Nora Batty Absence Series 23 & 24

Barrychuckle

Barrychuckle

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On watching all the episodes in chronological order I've only just clocked Nora Batty isn't in either 2 series, but I know she returned later.

Does anybody know why this was the case, I vaguely remember Kathy Staff saying at the time she didn't see a future for her character without Compo. But she did eventually return, I can't recall reading anything about this in either Andrew Vine or Alan Bell's biography of the series?
 
Kathy Staff left Summer Wine to play a cleaner in the restart of Crossroads. Crossroads was eventually cancelled and Kathy returned to Summer Wine. No mention was made to her absence but she left again due to ill health. She had a brain tumour. What a character Nora was.
 
Wow your knowledge is brilliant thanks Peripheral!

There was reference that she'd gone to Australia for her initial absence, and of course that was the given reason when she died. What a good thing Crossroads was cancelled or we would have been deprived of her brilliance in the later episodes. All the biographies say Kathy was very different to Nora, not one member of the cast or production has anything negative to say about her!

I'm very sad and I've just checked, Kathy Staff was apparently only in the very first episode of Crossroads in 2001 and no more after so I wonder if she was considering leaving the LOTSW cast????
 
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Is that when it was briefly mentioned that Nora went to see a relative in Australia? I remember Clegg talking to Truly about Nora being up in the sky on a plane flying overseas. But thinking that was a bit earlier than Stella appearing.

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Oops, I see you posted while I was typing. hehe
 
I'm very sad and I've just checked, Kathy Staff was apparently only in the very first episode of Crossroads in 2001 and no more after so I wonder if she was considering leaving the LOTSW cast????
 
You see an actor or actress perform in a part such as Kathy Staff as Nora and then she suddenly departs for Australia. Then you hear that she's been ill and has gone permanently to Australia, so on and so forth, and then you hear that she's passed. Very sad. But we can only surmise the fight and agony of the illness. Sometimes it's hidden, so the end, very sadly, is a surprise. And then with Bill Owen, his illness was not hidden, you could just look at him, and sadly see that he wasn't doing too well. And perhaps, the biggest acting job the actor/actress has to do is to briefly rally for the camera. We can never know the length any actor who has been ill goes to hide his or her illness and what strength it takes to do that.
 
I completely agree with your comments Adanor, due to the age of the cast many of them had to battle real life illness. In fairness I don't think Kathy Staff did leave the first time through illness, as I vaguely remember a documentary with her at the time saying she couldn't see a future for Nora without Compo so she may have left through choice but persuaded to return.
 
When I went to watch them filming, I would often get to the current location around 7 am, the cast and crew were already there, the cast in costume, they had been collected from Huddersfield around 5.30 am already having had their breakfast, driven to base camp, been through wardrobe and makeup and ready to start filming, the filming normally lasted all day with a break for lunch and tea/coffee/snacks available on set, by the time the cast got back to their hotel could be around 7 pm.
You may say so what but bearing in mind some of the cast where well over 70 and some much older I found it incredible as this was often a six day week for 6 weeks with the odd day of in between, this was also in all weathers be it cold, wet to very wet and hot to very hot
 
maltrab said:
When I went to watch them filming, I would often get to the current location around 7 am, the cast and crew were already there, the cast in costume, they had been collected from Huddersfield around 5.30 am already having had their breakfast, driven to base camp, been through wardrobe and makeup and ready to start filming, the filming normally lasted all day with a break for lunch and tea/coffee/snacks available on set, by the time the cast got back to their hotel could be around 7 pm.
You may say so what but bearing in mind some of the cast where well over 70 and some much older I found it incredible as this was often a six day week for 6 weeks with the odd day of in between, this was also in all weathers be it cold, wet to very wet and hot to very hot
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Clearly you have experience of their grueling schedule, I never realised it was like that! I saw Peter Sallis about 10 years ago, and he joked how he & Frank Thornton used to have to get up early for filming but went to sleep in their caravans for most of the day. But only the stars of the show would've been afforded this luxury, the rest probably had to endure it. I've no idea what they would have been paid, but you have this nieve idea they're all getting paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for appearing as star actors. But towards the end they were probably just performing out of loyalty and the love of the show.
 
I recall reading that when Kathy Staff left the first time (to do Crossroads) there were two reasons. First, they had offered her a lot of money to do the new Crossroads. Second, she didn't think they knew what to do with Nora after Compo was gone. The series before she left Nora was mainly seen in conflict with Tom's Mrs. Avery. Kathy apparently didn't think much of that role.

As an aside, Kathy ended up not liking the storylines of the new Crossroads and felt it was too coarse, so that's why that didn't work out.

On her second departure (Series 30 and 31), as noted her health was poor. Sending Nora to Australia was done in the hope that she would return, but she died after Series 30 had been filmed (but before it aired). I've not seen any explanation for why they continued to use the "she's still in Australia" storyline in Series 31 even after Kathy Staff's death. It's the only case I know of in the show's run where they didn't at least resolve the character when the actor passed away while still part of the cast. Bell says Series 31 was pretty much exactly how Roy Clarke wrote it, so only Roy could answer why Nora was never resolved.
 
Sarkus, that sounds a much more detailed version of what I had heard, thank you so much for your comprehensive answer. I've only been active on this forum for a few weeks, but I'm finding it brilliant. Thank you all!
 
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