Porridge (1974 TV series)

Porridgeis aBritish sitcom, starringRonnie BarkerandRichard Beckinsale, written byDick ClementandIan La Frenais, and broadcast onBBC1from 1974 to 1977. The programme ran for three series and two Christmas specials. A feature film of thesame namebased on the series was released in 1979.
The sitcom focuses on two prison inmates, Norman Fletcher (played by Barker) and Lennie Godber (played by Beckinsale), who are serving time at the fictionalHMPSlade inCumberland. The show's title is a 1950s British slang term for a prison sentence, derived from the traditional breakfast that used to be served in British prisons.
Porridgewas critically acclaimed and is widely considered to be one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time. It is ranked No. 35 on the100 Greatest British Television Programmescompiled by theBritish Film Institutein 2000. In 2004,Porridgeplaced seventh in a poll to findBritain's Best Sitcom.
The series was followed by a 1978 sequel,Going Straight, which saw Barker reprise his character as he tries to avoid going back to prison.Porridgewas revived in 2016under the same name, with Fletcher's grandson beginning a prison sentence.
The main storylines of the sitcom focus on its central character,Norman Stanley Fletcher, a man fromMuswell Hill, London. Fletcher, described as "an habitual criminal" by the judge who sentences him (and whose words, voiced by Barker, are repeated in the show's opening titles), is sent to HMP Slade, a fictionalCategory Cprison inCumberland, to serve a prison sentence for his latest crime. The sitcom also follows his cellmateLennie Godber, a naïve inmate fromBirminghamserving his first sentence, whom Fletcher takes under his wing. Each episode's story focuses on their time in prison and the various issues they endure while serving their prison sentences.
While both Fletcher and Godber are the show's main characters, the series features two major supporting characters, bothprison officers. The first isMr Mackay, a tough and austere Scotsman with a clear dislike of Fletcher, with whom he often comes into conflict (and by whom he is often surreptitiously mocked). The other isMr Barrowclough, Mackay's empathetic, progressive-minded subordinate, who is prone to manipulation by his charges because of his well-meaning character and principles.
The programme's scriptwriters appear, uncredited, outside Fletch and Godber's cell in the episode "No Peace for the Wicked". Ronnie Barker had suggested the part of Lennie Godber forPaul Henry, but the decision to cast Richard Beckinsale was taken by the production team.
Porridgeoriginated with the BBC's 1973 projectSeven of One, which would see Ronnie Barker star in seven differentsituation comedypilot episodes. The most successful would then be made into a full series.One of the episodes was "Prisoner and Escort", written byDick ClementandIan La Frenaisabout a newly sentenced habitual criminal,Norman Stanley Fletcher(Barker), being escorted to prison by two warders: the timid Barrowclough (Brian Wilde) and the stern Mackay (Fulton Mackay). It was broadcast on 1 April 1973 onBBC2.Despite Barker's initial preference for another of the pilots, a sitcom about a Welshgambling addict, "Prisoner and Escort", was selected. It was renamedPorridge, a British slang term for a prison sentence from the 1950s;Barker, Clement and La Frenais actually came up with the same title independently of each other.
In their research, Clement and La Frenais spoke to Jonathan Marshall, a former prisoner who had written a book calledHow to Survive in the Nick(Allison and Busby, 1973),and he advised them about prisonslang, dress and routines. Struggling to think up plots and humour for such a downbeat, confined environment, a particular phrase used by Marshall – "little victories" – struck a chord and convinced them to base the series on an inmate who made his daily life in prison more bearable by beatingthe system, even in trivial ways.
The BBC was forced to look around for locations because theHome Officerefused permission for any production filming inside or outside a real prison. Instead, the main gatehouse of the disused prison in Victoria Street,St Albans, was used in the opening credits. Exteriors were first filmed atLeavesden HospitalnearWatford. However, after the completion of the second series, the hospital withdrew permission for more filming following complaints from patients' families. Another institution nearEalingwas then used for the third series.Scenes within cells and offices were filmed at the BBC's London studios, but for shots of the wider prison interior, series production designer Tim Gleeson converted an old water tank, used atEaling Studiosfor underwater filming, into a multi-storey set.
