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Porridge contains all the essential
ingredients needed

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to make a classic comedy.

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Take a lovable rogue,
pair him with a naive new inmate,

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then add a hard-nosed prison
officer. The result?

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A sitcom, which dared to go where no
other sitcom had gone before -

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prison.

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I said to her the other day,
"You know, Isabel, I shall never get
over you.

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"I'll have to get up and go around."

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It's 40 years since we tasted
our first spoonful of Porridge.

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Set in the fictional Slade Prison,

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it brought together
two of our greatest comic actors -

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Ronnie Barker and
Richard Beckinsale.

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A sitcom stands or
falls by its writing

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and what sets apart Porridge
writers Dick Clement

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and Ian La Frenais, is the essence
of truth in their dialogue.

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What have you men got there?

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Balls, Mr MacKay.

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Why the different sizes?

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That's life, sir.

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It is one of the funniest
things ever written.

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They're real people,
they're real characters.

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They're not just comedy characters.

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People felt that they really knew
those characters

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and felt very,
very affectionate towards them.

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If you want the system to do
something for us blokes in here,

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give us more freedom,
better grub, conjugal visits.

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Give you what?

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Conjugals. From the Latin
"conjugari" meaning "to have it
away".

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Every line counts.
It's immaculately written.

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There's not a wasted line or
syllable.

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You never really see a joke coming.

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It's always really cleverly
embedded in the way people talk.

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You mean the wives just visit
and spend the whole weekend?

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Conjugating, yeah.

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That's more than I'm
allowed at home.

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From the actors' point of view,
their scripts were a gift.

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The great thing about Dick

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and Ian's writing was just
the simple truthfulness of it.

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Put them with Ronnie Barker
and history is made

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and is made to this day.

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Dad, look. I'm wearing a bra!

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Ronnie said to me one day, "You're
only as good as your material,"

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and of course it's absolutely true.

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Although Fletch, Godber
and their fellow inmates were

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stuck inside the prison walls,
the story of Porridge stretches

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from Newcastle to west London, from
Chelmsford to the Hollywood Hills.

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In this definitive series,

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we get the inside story from the men
who created it.

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Well, the sun's out.
You can say something funny now.

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No, too late.

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Tonight we continue
the story of Porridge.

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We find out why the TV
series had to end.

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It came as a shock to me,
because it was so successful.

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We take a look at the rarely seen
Going Straight,

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that follows Fletch
and Godber on the outside.

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Oi, never mind all that.

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Take your hand off my daughter's
left cheek, please.

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We go behind the scenes
of the Porridge movie.

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I mean, this place
gets on your nerves after a bit.

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And we reveal Gold viewers' choice
for their favourite Porridge moment.

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Oh, sorry, son.

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Set within the prison walls with few
opportunities to write

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wildly comic situations,
Porridge relied heavily on brilliant

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characters rather than
complex plots.

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Come on, Warren. Follow me.

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Where to? Back to your cell.

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I'm going to conduct a thorough
search and if I find anything

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resembling a bicycle pump
in your trousers you're for it.

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Porridge isn't one of those
sitcoms where they say,

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"Oh, this week we're all
putting on a panto in the prison

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"and we've all got to dress up as
women" or whatever.

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That is not...that would be imposing
something that's a funny situation
on it.

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Whereas the situations
are quite real

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and the jokes come
out of characters.

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All of their writing doesn't
feel like joke, joke, joke.

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It feels like characters talking.

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Perhaps he's a celebrity.

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He might be
a rock star on a drug bust.

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Perhaps he's gone up for a...
for a press conference, like?

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No. He's not a rock star.

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He was short and bald
and flatfooted.

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Oh. Could be Elton John?

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They're writing like Dickens.

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They're writing true
characters which were

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found on the streets or recognisable
and putting them on television.

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And that's just fabulous.

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The plots are um...are usually
quite gentle.

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And you know, particularly within

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the situation of the prison
you know, the very mundane things

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become the kind of main thrust of,
you know, of the plot.

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I don't know quite how to put
this, gentlemen

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but there is a thief among us.

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Someone has crept into my cell

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and lifted a two-pound
tin of pineapple chunks.

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Pineapple chunks!

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We asked Dick Clement
and Ian La Frenais to choose their

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favourite moment that sums up the
simplistic plot lines of Porridge.

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'On Saturday afternoon when you were
all watching the football match,'

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Mr Malone and me were
detailed by Mr MacKay to do an RSC.

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A what?

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A random security check.

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'A despicable infringement
of civil liberties.'

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Yes, well, the practice is
justified, Fletcher,

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when one finds stolen
tins of pineapple chunks.

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It's great to see
Fletcher on the back foot.

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Really on the back
foot at the beginning of the ep.

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It's a rare moment to see Fletcher
that discombobulated.

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If I had reported that find,
Fletcher,

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you would have lost this job,
you would have had

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loss of privileges and very likely
solitary confinement.

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What can I say, Mr Barraclough?

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You can promise me to keep
your nose clean.

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Fletcher shoots this look, meaning,
"I dodged a bullet.
Got away with that one".

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I love the dynamic of it.

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The morality of the right or
the wrong twists completely.

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Fletcher's very much in the wrong

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and Barraclough wants to take
advantage of that.

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What is happening to this prison?

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There's a strong criminal
element in here, sir.

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And then it's that lovely moment

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when he suddenly sees that he can
turn the whole situation to

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his advantage and that's what again
gives the scene a lovely shape.

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Now, by the way,
the tin of pineapple,

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did you manage to return
it to the food store, sir?

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Not exactly, no. See I...

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Well, I took it home and the wife
did a gammon steak Hawaii.

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'Oh, very nice.
Oh, gammon steak Hawaii, very nice.'

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Oh. So it's been consumed, has it?

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Well, I didn't intend to, you see,
but the wife found it

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and insisted that we ate it.

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There was very little
I could do about it.

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Yeah, only eat it. Under protest.

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Under protest and on top of gammon.
Yeah, very nice.

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We were really immensely pleased
that we'd actually made

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a really compelling
story about a can of pineapples.

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And it's beautifully, beautifully
played by the two of them.

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It's just immaculate.

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I would suggest that we purchase
another tin of pineapple

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and put it back in the food store.

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We? What, is that the royal "we"
you mean?

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I can't just go trolling down to the
village store at will, you know.

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I'm aware of that, Fletcher.
No, I shall get it.

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Ah, well. You pay for it.

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Coming up - we head to LA to
discover the US version of Porridge

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that has rarely been
broadcast in the UK before.

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We never found a Ronnie Barker.

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See those flasks?
I want you to fill one for me.

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From here?

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And find out
if Norman Stanley Fletcher

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could cut it in the outside world.

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Must be your first legitimate
job in...how long is it?

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Ever.

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and Ian La Frenais, have been
based in Los Angeles since 1975.

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With two series of Porridge reaching
audiences

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of up to 17 million viewers in the
UK, they were hot property.

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It's very seductive to be in a place
where you see snow-capped

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mountains and you can ski within two
hours and within 45 minutes...

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Not that I ever have.

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No and 45 minutes from our houses
we can surf.

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Not that we've done that either.

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No, haven't done that either
but it's nice to know you can.

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Yeah, and an hour's drive,
there's a big hang gliding centre.
We don't intend to do that.

