwright would also make cracks about the sexlife of his late sister, Granville's mother. Across the road from the shop lives Nurse Gladys Emmanuel played by Lynda Baron, Arkwright's long-standing love. much of his time is dedicated to trying to convince her to make good on her promise to marry him, or at least sleep with him. Unfortunately Nurse Gladys has both her rounds and taking care of her elderly mother to occupy her. She is protective of Granville and tries to use her influence with Arkwright to get him a better lot in life. Regulars to the shop included the early morning milkwoman played by Barbara Flynn for whom Granville had the hots for, Mavis played by Maggie Ollerenshaw, a young woman who just could not make up her mind on what to buy, Mrs Blewett played by Kathy Staff, a gossip with a critical word for everyone and Mrs Featherstone played by Stephanie Cole aka the Black Widow, a sour-faced widowed woman who was also something of a miser and admired Arkwright for being likewise. Episodes generally involve some plan by Arkwright to wed Nurse Gladys, save money or flog more stuff to the locals, and end with Arkwright shutting up shop for the night and praying as he walks round mostly reflecting on the day.

A few complaints were registered over the humorous use of a speech impediment but Arkwright was so amiable and the humour so good-natured that it was deemed by most people to be a portrayal without malice. The part was originally written without the stammer but Barker suggested using it in rehearsals and it became part of Arkwright's character. Similarly, the 'business' with the dangerous cash-register was created mostly by Barker too.