Porridge (TV series) Essex. The opening credits consist of outside shots of Slade prison and of several doors and gates being closed and locked, which was intended to set the scene for the programme. In the first series, there were also shots of St Pancras railway station, which was changed in subsequent series to shots of Fletcher walking around Slade prison. Title music was thought unsuitable for a show set in prison, so instead there is a booming narration (performed by Barker himself) given by the presiding judge passing sentence on Fletcher: Subsequently, Barker is reported to have said that he regretted recording
Porridge (TV series) him at times. The other is Mr Barrowclough, a far more sympathetic and timid prison officer and Mackay's subordinate, who is more prone to manipulation by his charges because of the nature of his character. The programme's scriptwriters appear, uncredited, outside Fletch and Godber's cell in the episode "No Peace for the Wicked". Ronnie Barker had suggested the part of Lennie Godber for Paul Henry, but the decision to cast Richard Beckinsale was taken by the production team. "Porridge" originated with a 1973 project commissioned by the BBC "Seven of One", which would see Ronnie Barker star in seven different