The first episode, "New Faces, Old Hands", was aired on BBC1 on 5 September 1974, attracting a television audience of more than 16 million, and receiving positive reviews from critics.Two further series were commissioned, as well as twoChristmas specialepisodes. The final episode ofPorridge, "Final Stretch", was broadcast on 25 March 1977.The producers and the writers were keen to make more episodes, but Barker was wary of being "stuck with a character" and also wanted to move on to other projects, so the series came to a close.Barker did, however, reprise his role as Fletcher in a sequel,Going Straight, which ran for one series in 1978. Afeature-length versionof the show was made in 1979, and in 2003 a follow-upmockumentaryentitledLife Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcherwas aired.
The prison exterior in the title sequence is the old St Albans prison gatehouse andHM Prison Maidstone, which was also featured in the BBC comedy seriesBirds of a Feather(HMP Slade is referred to inBirds of a Featherwhen the protagonists' husbands are imprisoned there after reoffending in Series 7). The interior shots of doors being locked were filmed inShepherd's Bushpolice station as the BBC had a good relationship with officers there. In the episode "Pardon Me", Fletcher speaks to Blanco (David Jason) in the prison gardens: this was filmed in the grounds of an old brewery outsideBaldockon theA505toRoyston. The barred windows approximated a prison. The building has since been demolished.
The 1974 episode "A Day Out", which features a prison work party, was filmed in and around the Welsh village ofPenderyn, the prisoners' ditch being excavated by aJCB.Loftus Road, the home ofQueens Park Rangers Football Club, was briefly featured in "Happy Release", standing in forElland Roadin Leeds.
In the episode "No Way Out", Fletcher tries to get MacKay to fall into a tunnel in the prison yard. These outside shots were filmed atSt Bernard's Hospitalin West London, the barred windows in this case being those of the hospital pharmacy. The interior shots for the 1979 film were shot entirely atHM Prison Chelmsford,Essex.
The opening credits consist of outside shots of Slade prison and of several doors and gates being closed and locked, which was intended to set the scene.In the first series, there were also shots ofSt Pancras railway station, which was changed in subsequent series to shots of Fletcher walking around Slade prison. Title music was thought unsuitable for a show set in prison, so instead there is a booming narration (voiced by Barker himself) given by the presiding judge passing sentence on Fletcher:
For series 1, the narration is "clean" (i.e. no effects) and plays in one complete piece. For series 2 and 3, it is broken down by sentence into three sections and has an echo effect added to increase the gravity of the "judge's" words, with each of the three sentences followed by shots of locking various doors around the "prison" with key locking sound effects.
Subsequently, Barker is reported to have said that he regretted recording himself as the judge,a role subsequently played byMaurice Denhamin two episodes of the third series.
The theme music for the closing credits was written byMax Harris, who had also written the theme music for numerous other TV shows, includingThe Strange World of Gurney Slade, The Gold RobbersandDoomwatch, and would go on to arrange the theme forOpen All Hours(which was written by Joseph Ascher), another of theSeven of Onepilots. The cheery theme was "deliberately at variance with the dour comedy"and given amusic hallfeel by Harris because of the lead character'sCockneyorigins.
Following the pilot episode broadcast on 1 April 1973, the sitcom ran for three series between 5 September 1974(1974-09-05)and 25 March 1977(1977-03-25), with 20 episodes in total. Each episode was 30 minutes long, except for the two Christmas specials in 1975 and 1976, which were 40 and 45 minutes long respectively.
A sequel toPorridge,Going Straight, was aired between 24 February and 7 April 1978. Beginning with Fletcher's release from prison onparole, it follows his attempts to "go straight" and readjust to a law-abiding life. Richard Beckinsale reprised his role as Godber, now the fiancé of Fletcher's daughter Ingrid (Patricia Brake), and the couple married in the final episode.Nicholas Lyndhurstalso featured as Fletcher's gormless son, Raymond. The series lasted six episodes, and generally was not as well received as its predecessor, although it did win twoBAFTAs, for Best Situation Comedy and Best Light Entertainment Performance (jointly withThe Two Ronnies) for Ronnie Barker.
On 29 December 2003, amockumentaryfollow-up toPorridgewas broadcast onBBC Two. It looked back on Fletcher's life and how the various inmates of Slade had fared 25 years after Fletcher's release from prison. Warren is now a sign painter, Lukewarm is in a civil partnership with Trevor, McLaren is anMSP, Grouty has become a celebrity gangster, Horrible Ives collects money for non-existent charities, Godber is still a lorry driver and still happily married to Ingrid, and Fletcher runs a pub with his childhood sweetheart, Gloria.
