Ronnie Barker in August 2017 by Ben Elton. Elton's lecture focused on the future of the British sitcom. Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker, (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as "Porridge", "The Two Ronnies", and "Open All Hours". Barker began acting in repertory theatre and decided he was best suited to comic roles. He had his first success at the Oxford Playhouse and in roles in the West End including Tom Stoppard's "The Real Inspector Hound". During this period, he was in
Play School (UK TV series) during its run. Despite a revamp in 1983 "Play School" maintained the same basic formula throughout its 24-year history, but changes to the BBC's childrens output led to the programme's cancellation in 1988, when it was replaced by "Playbus", which soon became "Playdays". "Play School" originally appeared on weekdays at 11am on BBC2 and later acquired a mid-afternoon BBC1 repeat as the opening programme of BBC1's teatime children's schedule. The morning showing was transferred to BBC1 in September 1983 when BBC Schools programming transferred to BBC2. It remained in that slot even after daytime television was launched in October 1986