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 between "four candles" and "fork handles". The idea for the sketch came from the owners of a hardware shop in Hayes, Hillingdon who wrote in to "The Two Ronnies" to describe some of the amusing events and misunderstandings in their store. Barker was never happy with the sketch's final line (a male assistant asking "What sort of billhooks did you want?") and changed it (to a female assistant asking "What sort of knockers were you looking for?") for the stage version of "The Two Ronnies", although he was still not totally satisfied with it. Nevertheless, the sketch is considered the