10 Characters From Famous TV Shows Who Were Swept Under The Carpet

2. Mr. Wainwright & Mrs. Partridge - Last Of The Summer Wine

Given its thirty-one series run, it's only natural that the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine would shed cast members over the years. But there are two cast members who were shed very early on. In the original treatment for the series, it was thought that one of the regular haunts of Compo, Clegg, and Blamire would be the town library. As such, the two resident resident librarians, Mr. Wainwright and Mrs. Partridge, played by Blake Butler and Rosemary Martin respectively, would be regular cast members. A running gag was to be that Wainwright would be constantly pursuing a clandestine love affair with the married Partridge, seemingly unaware that everyone else in town knew what was going on. Writer and creator Roy Clarke struggled to find ways to include the duo in episodes, though, and the decision was made after the first series to drop them as characters. No explanation was given, but one episode in the second series did feature a new set of librarians, seemingly confirming that Wainwright and Partridge were gone for good. Wainwright returned for a few episodes during the third series but was dropped again at the end of the year, and the library was eventually phased out as one of the regular settings on the show.