Ronnie Barker same year, determined not to be remembered only as Fletcher, Barker opted to end "Porridge" after three series and instead focused on the second pilot "Open All Hours", alongside David Jason. Barker starred as Arkwright, a money-grabbing, stuttering shopkeeper. Arkwright's stutter was not in the script; Barker was inspired to use it by Melvyn's performance and use of a stutter in a 1955 play the two performed at the Palace Theatre called "Hot Water". "Open All Hours" aired one series in 1976 on BBC Two but was not renewed due to low ratings. As a result, Barker backtracked on his
Play UK Play UK Play UK was a television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel was launched (as UK Play) on 10 October 1998. The channel was aimed at playing (for most of the time) music in the morning and afternoon, while broadcasting comedy in the evening. Play UK broadcast all day on the digital platforms, but on the Sky Analogue platform on the Astra 19.2°E satellite system it broadcast between 1am and 7am when UK Horizons was not broadcasting. It closed on 30 October 2002 due to low ratings because of