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 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