Porridge (TV series) to make more episodes, but Barker was wary of being "stuck with a character" and also wanted to move on to other projects, so the series came to a close. Barker did, however, reprise his role as Fletcher in a sequel, "Going Straight", which ran for one series in 1978. A feature-length version of the show was made in 1979 and in 2003 a follow-up was aired. The prison exterior in the title sequence is the old St Albans prison gatehouse and HM Prison Maidstone, which was also featured in the BBC comedy series "Birds of a Feather" (HMP Slade
Porridge (2016 TV series) his old cell-mate Lennie Godber, and has a somewhat cynical view on life as a result of his previous sentences in prison, while he often comes into conflict with prison officer Mr Meekie, whose character is similar to that of Mr Mackay from the original series, in that he firmly dislikes Fletcher and often suspects him of being up to something, and who often mocks him in return as a result. Although Fletcher has a firm dislike of the prison guards, he has some respect for other prison officer Mr Braithwaite, whose character is similar to that of Mr Barrowclough