Open All Hours its owner, Len Riddiford. This shop is referenced in numerous "Open All Hours" episodes by Arkwright. Ronnie Barker proposed that Arkwright should have a stammer, and this was written into the character. Barker also co-created the premise of the dangerous till. In the series, the shop's antiquated till has a drawer that tends to snap shut suddenly. Even though this terrifies Granville and Arkwright, Arkwright leaves it to avoid the cost of buying a replacement, and because he believes it discourages burglars. The exterior shots were recorded on Lister Avenue in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster; the shop itself was
Ronnie Barker lamented that Barker was unable to take a role in one of his Shakespearean productions. Barker, though, preferred comedy, and felt it was "as good and as important as serious work" and he was not "dumbing down" by doing it. Actor Gene Wilder compared him to Charlie Chaplin in saying "no matter how farcical [his performance] was ... there was always an element of reality to what he did." Corbett praised Barker's skill at playing serious authority figures saying absurd things, using Barker's verbal dexterity and energetic performances. Barker's writing style was, for "The Times", "based on precise scripts and