On Sunday 28 August 2016, a one-off sequel to the original series, also titledPorridge, was broadcast on BBC One. It starredKevin Bishopas Nigel Norman Fletcher, Norman Stanley Fletcher's grandson, serving five years in prison for computer hacking.
The special was written by the original creators and writers ofPorridge, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. It gained praise from both viewers and TV critics, with many calling for a full series to be made.The overnight ratings showed an estimated 4.4 million people had watched it.Following the success of the initial episode, in October 2016 the BBC announced that a full series of six episodes had been commissioned, with production to start in January 2017.The full series was released online on 6 October 2017 on theBBC iPlayeras well as starting a six-week run on prime-time BBC One on Fridays.
An American version entitledOn the Rocks(1975–76) ran for a season, while a Dutch versionLaat maar zitten(a pun: the title has several meanings, like "Don't mention it" and "Let it be", but in this case it can also be interpreted as "Let them do time") ran from 1988 to 1991; later episodes of the Netherlands version were original scripts, the series also had a very successful Portuguese remake entitledCamilo na Prisão("Camilo in Prison").
Following the example of other sitcom crossovers, such asDad's Army,Steptoe and SonandThe Likely Lads, a feature-length version ofPorridgewas made in 1979. Barker again starred as Fletcher, and most of the supporting cast also returned. Unlike the television series, it was actually filmed at a real prison as HMP Chelmsford was temporarily vacant following a fire.
Novelisations of the three series ofPorridgewere issued byBBC Books:Porridgeby Jonathan Marshall (1975),Another Stretch of Porridgeby Paul Victor (1976), andA Further Stir of Porridgeby Paul Victor (1977).Going Straightwas novelised under that title by Paul Victor in 1978. The film ofPorridgewas novelised asPorridge: The Inside Storyby Paul Ableman, published byPan Booksin 1979.
The three BBCPorridgenovelisations were published as the collected volumeThree Helpings of Porridge(1984), republished asThe Complete Porridge(1990).
BBC Enterprises released an LP record featuring twoPorridgeepisodes, "A Night In" and "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1977.(REB 270) Two volumes of audio cassette releases ('Porridge' and 'More Porridge') comprising four episodes each, including the two episodes from the vinyl release, were issued in the mid-1990s, and later re-released on CD. A third volume of four episodes ('A Third Helping') was released on cassette in 2002.
In 2009Porridgewas adapted into a stage show, also written by Clement and La Frenais, starring formerEastEndersactorShaun Williamsonas Fletcher and Daniel West as Godber.Peter Kay, a fan of the show, was previously offered the role but turned it down. It opened in September 2009 to positive reviews.
Ronnie Barker was the author ofFletcher's Book of Rhyming Slang(Pan, 1979), which includes an introduction by 'Fletch'.
The 2001 bookPorridge: The Inside Story(not to be confused with the 1979 film novelisation of the same name) contains a series guide by Richard Webber and the scripts of the three seasons and the Christmas specials by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. The book was republished in 2005 under the titlePorridge: The Complete Scripts and Series Guide.
On 16 December 2023,Channel 5aired a 66-minute special retrospective for their "Comedy Classics" series. Actors and celebrities, including two former cast membersChristopher BigginsandPhilip Jacksontake a look back, discuss and pay tribute to the show.
A set of special stamps celebrating the 50th anniversary of the TV show was issued byRoyal Mailon 3 September 2024.
Porridgewas immensely popular with British prisoners.Erwin James, an ex-prisoner who wrote a bi-weekly column forThe Guardiannewspaper, stated that:
He also noted:
The script allowed the prisoners to swear without offending viewers by using the word "naff" in place of ruder words ("Naff off!", "Darn your own naffing socks", "Doing next to naff all"), thereby popularising a word that had been virtually unknown and the first recorded use of which was in 1966.Ronnie Barker did not claim to have invented it and in a television interview in 2003 it was explained to him on camera what the word meant, as he did not have a clue. The word is used in another Clement and La Frenais penned series,Auf Wiedersehen Pet, by the character of Oz who, after nearly being hit by falling scaffolding, calls one of the other workers a "naffing arsehole".
A genuineneologismwas "nerk", which was used in place of the more offensive "berk". "Berk" has changed meaning since its inception and is generally used now to mean "fool" while the original rhyming slang meaning refers tofemale genitalia(via "Berkeley Hunt"). Another term was "scrote" (presumably derived fromscrotum), meaning a nasty, unpleasant person.