I don't really think I'm going to enjoy it anymore

Kathy Staff

The actress has told the show's executives she is "unlikely" to return to play Nora when a new series is filmed next year, although she may make guest appearances, a BBC spokesman said.

Miss Staff said recently: "My first instinct was not to do it when Bill left us.

"I don't really think I'm going to enjoy it anymore.

"I automatically felt that, once Compo's gone, there's no future for Nora and no point going on alone."

Kathy Staff felt there was "no point going on alone" after Compo had gone

Last of the Summer Wine creator Roy Clarke, who has scripted every episode since the pilot was first transmitted in 1973, told the Mail on Sunday Miss Staff's departure could mean the end of the series.

He said: "I do worry that Kathy's departure might spell the end, but it's down to the audience.

"I shall miss her enormously. It was Kathy who turned Nora into a major character."

Clarke added: "I'll definitely leave the door wide open for her to come back."

The 72-year-old actress is expected to appear in ITV's new version of Crossroads as housekeeper Doris Luke, a role she played for four years from 1978.