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
Arkwright (Open All Hours) run, but considering the age of David Jason, its easy to assume that Granville may actually be in his 30s-40s during the 1970s-1980s run. Gladys is a midwife, to whom Arkwright is informally engaged. Their engagement doesn't seem to be serious, however they do seem to be fond of each other. (Their engagement is not mentioned until the end of series one, so for the first few episodes, Arkwright can appear to be a "sex pest" to Gladys, to some viewers). Most of the characters who use the shop are old-fashioned, domesticated characters, and while Gladys is very straight forward