Double act habitual criminal", Fletcher (played by Ronnie Barker, already famous for his comedy partnership with Ronnie Corbett) and a young, naive, first-time prisoner, Lennie Godber. The two would bicker but endured a relationship of mutual respect. Barker also formed a partnership with David Jason in Open All Hours, with Jason playing Granville while Barker played Albert Arkwright. Many don't see this as a comedy duo, but the straight-man element coupled with Barker's funny-man antics on the show are still compressed into the script. Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson combined their success in sitcoms ("The Young Ones") and as a double act
Open All Hours called "Alice, Where Art Thou?", written by Joseph Ascher. It was arranged for brass band and performed by Max Harris, who also wrote the incidental music for the programme. At the time of the programme's airing, it was widely known that some viewers objected to the show's reliance on a speech impediment for some of its laughs. Even so, Ronnie Barker's character was so amiable and the humour good-natured enough that most deemed it an unmalicious portrayal. Barker also notes in his autobiography "It's Hello from Him" that he received a letter which began "We are a family of stutterers...",