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No, no, it's a bit late for that.

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Back in the mid-seventies,

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the young writers grabbed
at the chance to pen a pilot for

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US network ABC and they sought all
the usual Hollywood-style trappings.

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When I first came here,

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like a lot of Brits, I bought
an enormous American car.

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When we went to London once,

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you parked that bloody thing in the
car park of our office in Hollywood.

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And... I did.
And a homeless person moved into it.

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The pilot was a version of Porridge,
renamed On The Rocks.

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Rarely seen in the UK, it's barely
recognisable with its jaunty

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theme tune and a brand-new Fletcher.

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I'm only here due to tragic
circumstances.

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What happened?

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I got caught.

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We were quite
uncomfortable in some ways,

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because we never found
a Ronnie Barker.

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And various people were considered
and we ended up with a guy

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who was a Puerto Rican actor
called Jose Perez.

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I guess there was some thinking
there somewhere that

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Puerto Rican was
the equivalent of Cockney.

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Wasn't that limp on the other
leg last time?

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It spread, Doc.

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He's like a Puerto Rican guy with
a bit of an attitude and cheeky

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and buck-the-system. And he had
that, I mean he just had that.

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He wasn't naturally a comic actor.

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See those flasks?
I want you to fill one for me.

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00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:32,760
From here?

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But the series was commissioned
and Dick and Ian transplanted

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some of their most successful
Porridge scripts word for word.

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Suffer from any illness?

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Bad feet.

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Paid a recent visit
to a doctor or hospital?

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Only with me bad feet.

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Are you now or have you ever been
a practising homosexual?

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With these feet?

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We were the only people I think to
this day who actually

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adapted our own show.

201
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So that you know,

202
00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:02,640
we had nobody else to blame.

203
00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:04,480
Huh, really?

204
00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,960
Writing a US series was a huge
undertaking.

205
00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:09,400
Writing 25 shows.

206
00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:13,360
The pressure of writing that
is really incredible.

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00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,600
In an American sitcom
there would be 48 writers.

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And each week they'd do another
different episode

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and the words all start to
sound the same.

210
00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:22,440
Everybody does a one-liner.

211
00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:25,040
It saddens me to see you back.

212
00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:29,120
Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not
so thrilled to be here myself.

213
00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:34,200
American sitcoms are just awful.
I've been there, I know.

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00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:36,000
The process is dreadful.

215
00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:42,640
The punishing US sitcom filming
schedule was exhausting.

216
00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,280
Oh, shoot!

217
00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:49,800
Taping the shows was a hard slog.
Two audiences. Retakes, retakes.

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We're used to being in the BBC
club bar at nine after

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00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:53,840
a taping of Porridge.

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And after here we rarely
left before one in the morning.

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Good thing you weren't
carrying any contraband.

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Good thing he didn't look
under my hat.

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00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,840
I think we're the only
people in the history of American

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television who have turned
down a series, a second series.

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00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:12,840
So... But I don't regret it,

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00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:17,000
because I really...I'd got
to the point where it wasn't fun.

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00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:23,440
Still in LA, Dick and Ian turned
their hand to writing the third
series of Porridge

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00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,720
and took it back to more familiar
surroundings and faces.

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Walking into that
rehearsal room in Acton and

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00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:36,760
sitting down with a British cast and
drinking the horrible coffee -

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it was just, it was like
going back to your favourite pub.

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00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,560
It was such a lovely feeling.

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00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:47,000
It was a joy revisiting the original
characters. Couldn't wait.

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00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:49,320
Here, look. What are they?

235
00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,520
Dunno. Could be
amphetamines or bennies.

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00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:54,760
Whose?

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00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:57,120
Benzedrine.
How'd they get in your tea?

238
00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:59,720
Well, they must have
dropped in from above.

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00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:01,160
Oh, bennies from heaven.

240
00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,840
Fletch, Godber and the crew were
arguably on their best-ever comic
form.

241
00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:10,680
Oh!

242
00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:17,000
It was a great relief to be writing
English dialogue again.

243
00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:19,760
The second series was better than
the first series of Porridge.

244
00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:21,960
And I think then the third series -
we were better.

245
00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,080
We felt that our craft was better.

246
00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,600
Not content to rest on their comedy
laurels, Dick and Ian

247
00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:33,480
didn't hesitate to bring new
characters into Slade Prison.

248
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:34,720
All right, you men.

249
00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,840
This is Rawley, who will be sharing
a cell with Fletcher and Godber.

250
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,520
In a terrific twist of sitcom
poetic justice...

251
00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:43,920
God preserve us.

252
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,120
..Fletch found himself sharing a
cell with the very judge

253
00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:48,800
who'd sentenced him.

254
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:51,960
Your streets are full of rich kids
riding bicycles, ain't they -

255
00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:53,520
waving tennis racquets about.

256
00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:57,040
Lovely hand-carved privet hedges
and big tall elm trees.

257
00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:58,840
No problems in your streets,
are there?

258
00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:00,200
Oh, yes, there are.

259
00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:04,120
I had to spend £1,500 last year
on Dutch elm disease.

260
00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,880
Yeah, I bet you went to a private
doctor with it, though, didn't you?

261
00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,120
The third series was to be the last

262
00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:16,280
and although Porridge was still
riding high in the ratings,

263
00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:21,960
the final episode reached our TV
screens on March 25th 1977.

264
00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,600
So me and Barbara...well, you
don't know Barbara -

265
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:26,160
she's my friend at work.

266
00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:30,160
We fancy going to Rimini,
that's on the Adriatic.

267
00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,640
It's either Rimini or Porto Fino,

268
00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:35,240
which is supposed to be rather smart.

269
00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,240
I gathered that Ronnie called
time on the series.

270
00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,560
For him, of course,
it probably was the right decision.

271
00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:44,320
Sad for the rest of us.

272
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,960
It came as a shock to me
because it was so successful

273
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:52,200
and so different from everything and
frankly I was a bit disappointed.

274
00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:56,000
But you know, I understand
Ronnie. He didn't want to be

275
00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,800
thought of as just Fletcher.

276
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:00,920
What was it you told young Lennie?

277
00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:03,800
"If you can't do the time,
don't do the crime."

278
00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,160
How do you know I told Godber that?

279
00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,000
Well, he told me
in one of his letters.

280
00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:12,360
Oh, I see. Ha-ha ha, hello.

281
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,000
We wanted to bring Porridge
to a conclusion

282
00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:23,960
and we thought Godber being released
was the right way to go.

283
00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,440
First thing you do, when you get up
to Birmingham New Street there.

284
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,520
You get off the train and you
go into the nearest bar, you order

285
00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:34,880
yourself a pint of best bitter and
you drink to your old mate, right?

286
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,040
I don't think I'm going to
Birmingham. Oh?

287
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:39,440
Was thinking of going to
Rimini with a friend.

288
00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,240
We thought May,
cos it's less touristy then.

289
00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,000
The series has run for a few
years, it's like, you know, you've

290
00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,280
been in that cell with them and that
relationship's coming to an end.

291
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,480
And they're going to miss each other.

292
00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:57,840
Chocolate?

293
00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:00,560
Fruit and nut.

294
00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:07,080
Plain.

295
00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,040
Plain chocolate.

