| Last Of The Summer Wine character | |
|---|---|
| |
| Edith 'Edie' Pegden | |
| Gender | Female |
| Hair | Grey |
| Job | Retired |
| Actor | Dame Thora Hird |
| Appearances | |
| First | Uncle Of The Bride |
| Last | All of a Florrie |
(1986–2003), a highly opinionated older woman, sister of Seymour Utterthwaite (who called her Edith), she was the house-proud hostess of the women's coffee mornings. She was introduced, along with Seymour, daughter Glenda and son-in-law Barry in the 1986 episode "Uncle of the Bride" (husband Wesley was introduced in 1982). The ladies' tea meetings, where they would sit and discuss life (particularly the strangeness of men), which became a popular staple of the show in the 1990s, were usually held in Edie's front room. Wesley restored a convertible car for her to drive, although she was a terrible driver, and was always accusing Wesley of moving things (particularly the gear lever) around. Another running gag would be, when going out, Edie making a big performance out of locking the front door, repeatedly pushing it to check that it was locked properly. In later years Hird, who was still in the series at age 90, suffered bad health, which particularly affected her ability to stand. To cover this, she was often seen sitting down, or, when standing, had something to hold on to (often out of camera shot). For driving and distance shots, her double (Amy Shaw) was used. When Hird died in 2003, Edie was also said to have died. As with husband Wesley, it was not immediately made obvious. Later references to the character were used to indicate that she had died. In the final 3 series, a framed photo of Edie can be seen on Barry and Glenda's mantelpiece. In one episode Barry talks about ghosts and Glenda asks if he had seen her mother. Barry's response in the negative includes immense gladness in that she scared him enough alive.
For the first few series in which she appeared, Edie was extremely concerned with her reputation in the neighbourhood: whenever there was company, Edie would try to put on a posh, educated voice—which would suddenly vanish when she was shouting for (or at) Wesley. This aspect of Edie's character acted as a prototype for Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances (also written by Roy Clarke). Once the latter series was created, this aspect of Edie's personality was toned down a bit (although not completely) in order to separate the two characters.