Storyline

Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film also titled Porridge. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. "Doing porridge" is British slang for serving a prison sentence, porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight, which established that Fletcher would not be going back to prison again. Porridge was voted number seven in a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms.

First Aired

1974-09-05
Last Aired

1977-03-25
Creator

Dick Clement
Genre

Comedy
Seasons

3
Episodes

18
Status

Ended
Language

English
Network

BBC One

Keywords:

prison england judge theft convict warden sitcom

Stream and watch Porridge

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

1. New Faces, Old Hands

“Twenty-three and you want to go straight? What kind of talk is that? You've got your whole life in fr...More

“Twenty-three and you want to go straight? What kind of talk is that? You've got your whole life in front of you!” It's Godber's first time in prison, and Fletch is going to teach him the ways.Less

30mins 1974-09-05

2. The Hustler

Ives is such a loser that if Elizabeth Taylor had triplets, he'd have been the one in the middle. But ...More

Ives is such a loser that if Elizabeth Taylor had triplets, he'd have been the one in the middle. But there's no way he's going to be left out of Fletch's gambling enterprise.Less

30mins 1974-09-12

3. A Night In

Fletch explains to Godber that the best way to cope with his first night in prison, is to see it as ju...More

Fletch explains to Godber that the best way to cope with his first night in prison, is to see it as just a "quiet night in". Trouble is, Godber's got another 698 to go.Less

30mins 1974-09-19

4. A Day Out

The rest of the working party are thrilled to have a day out, but Fletch is masking indifference - wha...More

The rest of the working party are thrilled to have a day out, but Fletch is masking indifference - what's so exciting about digging a ditch anyway?Less

30mins 1974-09-26

5. Ways and Means

Who would want to spend eight hours a day sewing fishing nets? Not Fletch, who is hell-bent on a cushy...More

Who would want to spend eight hours a day sewing fishing nets? Not Fletch, who is hell-bent on a cushy job in the library.Less

30mins 1974-10-03

6. Men Without Women

Fletch fancies himself as a bit of an agony aunt and is called upon by his fellow inmates to help out ...More

Fletch fancies himself as a bit of an agony aunt and is called upon by his fellow inmates to help out with affairs of the heart.Less

30mins 1974-10-10

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Cast

Ronnie Barker

Norman Stanley Fletcher

Richard Beckinsale

Lennie Godber

Fulton Mackay

Mr. Mackay

Brian Wilde

Mr. Barrowclough

Videos and Photos

Movie Reviews

Reviews for Porridge

A Review by Geronimo1967

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-02-23

It's hard to believe that there were only ever twenty episodes of this classic British comedy ever made. Ronnie Barker ("Fletch") is fantast... read more

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)

A Review by CinemaSerf

It's hard to believe that there were only ever twenty episodes of this classic British comedy ever made. Ronnie Barker ("Fletch") is fantastic as the habitual criminal sent to Her Majesty's Prison "Slade" - perched in the northern reaches o...