296
00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,680
It was important to show that it...
that Fletcher was affected by it.

297
00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:22,000
That was an extra dimension that we
weren't afraid of playing.

298
00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,600
So yes, there was
a lot of sentiment in the last one.

299
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:26,920
I'd have never made the distance
without you, Fletch.

300
00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,640
Look, don't make me
out to be no hero, son.

301
00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,440
I wasn't. Father figure, maybe.

302
00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,280
Well, I ain't been no great
shakes as a dad.

303
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,560
Been no great
shakes at anything, really.

304
00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:41,360
Well, you have to me, Fletch.

305
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,720
But you can count on me.
I'm not coming back.

306
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,120
It's what we all say, innit -
but you better mean it, Godber.

307
00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,240
Cos you've got your whole life
in front of you, you know.

308
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,680
There were some laughs as well
but it is quite a poignant episode.

309
00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,480
It's always sad
when a source of income finishes.

310
00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,200
But Porridge didn't quite end there.

311
00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,400
This was not to be the last of
Godber and Fletch on our
televisions.

312
00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,480
Going Straight was
Porridge on the outside.

313
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,600
Rarely repeated on TV, the six-part
series explored how Fletch

314
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:25,480
and Godber moved on with their lives
to varying levels of success.

315
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,040
We always tried to keep a touchstone
with reality, particularly

316
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:33,000
for a middle-aged prisoner,
to come into the outside world.

317
00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,120
What was the episode title?
Fingers on buzzers. Come on.

318
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,400
Going To Be All Right?
No, that was the later one.

319
00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:48,960
Going Home, thank you.

320
00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:52,920
We must have racked our brains
for weeks over that title.

321
00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:54,640
Going Home?

322
00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,240
Oi! Never mind all that.

323
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,400
Take your hand off my daughter's
left cheek, please.

324
00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:06,920
We had Godber, we had Patricia Brake
and we had Nicholas Lyndhurst

325
00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,480
playing his son, which...who was
very funny, actually. Terrific.

326
00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,720
What time is it? Ten to.

327
00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:16,680
I'm late, then.

328
00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,000
I think the character
of Fletcher is not

329
00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:24,680
quite as smooth in Going Straight.

330
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:29,720
He has... He's not quite as in
command as he is in Porridge.

331
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,840
A long time ago,
I put aside a little nest egg.

332
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,280
You mean like post office savings,
building society,

333
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:37,520
something like that?

334
00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,320
No, no, not exactly like that, no.

335
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,160
Uh...my particular nest egg is,

336
00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,320
well, it's buried in a turnip
field in Essex.

337
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,280
Well, wouldn't it have been
safer in a bank?

338
00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,920
No. It was a bank it come out of.

339
00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:56,720
On the outside,
he's a small-time petty crook.

340
00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,000
It's all he knows, really.

341
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,800
He doesn't have a trade,
doesn't quite know how to get by.

342
00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:02,680
Godber, of course, is
getting on with it.

343
00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:07,000
He's got a job, he's got his lorry
and he's got a relationship with me.

344
00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,160
So yes, they become
the kind of parents in the house

345
00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,840
and that must have been quite hard.

346
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,760
Keeping in mind the reality of life
after prison, Dick and Ian waited

347
00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:23,320
until episode four before Fletch
finally got a job as a hotel
night-watchman.

348
00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,680
Must be your first legitimate
job in...how long is it?

349
00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:27,720
Ever.

350
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,520
There is Fletcher learning
the ropes from Godber,

351
00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,800
who has got a job
and is established.

352
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,040
There is a role reversal there.
I'm not taken in, you know. What?

353
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,760
All this, storming out the house
in your carpet slippers cos

354
00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,560
Ingrid upset you. The real reason is
cos you've lost your nerve.

355
00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,280
Just a minute... The first honest
job you've ever had and you just
can't face it.

356
00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:51,320
But it didn't take long for Fletch
to get into his stride.

357
00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:53,840
If you want a room here, you've got
to put cash on the nail.

358
00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:55,400
Oh, come on, Fletch, you know me.

359
00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,280
Yeah, exactly.
That's why I want cash on the nail.

360
00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,920
Earning very little and with
an expensive wedding on the cards,

361
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,560
Fletch was tempted back into crime
on the very day of Godber

362
00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,560
and Ingrid's nuptials.

363
00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:11,480
There's that wonderful moment, isn't
there, when towards the end,

364
00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,920
when he's doing it and he's in a pet
shop and he looks at caged birds.

365
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,120
'You hear the slam of the doors.'

366
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:28,680
'You think, "I'm going back there
if I do this" and he doesn't do it.'

367
00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:29,800
Can I help you, sir?

368
00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:33,000
Mmm?

369
00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:35,960
Can I help you, sir?

370
00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,160
Oh, no, no. Only I can do that.

371
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:45,680
Despite strong ratings and reprising
Fletch and Godber, Going Straight

372
00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:49,520
didn't seem to have the
impact of its predecessor.

373
00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,160
Writing Going Straight,
you knew that the audience

374
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,560
and the critics would prefer him
inside.

375
00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:57,920
People just said, "Yeah,
not quite there."

376
00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,920
But it still got nominated,
didn't it, for a BAFTA. Yeah.

377
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:03,320
People tend to forget
how many figures,

378
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,880
how many people actually watched
Going Straight.

379
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:07,760
I mean, it was still a hit.

380
00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:09,480
Sitcoms are sometimes through luck,

381
00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,120
sometimes through judgment
based on a brilliantly fine

382
00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:15,080
balance of how these characters
relate to each other.

383
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,400
And the moment you change that,
in a lot of sitcoms it changes

384
00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,000
the dynamic and I think
Going Straight, while funny,

385
00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:23,240
doesn't have the magic of Porridge.

386
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,520
So it's like the second
Stone Roses album.

387
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:28,720
They had an impossible job -
you can't follow this up.

388
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,640
Hey, what you going to do with that
bird? Seeing as you left the house,

389
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:36,360
I'm going to ask her back to my
place. No, no, no... Oh, I see...

390
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:41,240
Coming up - Fletch and Godber are on
the big screen and back inside.

391
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,280
This place gets on your nerves
after a bit.

392
00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,920
It was the toughest film
I got to make.

393
00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,800
And we see their final scenes
together.

394
00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:51,880
Where are we? Who is it?

395
00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:56,120
Don't worry, Len.
Our ordeal is over.

396
00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:00,280
Yeah, it was quite an unusual
position, I suppose, in 1979, being

397
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:04,120
somebody who had lost a parent, but
had this kind of massive archive.

398
00:22:18,510 --> 00:22:21,830
Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais had
been writing successful comedies

399
00:22:21,990 --> 00:22:26,630
together for ten years
when they created Porridge in 1974.

400
00:22:28,710 --> 00:22:30,350
Here, here, here, here, here.

401
00:22:31,430 --> 00:22:32,870
He does bird impressions.

402
00:22:34,590 --> 00:22:39,390
With three hugely successful TV
series, On The Rocks, stateside,

403
00:22:39,550 --> 00:22:41,030
and the spin-off of Going
Straight...

404
00:22:41,150 --> 00:22:42,430
Where you been? Work.

405
00:22:42,550 --> 00:22:43,710
Work? Pull the other one.

406
00:22:43,830 --> 00:22:45,790
I heard you haven't got another one.

