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,
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