Porridge (TV series) himself as the judge, a character role subsequently played by Maurice Denham in two episodes of the third series. The theme music for the closing credits was written by Max Harris, who had also written the theme music for numerous other TV shows, including "The Strange World of Gurney Slade" and "Doomwatch", and would go on to write the theme for "Open All Hours", another of the Seven of One pilots. The cheery theme was "deliberately at variance with the dour comedy" and given a music hall feel by Harris because of the lead character's Cockney origins. Following the pilot
Characters of Porridge (TV series) Characters of Porridge (TV series) Henry Barrowclough is a prison warder, portrayed by Brian Wilde. Unlike Mr Mackay, whose harsh and confrontational methods he disapproves of (though he dare not make this known to Mr Mackay), Barrowclough is a timid, sympathetic man who firmly believes that the role of prison is to rehabilitate rather than punish. He does not share Mackay's tough military background, having done his National Service in Royal Air Force stores in the comfortable surroundings of Singapore. Mr Barrowclough does not seem to be cut out for the life of a prison warden, and he says in