407
00:22:47,590 --> 00:22:52,110
..Porridge was an integral
part of our comedy heritage.

408
00:22:52,270 --> 00:22:56,270
The only front left unconquered was
the big screen and in 1979,

409
00:22:56,390 --> 00:22:58,590
Porridge became a movie.

410
00:22:58,750 --> 00:23:02,030
Jab, jab.
It's the big one next week, sir.

411
00:23:05,630 --> 00:23:07,070
Who was that?

412
00:23:07,190 --> 00:23:09,030
Couple of escaped convicts.

413
00:23:09,150 --> 00:23:10,190
Oh.

414
00:23:12,230 --> 00:23:14,190
To make the leap to the big screen

415
00:23:14,350 --> 00:23:18,750
and to give it a more edgy feel than
the TV series, Dick and Ian wanted

416
00:23:18,910 --> 00:23:23,030
an authentic location and a prison
was found that ticked all the boxes.

417
00:23:25,750 --> 00:23:28,870
We sent a huge fan to
Chelmsford in Essex

418
00:23:29,030 --> 00:23:31,270
to see for himself
where the film was made.

419
00:23:32,870 --> 00:23:35,710
He has a very personal
connection with Porridge.

420
00:23:35,870 --> 00:23:39,470
He's the only other actor
who has ever played Fletch,

421
00:23:39,590 --> 00:23:42,070
taking the role onto the stage.

422
00:23:42,230 --> 00:23:45,110
Unsurprisingly, it's very difficult
to get permission to film inside

423
00:23:45,270 --> 00:23:49,270
a prison, but back in 1979 the film
had two things going for it.

424
00:23:49,430 --> 00:23:52,910
One, the assistant governor was
a massive fan of the series, and

425
00:23:53,070 --> 00:23:57,750
two, the building was empty due to
some very unforeseen circumstances.

426
00:23:57,910 --> 00:24:00,990
Chelmsford Jail in Essex had
recently hit the headlines

427
00:24:01,150 --> 00:24:04,030
when it burnt
down in a terrifying fire.

428
00:24:04,190 --> 00:24:08,790
Prison staff managed to rescue
all 217 prisoners.

429
00:24:08,950 --> 00:24:12,350
Now housing inmates again rather
than a film crew,

430
00:24:12,510 --> 00:24:14,910
two of Chelmsford's prison
officers have become

431
00:24:15,030 --> 00:24:17,830
custodians of the jail's history.

432
00:24:17,990 --> 00:24:21,270
March 1978,
the fire started in the chapel.

433
00:24:21,430 --> 00:24:24,110
There was some speculation that it
might have been foul play.

434
00:24:24,270 --> 00:24:26,990
Foul play, yeah. Disgruntled
prisoner. Disgruntled prisoners.

435
00:24:27,150 --> 00:24:30,070
But more likely it was a heating
pipe that was too close to the wood.

436
00:24:30,230 --> 00:24:33,070
It was also good to say that the
er...the prisoner officers,

437
00:24:33,230 --> 00:24:35,150
there was no-one killed.
No-one at all?

438
00:24:35,310 --> 00:24:37,870
Officers and prisoners were
classed as heroes.

439
00:24:38,070 --> 00:24:42,750
And here we have some of the
devastation that you can see
afterwards.

440
00:24:42,910 --> 00:24:45,070
Looks like the Blitz, doesn't it?
Amazing, yeah.

441
00:24:45,230 --> 00:24:48,910
And it's amazing to think that they
managed to rebuild it. Yeah.

442
00:24:49,070 --> 00:24:51,990
Prison officers were
used as extras on the movie,

443
00:24:52,150 --> 00:24:54,830
bringing them
into close contact with the stars.

444
00:24:54,950 --> 00:24:56,550
Now that is a great picture.

445
00:24:56,710 --> 00:25:00,150
There is Ronnie Barker
himself as Fletch, serving

446
00:25:00,310 --> 00:25:05,390
porridge in Porridge the movie, to
a large amount of prison officers,

447
00:25:05,510 --> 00:25:07,750
one of who is Fulton MacKay

448
00:25:07,910 --> 00:25:10,470
and you can see Brian Wilde
there at the back as Mr Barraclough,

449
00:25:10,630 --> 00:25:14,110
but the rest to me
look like genuine prison officers.

450
00:25:14,270 --> 00:25:16,550
The warders enjoyed
the experience and...

451
00:25:16,710 --> 00:25:19,110
Absolutely.
They still talk about it today.

452
00:25:24,270 --> 00:25:27,990
Being such a massive fan of the
Porridge series and the film, it's

453
00:25:28,190 --> 00:25:32,110
incredible to come to places like
this is where it was actually
filmed.

454
00:25:32,270 --> 00:25:35,470
You really get that sense that these
comedy greats were actually here,

455
00:25:35,590 --> 00:25:37,030
making history.

456
00:25:37,190 --> 00:25:40,710
It was a massive thing, Porridge.
It was a national institution.

457
00:25:40,870 --> 00:25:44,510
With the location secured,
the cast and crew were assembled

458
00:25:44,670 --> 00:25:46,830
and Porridge the movie
sprung into life.

459
00:25:50,910 --> 00:25:54,910
The film was set in the year
before the TV series finished, with

460
00:25:55,070 --> 00:25:59,030
Fletch and Godber still inside, but
nearing the end of their sentences.

461
00:26:00,150 --> 00:26:02,430
The movie stands in its own right

462
00:26:02,590 --> 00:26:05,070
as an hour and a half of Porridge
that we've never seen before.

463
00:26:05,230 --> 00:26:08,830
We haven't used any material again.
It's all completely new plot.

464
00:26:12,590 --> 00:26:15,270
Dick and Ian wrote the script,
Ian produced

465
00:26:15,430 --> 00:26:19,910
and Dick directed in what was
left of Chelmsford Prison.

466
00:26:20,030 --> 00:26:21,630
I'm the first one here today.

467
00:26:21,790 --> 00:26:23,910
7.30,
I was here before the cleaners.

468
00:26:24,070 --> 00:26:28,390
A film's the big screen, so you need
that real texture in production.

469
00:26:28,510 --> 00:26:29,470
You need a real prison.

470
00:26:29,630 --> 00:26:32,310
You can't... You can't do it
with sets.

471
00:26:32,470 --> 00:26:35,590
And so...it was really tough for
Dick.

472
00:26:35,750 --> 00:26:38,550
It reminded us all the time
of the reality of prison.

473
00:26:38,710 --> 00:26:41,230
I mean, so it was wonderful
to have the real thing,

474
00:26:41,390 --> 00:26:45,510
but you know, you did feel those
walls closing in around you.

475
00:26:45,670 --> 00:26:47,710
This place gets on your nerves
after a bit.

476
00:26:47,830 --> 00:26:49,270
First day, it was quite exciting.

477
00:26:49,430 --> 00:26:51,510
Never been in a prison before
and had a look around

478
00:26:51,630 --> 00:26:53,150
but it does get at you.

479
00:26:53,270 --> 00:26:55,510
All this lot, barbed wire and stuff.

480
00:26:55,670 --> 00:26:59,790
To go in in the morning, at eight
o'clock in the morning and have that

481
00:26:59,910 --> 00:27:02,870
clang behind you and be searched

482
00:27:04,390 --> 00:27:06,590
and work there all day
and then go out.

