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 filmed on Sunday evenings at BBC Television Centre in front of a live audience; the musical finale was filmed the day before without the audience. Barker wrote much of the show's material, roughly three-quarters, again under the name Gerald Wiley. He was heavily involved with the show's production, especially the serial. Corbett explained that Barker was a "perfectionist" and "as he wrote it Ronnie knew how he wanted every shot to look." After filming the show all day, he spent the evenings helping technician Jim Franklin edit it. While filming on location Barker and Corbett would look through all of