Richard Beckinsale spawned a film version. Soon after, he appeared in two of British TV's most successful sitcoms at the same time. On ITV, he was playing naive medical student Alan Moore in "Rising Damp" (voted ITV's best-ever sitcom in the "Britain's Best Sitcom" poll in 2004) while also starring alongside Ronnie Barker in the BBC sitcom "Porridge" as prison inmate Lennie Godber. He also appeared in the films "Rentadick" (1972) and "Three for All" (1975) and made appearances in several other television series such as the "ITV Playhouse" episode "Last Summer" in 1976. Shortly after his 30th birthday, Beckinsale was the
Porridge (TV series) Porridge (TV series) Porridge is a British sitcom, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC One from 1974 to 1977. The programme ran for three series, and included two Christmas specials and a feature film of the same name (in the United States, the film was released under the title "Doing Time"). The sitcom focuses on two prison inmates, Norman Fletcher (played by Barker) and Lennie Godber (played by Beckinsale), who are serving time at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. The show's title is a reference to both