483
00:27:06,750 --> 00:27:09,590
It was quite a relief to get
out in the fresh air again.

484
00:27:09,750 --> 00:27:12,990
You really got the feel of what it
was like to be in prison,

485
00:27:13,150 --> 00:27:15,630
cos I've never actually
been in prison, strangely enough.

486
00:27:18,550 --> 00:27:22,710
In the dead of winter and with
a very low budget of £250,000,

487
00:27:22,830 --> 00:27:25,030
the schedule was punishing.

488
00:27:26,510 --> 00:27:29,190
I shot 13 days straight.

489
00:27:29,350 --> 00:27:32,150
Right through one weekend
and into another.

490
00:27:32,270 --> 00:27:33,310
It was pretty gruelling.

491
00:27:33,470 --> 00:27:37,830
It was probably the toughest film
I got to make in that respect.

492
00:27:37,990 --> 00:27:39,750
We'll just try it on this
first rehearsal,

493
00:27:39,950 --> 00:27:43,230
but I'd like you to sort of get
past him, you know.
Yeah, get past him.

494
00:27:43,390 --> 00:27:46,070
We're on the move and I stop for a
moment and take a letter.

495
00:27:46,270 --> 00:27:50,270
And I think you'll have to duck into
the cell that's nearest to the
camera.

496
00:27:50,390 --> 00:27:52,950
37 take one.

497
00:27:53,070 --> 00:27:54,230
Ooh, Fletch. I'm late.

498
00:27:54,390 --> 00:27:57,230
I've got a letter from the wife.
Can you read it for me?

499
00:27:57,390 --> 00:28:00,270
Look, if you can't read, Warren,
how'd you know it's from the wife?

500
00:28:00,390 --> 00:28:02,510
It's got Elaine's scent.

501
00:28:02,630 --> 00:28:04,670
Oh, dear. Where does Elaine work?

502
00:28:04,790 --> 00:28:06,990
A tarpaulin factory? It was cold.

503
00:28:07,150 --> 00:28:11,070
It was so hard to be
funny in that weather.

504
00:28:11,190 --> 00:28:12,350
In that place.

505
00:28:12,470 --> 00:28:14,390
Somehow we managed it.

506
00:28:14,510 --> 00:28:16,030
She's retiled the lav.

507
00:28:16,150 --> 00:28:19,750
The canary's got haemorrhoids.

508
00:28:19,870 --> 00:28:21,870
She met a welder at the Fiesta Club

509
00:28:22,070 --> 00:28:26,670
and she's thinking of moving in with
him. All right? Must be off.
Can't hang about.

510
00:28:28,550 --> 00:28:29,870
We haven't got a canary.

511
00:28:32,270 --> 00:28:34,590
Alongside the Porridge regulars,

512
00:28:34,750 --> 00:28:37,750
Dick and Ian introduced characters
unique to the film.

513
00:28:40,270 --> 00:28:42,310
My character was called Rudge.

514
00:28:42,470 --> 00:28:45,230
I was a young 19-year-old convict
going into prison

515
00:28:45,390 --> 00:28:48,230
for the first time
and very frightened, obviously.

516
00:28:48,350 --> 00:28:49,790
Who was that fella on the landing?

517
00:28:49,910 --> 00:28:51,270
Who, him? Harry Grout.

518
00:28:51,430 --> 00:28:53,870
He runs this nick.
Thought that was the governor's job.

519
00:28:53,990 --> 00:28:57,270
No, only officially, sonny.

520
00:28:57,390 --> 00:28:58,590
Cut!

521
00:28:58,750 --> 00:29:03,630
I was I think 19 - 18 or 19
at the time and I was genuinely very

522
00:29:03,790 --> 00:29:07,550
frightened to be there because here
were some of my heroes -

523
00:29:07,710 --> 00:29:10,150
in particular Ronnie Barker
and Richard Beckinsale

524
00:29:10,310 --> 00:29:13,470
and the character of Fletcher
and the character of Godber

525
00:29:13,630 --> 00:29:16,590
take my character under their wing
and look after him and they're

526
00:29:16,790 --> 00:29:20,390
nice to him and help him through
those awkward few weeks,
if you like.

527
00:29:20,550 --> 00:29:22,230
And Ronnie Barker
and Richard Beckinsale,

528
00:29:22,390 --> 00:29:25,270
the actors did the same with me
personally.

529
00:29:25,430 --> 00:29:27,390
So I thought that was very
sweet of them.

530
00:29:27,510 --> 00:29:29,870
Shovel it. Shovel what? Shovel that.

531
00:29:29,990 --> 00:29:32,830
Shovel it where? From here to there.

532
00:29:32,950 --> 00:29:34,630
Afternoon Mr MacKay, Mr Beale.

533
00:29:35,710 --> 00:29:36,910
How'd you know my name?

534
00:29:37,070 --> 00:29:38,670
Oh, gets around, sir.
Doesn't take long.

535
00:29:38,830 --> 00:29:40,870
I expect you're already
a legend on some bog walls.

536
00:29:41,030 --> 00:29:44,870
A new prison warder was always
a treat for Fletch and the gang.

537
00:29:44,990 --> 00:29:47,310
What you in for? Got caught.

538
00:29:47,470 --> 00:29:51,270
'He'd have loved to have been
Fulton MacKay, you know,'

539
00:29:51,390 --> 00:29:53,990
trying to look hard and look good.

540
00:29:54,150 --> 00:29:56,750
And he didn't look hard
and he didn't look good.

541
00:29:56,910 --> 00:29:59,190
He looked like a complete
beanpole geek.

542
00:30:10,310 --> 00:30:16,110
It was a group ensemble of very,
very good character actors.

543
00:30:16,270 --> 00:30:18,510
So there was no competition
whatsoever.

544
00:30:18,670 --> 00:30:21,070
I mean, everyone just enjoyed
having a good time.

545
00:30:21,190 --> 00:30:22,950
Bill Oakes.

546
00:30:24,270 --> 00:30:26,110
I know your form, Oaksey.

547
00:30:26,270 --> 00:30:30,030
The movie gave Dick and Ian a
chance to write a more complex plot,

548
00:30:30,190 --> 00:30:33,870
with one new prisoner determined not
to stay in jail for long.

549
00:30:35,070 --> 00:30:37,750
I hope the money's safely
tucked away.

550
00:30:37,870 --> 00:30:39,990
Someone's been investing it for me.

551
00:30:40,110 --> 00:30:42,070
Oh, safe as prefabs then.

552
00:30:42,190 --> 00:30:43,350
That's why I want out.

553
00:30:44,750 --> 00:30:47,830
I wish to unfreeze my assets
and take off to the sun.

554
00:30:47,950 --> 00:30:49,350
Well, Oakes is a villain.

555
00:30:49,510 --> 00:30:53,310
I mean a real villain,
who wants...who gets in prison

556
00:30:53,470 --> 00:30:58,750
and of course, goes to Grouty and
Grouty organises the football match.

557
00:30:58,910 --> 00:31:01,990
The game was a diversion,
to distract the staff

558
00:31:02,150 --> 00:31:05,710
while Oakes broke out of jail
on the away team's coach.

