Foggy Dewhurst - We Salute You! (1976 - 1997)

The late Brian Wilde first played Foggy in, "Last of the Summer Wine" back in 1976 when his character was brought in to replace Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates)....
Foggy was a former soldier who liked to boast of his military exploits in Burma during the Second World War (in fact, he was a sign-writer).........

Although Foggy considered himself very regimental and heroic, when confronted Foggy was generally meek and incompetent. Like the previous third man- and all subsequent third men- he considered himself the leader of the trio, and frequently took charge of Compo and Clegg. Foggy Dewhurst was infamous for trying to figure out a solution to the trio's everyday problems, only to make them much worse. In earlier years Foggy wore a scarf with regimental colours on it. When Wilde left the series in 1985 to star in his own sitcom as well as to pursue other TV work, it was explained that Foggy had moved to Bridlington to take over his family's egg-painting business.

Returning in 1990 following the impromptu departure of Michael Aldridge, he claimed he had tired of a life of egg painting, and wanted to return to his old life. In 1997, when Wilde's illness prevented him from taking part in the series, he was written out in the Special, "There Goes the Groom", (in which the character was only seen in brief, non-face shots, played by a double; this episode also introduced his successor, Truly).

An unconscious, hung-over Foggy was swept off to Blackpool by the local postmistress. There he inadvertently proposed to her in a verbal slip-up over the wedding rings of which he had taken charge "for safe keeping" (out of the dubious care of Best Man, Barry).

But he must have at least liked her, as he was never heard from again after that. Foggy's real first name was revealed to be Walter (with the middle initial "C"); "Foggy" is a nickname, derived from the traditional song "The Foggy Foggy Dew", aided perhaps by the fact that, in his earlier episodes, he would occasionally "blank out" everything around him to help himself to concentrate, particularly when he was thinking up new ideas or finding solutions to problems. This is particularly noticeable in the episode "The Man from Oswestry."