Clarence (UK TV series) Clarence (UK TV series) Clarence is a 1988 BBC situation comedy starring Ronnie Barker and Josephine Tewson, written by Ronnie Barker under the pseudonym "Bob Ferris" as an acknowledgement to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, creators of "Porridge". It was Barker's final sitcom appearance before his retirement. Barker had previously faced some criticism over his employment of a stammer for comedic effect in "Open All Hours". However, the slapstick potential of a short-sighted furniture shifter must have seemed irresistible. The series was inspired by "The Removals Person" by Hugh Leonard, an episode in the 1971 LWT comedy anthology series,
Ronnie Barker he would reveal himself. Barker, who had told Corbett earlier in the day, stood up and announced he was Wiley, although initially nobody believed him. In 1969 Barker was able to write, produce and star as General Futtock in the film "Futtocks End" which featured no dialogue and only "grumble[s] and grunt[s]". "The Ronnie Barker Playhouse" had been designed to find a successful idea for a sitcom, and the episode "Ah, There You Are" by Alun Owen, which introduced the bumbling aristocratic character Lord Rustless, was chosen. The character returned for the 1969–1970 series "Hark at Barker" as the main