559
00:31:05,870 --> 00:31:08,390
Is there a garage nearby?
I've got to top the bus up, you see.

560
00:31:08,550 --> 00:31:10,430
The lads won't want to
stop on the way back.

561
00:31:10,590 --> 00:31:12,310
Half a mile down the road,
in the village.

562
00:31:12,470 --> 00:31:14,790
Therefore it's the great
escape on the bus.

563
00:31:19,190 --> 00:31:22,870
Fletch and Godber soon found
themselves inadvertently on the run.

564
00:31:23,030 --> 00:31:24,910
I'll get some water,
bathe your face.

565
00:31:25,030 --> 00:31:27,310
No, you won't, Fletcher.

566
00:31:27,470 --> 00:31:30,230
Oh, my God. Look, we haven't seen
nothing, have we, Len?

567
00:31:30,430 --> 00:31:33,510
Seen what? It's your caper, son.
I don't want nothing to do with
this, right?

568
00:31:33,670 --> 00:31:35,550
You'll have to take them with you.
You what?

569
00:31:35,750 --> 00:31:38,630
Well, you've got no choice,
have you? Otherwise I'll be in it
and all.

570
00:31:38,790 --> 00:31:41,150
Now listen, Oaksey, I'm not going
anywhere, mate.

571
00:31:41,270 --> 00:31:42,990
You'll do as you're told, son.

572
00:31:43,150 --> 00:31:46,870
Having accidentally escaped,
Fletch and Godber moved heaven

573
00:31:46,990 --> 00:31:49,230
and earth to break back into jail.

574
00:31:49,350 --> 00:31:50,270
What is it?

575
00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:53,590
Cops.

576
00:31:53,710 --> 00:31:55,990
Copse? You mean like a wooded glade?

577
00:31:56,150 --> 00:31:58,390
Yeah, a wooden glade crawling
with bleeding cops.

578
00:31:58,550 --> 00:32:00,790
The idea that you have to break
back into a prison

579
00:32:00,950 --> 00:32:04,110
is one of the best
ideas for anything ever.

580
00:32:04,270 --> 00:32:06,910
Sorry, but the day you come up with
that plotline you should give

581
00:32:07,030 --> 00:32:08,510
yourself the week off.

582
00:32:08,670 --> 00:32:11,150
In a perfect Porridge plot,
they managed to sneak back

583
00:32:11,310 --> 00:32:15,790
into prison via the officers' club,
down the beer delivery hatch.

584
00:32:15,910 --> 00:32:18,950
Gimme the keys, lad. HELP!

585
00:32:20,910 --> 00:32:23,150
Oh, thank God, Mr MacKay.
Saved at last.

586
00:32:24,310 --> 00:32:25,870
Where are we? Who is it?

587
00:32:26,030 --> 00:32:29,310
Don't worry, Len,
our ordeal is over.

588
00:32:30,710 --> 00:32:33,030
I thought it was a very
successful film.

589
00:32:33,190 --> 00:32:36,750
I don't really think you can
compare film and television

590
00:32:36,910 --> 00:32:40,270
and say one is better than
the other. They're different.

591
00:32:40,430 --> 00:32:44,150
This was to be the final time Fletch
and Godber appeared onscreen.

592
00:32:49,950 --> 00:32:54,030
I got the terrible news literally
halfway through editing that

593
00:32:54,190 --> 00:32:57,110
Richard Beckinsale had died,
which was just absolutely

594
00:32:57,270 --> 00:32:59,590
a bolt from the blue
and we were knocked for six.

595
00:32:59,750 --> 00:33:05,630
Just staggering. I mean, we were all
completely sideswiped by that.

596
00:33:05,790 --> 00:33:09,550
Still am. That's the trouble with
thinking about the Porridge movie,

597
00:33:09,710 --> 00:33:13,670
cos you can't disassociate
it from Richard's death.

598
00:33:15,390 --> 00:33:19,870
The phone rang and it was
a newspaper and they told me.

599
00:33:19,990 --> 00:33:22,710
And it was the most terrible shock.

600
00:33:22,870 --> 00:33:26,670
I mean, I can remember the feeling.
Even today.

601
00:33:26,830 --> 00:33:31,190
He was so young
and he had a lovely wife and child

602
00:33:31,350 --> 00:33:35,630
and a whole career, a wonderful
career ahead of him, I think.

603
00:33:36,950 --> 00:33:39,910
Richard was married to
actress Judy Lowe.

604
00:33:40,070 --> 00:33:43,070
Their daughter Kate was only
five years old.

605
00:33:43,190 --> 00:33:44,990
The day before Richard's death,

606
00:33:45,150 --> 00:33:48,910
Judy was in hospital
recovering from a major operation.

607
00:33:49,070 --> 00:33:52,870
Last time I saw him, when he came
into the hospital with Kate

608
00:33:53,030 --> 00:33:56,910
and he was feeling really tired
and sort of sat on the bed with me

609
00:33:57,110 --> 00:34:02,470
and he said, "Oh, I think you know,
I think I'm more tired than you
are."

610
00:34:02,630 --> 00:34:06,870
And I remember just
sort of watching him go.

611
00:34:08,070 --> 00:34:12,670
And the winner is
Sydney Lotterby for Going Straight.

612
00:34:12,790 --> 00:34:14,350
That year, Ronnie Barker

613
00:34:14,510 --> 00:34:19,350
and Sydney Lotterby were both due to
receive prestigious BAFTA awards.

614
00:34:19,510 --> 00:34:23,190
The ceremony took place just three
days after Richard's death.

615
00:34:24,550 --> 00:34:25,950
I was asked. Asked?

616
00:34:26,110 --> 00:34:30,310
I was told that I would have to say
something about Richard.

617
00:34:30,470 --> 00:34:33,990
And I couldn't. I said,
"I can't do it, it's no good."

618
00:34:34,150 --> 00:34:38,150
And Ronnie had to do
it as he received his award

619
00:34:38,310 --> 00:34:41,590
and Ronnie cracked up,
as I know I would, too.

620
00:34:41,710 --> 00:34:42,750
Ladies and gentlemen.

621
00:34:44,790 --> 00:34:50,470
Um...the tragic and untimely death
of my good friend and colleague

622
00:34:50,590 --> 00:34:52,790
Richard Beckinsale three days ago

623
00:34:52,950 --> 00:34:55,270
has robbed me of the joy
of this award.

624
00:34:55,430 --> 00:34:58,070
But the pride in winning it
still remains.

625
00:34:58,230 --> 00:35:00,590
The premiere of the film,
you're going to see it in London

626
00:35:00,750 --> 00:35:04,630
and there's Richard on the screen,
not at the premiere. It's awful.

627
00:35:08,070 --> 00:35:10,910
I was five when he died, so once
I got to sort of six or seven

628
00:35:11,070 --> 00:35:13,190
I did find myself
watching his stuff a lot.

629
00:35:13,350 --> 00:35:16,590
You know, sort of looking
for the person and they're

630
00:35:16,750 --> 00:35:20,390
so tantalisingly almost there
and so kind of lively and real.

631
00:35:20,510 --> 00:35:22,110
It was extremely comforting.

632
00:35:23,430 --> 00:35:28,470
It was a really nice sort of bridge
for me in terms of having lost him.

