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 (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