Ronnie Barker's old lag Fletch made doing time at HMP Slade the funniest place on television. Porridge ran on BBC One from 1974 to 1977.
Inside Slade
Fletcher is an experienced prisoner who knows how to get by: keep your head down, look after yourself and never let the screws win. He shares a cell with Lennie Godber, a young first-timer from Birmingham, and takes him under his wing.
Porridge was written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who had already made The Likely Lads. It began as a one-off, Prisoner and Escort, in Ronnie Barker's 1973 series Seven of One, and the full series started in September 1974.
Who was in it
- Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher
- Richard Beckinsale as Lennie Godber
- Fulton Mackay as Mr Mackay, the strict prison officer
- Brian Wilde as Mr Barrowclough, the soft-hearted one
- Peter Vaughan as Harry Grout, "Genial Harry", who ran the prison from his cell
- David Jason as Blanco, the elderly prisoner
Fletch versus Mackay
Much of the comedy came from Fletcher's battles with Mr Mackay, the stiff, neck-stretching officer who was always sure Fletch was up to something. Fletch usually was. The poor, decent Mr Barrowclough was much easier to run rings round.
Under the jokes, Porridge was warm about people. Fletch looks out for Godber, and the show found real kindness in a grim place.
The opening
Every episode began with the voice of a judge sentencing Fletcher to five years, voiced by Ronnie Barker himself, followed by the clang of prison doors.
After Slade
Fletch's story continued in Going Straight in 1978, after his release, and a Porridge film followed in 1979. Richard Beckinsale, also loved in Rising Damp, died in 1979 at just 31.
Porridge is still regularly voted one of Britain's greatest sitcoms, and it hasn't lost its edge.