633
00:35:34,710 --> 00:35:36,630
Good evening, sir.
And what will it be?

634
00:35:36,750 --> 00:35:37,830
The usual.

635
00:35:37,950 --> 00:35:39,750
Oh, care for a drink first? Why not.

636
00:35:41,470 --> 00:35:44,550
Large one, sir?
Mind your own business. Very good.

637
00:35:44,710 --> 00:35:48,270
I do really love going back home
and being proud of the fact that

638
00:35:48,430 --> 00:35:54,790
he managed to become this kind
of beloved, iconic, dear figure.

639
00:35:54,910 --> 00:35:56,630
You know, in a really short time.

640
00:35:56,790 --> 00:36:00,870
That's from me. Bit mundane after
cigars but I knitted them myself.

641
00:36:01,030 --> 00:36:03,710
Ah, did you? Knit them yourself?
Oh, aren't they nice?

642
00:36:03,830 --> 00:36:04,910
Ha, lovely, ain't they? Eh?

643
00:36:05,070 --> 00:36:07,670
I'll have to wear the other one
when I get the bandage off, see,

644
00:36:07,830 --> 00:36:10,390
cos I...Oh, God! They're mittens.
Eh?

645
00:36:17,630 --> 00:36:19,510
Oh, yeah, look at that. Oh, yeah.

646
00:36:22,270 --> 00:36:27,270
Next - we find out why 40 years on,
Porridge is still as loved as ever.

647
00:36:27,390 --> 00:36:28,870
Oh. Oooh!

648
00:36:31,630 --> 00:36:34,070
Porridge is the perfect
British sitcom.

649
00:36:34,230 --> 00:36:37,390
Perfect characters, perfect
situation, perfect writing.

650
00:36:37,550 --> 00:36:40,790
What its writers Dick
and Ian are up to now,

651
00:36:40,950 --> 00:36:43,790
and we reveal your favourite
Porridge moment.

652
00:36:43,910 --> 00:36:45,270
You won't want to miss it.

653
00:36:56,380 --> 00:36:59,060
Well, depends, don't it?
Depends on the breaks, don't it?

654
00:36:59,260 --> 00:37:03,060
Well, did you have any difficulty,
you know, when you got out?
No, no. I never have any trouble.

655
00:37:03,220 --> 00:37:05,580
No testimonials or references
or anything like that, no.

656
00:37:05,740 --> 00:37:08,140
Cos I always go straight, you see.
Straight back into crime.

657
00:37:10,980 --> 00:37:13,380
40 years after
Porridge, Dick Clement

658
00:37:13,540 --> 00:37:16,180
and Ian La Frenais
are as busy as ever.

659
00:37:16,340 --> 00:37:19,100
From writing musicals with
the likes of Dave Stewart...

660
00:37:19,260 --> 00:37:22,700
It's not well-known,
but I tune Dave's guitars,

661
00:37:22,820 --> 00:37:24,060
before any of his gigs.

662
00:37:24,180 --> 00:37:25,660
Do you want me to do this one?

663
00:37:26,780 --> 00:37:30,860
..to scripting for feature films
and developing new ideas for TV.

664
00:37:31,020 --> 00:37:33,060
Here's a shot of me taking
tranquillisers

665
00:37:33,220 --> 00:37:35,260
having worked with Dick
all the morning.

666
00:37:42,020 --> 00:37:45,300
They've taken time out of their busy
schedule to come back to

667
00:37:45,460 --> 00:37:49,540
Newcastle for an Auf Wiedersehen Pet
charity gala called

668
00:37:49,700 --> 00:37:54,140
Sunday For Sammy, which is held to
support creative talent on Tyneside.

669
00:37:54,260 --> 00:37:55,260
One, two, three...

670
00:37:55,380 --> 00:37:56,540
Save that car!

671
00:37:56,740 --> 00:38:00,940
It's a Geordie mafia concert.
We never know who's going to be
here.

672
00:38:01,100 --> 00:38:03,740
Ian and Dick, Ian La Frenais
and Dick Clement always write an

673
00:38:03,900 --> 00:38:08,820
Auf Wiedersehen Pet sketch for the
boys, whichever boys are available.

674
00:38:08,980 --> 00:38:11,700
One of their biggest TV hits
since Porridge,

675
00:38:11,860 --> 00:38:14,460
Dick and Ian set Auf Wiedersehen Pet
in Germany with

676
00:38:14,620 --> 00:38:18,180
a group of Newcastle builders
working on a building site.

677
00:38:18,300 --> 00:38:19,900
It put Geordies on the map.

678
00:38:20,060 --> 00:38:22,540
It's a darts match, right,
it's not the World Cup,

679
00:38:22,660 --> 00:38:24,380
or a replay of World War II.

680
00:38:25,780 --> 00:38:29,020
Dick and Ian's scripts -
it's all there on the page.

681
00:38:29,180 --> 00:38:32,140
All you've got to do is
learn your lines. Nothing else.

682
00:38:32,300 --> 00:38:34,420
Mind you, it might only be
a darts match but us

683
00:38:34,580 --> 00:38:36,900
British have still got to try
and hammer these Germans.

684
00:38:37,060 --> 00:38:39,620
What for? Cos they're the bastards
that bombed me granny.

685
00:38:39,780 --> 00:38:43,380
Your heart started to race when a
script came through the letter box,

686
00:38:43,540 --> 00:38:47,580
cos you knew you were in for an hour
and a half of real fun reading it.

687
00:38:47,700 --> 00:38:49,660
Well, you know what they say.

688
00:38:49,820 --> 00:38:53,220
Pelicans, penguins and Inland
Revenue all got one thing in common.

689
00:38:53,380 --> 00:38:55,940
What's that? They can all shove
their bills up their arse.

690
00:38:58,060 --> 00:38:59,700
Despite all their successes,

691
00:38:59,860 --> 00:39:02,940
Dick and Ian's passion for writing
has never diminished.

692
00:39:03,060 --> 00:39:04,540
Do you think we should cut all that?

693
00:39:04,700 --> 00:39:07,220
They still, even now,
get up at the crack of sparrows

694
00:39:07,340 --> 00:39:09,500
and Ian goes over to Dick's house.

695
00:39:09,700 --> 00:39:13,700
If you can't get Ian on the phone,
he'll be at Dick's from eight
o'clock on the morning.

696
00:39:13,860 --> 00:39:16,660
They work like crazy.
They're tremendously disciplined.

697
00:39:16,820 --> 00:39:21,540
It has worked for so long that
I just assume they've got this

698
00:39:21,700 --> 00:39:24,540
formula
and nobody should mess with it.

699
00:39:24,660 --> 00:39:25,940
Is this man sick?

700
00:39:26,060 --> 00:39:27,860
You sick, Fletcher?

701
00:39:27,980 --> 00:39:29,780
I'm sick of bleedin' interruptions.

702
00:39:29,940 --> 00:39:33,860
40 years on, Porridge is still
viewed as one of the

703
00:39:33,980 --> 00:39:35,500
greatest-ever British sitcoms.

704
00:39:35,660 --> 00:39:39,220
And it's as loved today as it was
back in the 1970s.

705
00:39:39,340 --> 00:39:41,340
I am in charge here.

