Porridge (1974 TV series)

Porridge
Main title, showing the main entrance to Slade prison.
Created by	Dick Clement Ian La Frenais
Written by	Dick Clement Ian La Frenais
Directed by	Sydney Lotterby
Starring	Brian Wilde Patricia Brake Ronnie Barker Richard Beckinsale Peter Vaughan Brian Glover Christopher Biggins Tony Osoba Sam Kelly Fulton Mackay Ronald Lacey Ken Jones David Jason
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	21 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer	Sydney Lotterby
Production location	BBC Television Centre
Running time	30–45 minutes
Production company	BBC
Original release
Network	BBC1
Release	1 April 1973 (pilot) 5 September 1974 (1974-09-05) (series) – 25 March 1977 (1977-03-25)
Related
Going Straight (1978)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Porridge is a British sitcom, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977. The programme ran for three series and two Christmas specials. A feature film of the same name based on the series was released in 1979.

The sitcom focuses on two prison inmates, Norman Fletcher (played by Barker) and Lennie Godber (played by Beckinsale), who are serving time at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. The show's title is a 1950s British slang term for a prison sentence, derived from the traditional breakfast that used to be served in British prisons.^[1]

Porridge was critically acclaimed and is widely considered to be one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time. It is ranked No. 35 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes compiled by the British Film Institute in 2000. In 2004, Porridge placed seventh in a poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom.

The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight, which saw Barker reprise his character as he tries to avoid going back to prison. Porridge was revived in 2016 under the same name, with Fletcher's grandson beginning a prison sentence.