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
Ronnie Barker and in 1980 they appeared in the short-lived NBC variety show "The Big Show"; the two were glad the show did not last as they objected to the use of canned laughter by the American networks. Following the success of "The Two Ronnies", the BBC let Barker decide what he wanted to do. "The Two Ronnies" took up one third of a year to produce, allowing time for Barker and Corbett to do a solo project each. Barker opted to produce some sitcom pilots shown as part of 1973's "Seven of One". Two of these pilots, "Open All Hours" (written