706
00:39:45,620 --> 00:39:49,620
And now we've had our say and looked
at Porridge inside and out,

707
00:39:49,740 --> 00:39:50,660
it's your turn.

708
00:39:55,140 --> 00:39:59,020
We asked Gold viewers to choose
their favourite-ever Porridge
moment.

709
00:40:01,020 --> 00:40:03,740
And over the last few months,
your votes have been

710
00:40:03,860 --> 00:40:04,900
coming in thick and fast.

711
00:40:05,020 --> 00:40:06,340
What have you men got there?

712
00:40:06,460 --> 00:40:07,940
Balls, Mr MacKay.

713
00:40:08,100 --> 00:40:11,220
With so many brilliant
and classic comedy moments...

714
00:40:11,380 --> 00:40:14,900
Wait for it, wait for it, two,
three, knickers down!

715
00:40:15,060 --> 00:40:18,460
..choosing your Porridge
favourite was really tough.

716
00:40:18,660 --> 00:40:22,900
You see those flasks over there -
I want you to fill one for me.
What, from here?

717
00:40:23,060 --> 00:40:25,300
I sometimes wish
I was in here with you lot.

718
00:40:27,940 --> 00:40:30,380
And now,
the moment you've been waiting for.

719
00:40:31,940 --> 00:40:34,700
We can reveal your favourite
Porridge scene

720
00:40:34,860 --> 00:40:38,700
came in the 1975 Christmas Special,
No Way Out.

721
00:40:40,660 --> 00:40:43,300
First here's the plot.
It's Christmas.

722
00:40:44,500 --> 00:40:47,540
Look, Mr MacKay, I'm only trying to
explain my position.

723
00:40:49,220 --> 00:40:54,060
And a botched escape plan allows
a hospitalised Fletch

724
00:40:54,180 --> 00:40:56,100
to get one over on MacKay.

725
00:40:56,260 --> 00:41:00,460
So here it is - your favourite
Porridge moment.

726
00:41:00,620 --> 00:41:02,940
I just want to know how
they disposed of the soil.

727
00:41:03,060 --> 00:41:03,980
I can't help you.

728
00:41:12,020 --> 00:41:13,580
Scotland's finest.

729
00:41:13,740 --> 00:41:15,980
With a couple of nips
out of it, I see.

730
00:41:17,100 --> 00:41:18,740
Well, still a rare treat.

731
00:41:18,860 --> 00:41:20,020
Bribes, is it?

732
00:41:20,140 --> 00:41:21,180
Christmas present.

733
00:41:24,060 --> 00:41:26,100
LAUGHTER

734
00:41:26,260 --> 00:41:28,700
Come along, Fletcher.
Just between you and me.

735
00:41:30,460 --> 00:41:31,500
Is that door closed?

736
00:41:31,620 --> 00:41:33,580
Oh, yes and there's no-one outside.

737
00:41:34,860 --> 00:41:36,060
Christmas present?

738
00:41:36,180 --> 00:41:37,220
Christmas present.

739
00:41:41,140 --> 00:41:46,500
You want to know how they disposed
of the soil? Simple as that. I'll
tell you. I thought you might.

740
00:41:46,660 --> 00:41:48,780
They dug another tunnel
and put the earth down there.

741
00:41:48,900 --> 00:41:50,580
LAUGHTER

742
00:41:58,540 --> 00:41:59,500
You awake, Fletch?

743
00:42:01,540 --> 00:42:03,020
No.

744
00:42:03,180 --> 00:42:05,820
Now we really know
everything about Porridge,

745
00:42:05,980 --> 00:42:08,980
courtesy of Dick Clement
and Ian La Frenais.

746
00:42:09,140 --> 00:42:13,780
For me, it's funnier now than ever
and it's as good as comedy gets.

747
00:42:13,980 --> 00:42:17,100
We're very proud of Porridge.
We knew we'd written something
really good,

748
00:42:17,260 --> 00:42:21,020
but it's the public reaction
that told us.

749
00:42:21,220 --> 00:42:26,140
And now, 40 years later, it's STILL
the public reaction that
keeps telling you.

750
00:42:26,300 --> 00:42:30,420
You know, we must have done
something really special there.

751
00:42:30,540 --> 00:42:31,900
Well...

752
00:42:33,500 --> 00:42:35,780
It still feels completely modern.

753
00:42:35,940 --> 00:42:41,380
The writing, the acting
and the situation just hasn't dated.

754
00:42:41,500 --> 00:42:42,420
Anybody we know?

755
00:42:43,900 --> 00:42:47,580
Porridge is just sort of completely
endearing in almost every way.

756
00:42:47,740 --> 00:42:51,700
And it's always going to be
incredibly relevant to me

757
00:42:51,820 --> 00:42:54,300
and it is endlessly consoling

758
00:42:54,420 --> 00:42:57,340
and surprising and extraordinary

759
00:42:57,500 --> 00:43:00,740
that it seems to stay so relevant
for other people as well.

760
00:43:02,900 --> 00:43:05,340
It is one of the funniest
things ever written.

761
00:43:05,460 --> 00:43:06,380
Mind how you go.

762
00:43:07,580 --> 00:43:10,060
It just makes me happy
to watch them again.

763
00:43:10,180 --> 00:43:11,100
Oh! Ooh!

764
00:43:13,220 --> 00:43:15,460
Porridge is the perfect
British sitcom.

765
00:43:15,620 --> 00:43:19,380
Perfect characters,
perfect situation, perfect writing,

766
00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:20,860
perfect actors.

767
00:43:21,060 --> 00:43:25,220
Get into bed, will you, son.
I haven't undressed yet. Just get
into bed until I get into bed.

768
00:43:25,380 --> 00:43:28,140
You can get out and get undressed
to get back into bed, can't you?

769
00:43:28,300 --> 00:43:32,660
It is the bar to which every other
sitcom is trying to reach

770
00:43:32,780 --> 00:43:33,940
and failing.

771
00:43:34,060 --> 00:43:35,460
Two choc ices, please.

772
00:43:37,340 --> 00:43:41,420
This was a great break for me to be
involved in something like this

773
00:43:41,580 --> 00:43:44,780
and I used to sit there
really in awe.

774
00:43:44,940 --> 00:43:47,300
You trusted the people you were
working with.

775
00:43:47,460 --> 00:43:50,900
You just felt it was
a privilege to be part of.

776
00:43:51,060 --> 00:43:53,420
I'm so proud to have been
part of it.

777
00:43:53,580 --> 00:43:56,220
I mean, you know, one
of the greatest sitcoms that's ever

778
00:43:56,380 --> 00:43:58,860
been produced in this country
and I was there.

779
00:43:59,020 --> 00:44:01,420
"Oh, well, I must close now
and get on my lover."

780
00:44:03,940 --> 00:44:06,980
"I must close now
and get on, my lover." See?

781
00:44:07,100 --> 00:44:08,740
Oh, it was a great experience.

782
00:44:08,900 --> 00:44:13,140
I'd like to be going to that
read-through tomorrow morning.

783
00:44:13,300 --> 00:44:16,940
Although I'd have to get on a flight
tonight to get to Acton.

784
00:44:17,100 --> 00:44:20,780
Be worth it. Yeah, it would.
It would be well worth it.

785
00:44:20,900 --> 00:44:22,380
All right, then. I owe you one.

786
00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:53,000
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd