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
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