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 the show continued its ratings success. Both shows placed in the top ten of the 2004 poll to determine Britain's Best Sitcom; "Porridge" finished seventh and "Open All Hours" eighth. Barker's next sitcom, "The Magnificent Evans", which was about a Welsh photographer and aired in 1984, was not successful. His final sitcom, "Clarence" in which he played Clarence Sale, a removal man with failing sight, aired in 1988. Barker wrote the show himself, again using a pseudonym, this time as "Bob Ferris". In 1987, before "Clarence" aired and after rejecting Hall's offer of the part of Falstaff in a Royal