Porridge at 30
In September 2004 UKTV Gold had a weekend of TV dedicated to Porridge. The weekend had some excellent episodes of Porridge as well as a long overdue transmission of Going Straight. I was interviewed back in the summer for this weekend and I appeared on TV for a whole one and a half minutes!! Unfortunately the TV company had gone and quoted the wrong Web Address of my site as you can see from the clips below.
Here are some of my 1½ minutes of fame!
Below is Free@Last TV's synopsis of the weekend:
The weekend was dedicated to celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first transmission of this classic BBC Brit-com which is regarded by many people as Britain's best sitcom. Porridge was an instant hit with the viewers when the pilot first aired in 1973 and a full series followed in 1974. Ronnie Barker and the late Richard Beckinsale were perfectly cast as the experienced lag and the naive first-timer and their developing relationship had the Great British viewing public gripped until Slade Prison closed it's doors for the last time in 1977.
The weekend starts at 8pm each evening and features a compulsive combination of classic episodes from all three series along with the 1975 Christmas special supported by a series of short films exploring the origin and development of the series until its premature ending in 1977.
We examine how Porridge came from an initiative to develop a new vehicle for the comic talents of Ronnie Barker called Seven Of One but developed into the ultimate ensemble character cast - if you want the Inside Story on Porridge look no further than UKTV Gold on September 4th and 5th.
Our other shorts take a loving look at the favourite characters of the series, Fletch, of course, Godber, Lukewarm, Barrowclough, Mackay, Grouty, the careers of Clement & La Frenais and the making of the series among many more.
Our contributors include the creators and writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, actors Tony Osoba (McLaren), Christopher Biggins (Lukewarm) Patricia Brake (Ingrid), Producer & Director Syd Lotterby, and celebrity fans including Bob MIlls, Nicholas Parsons, Rowland Rivron and Tony Blackburn along with analysis from TV experts including Richard Webber (Author - "Porridge - The Inside Story") John Robb (Author and pop culture expert) and Steve Berry. (www.tv.cream.org).
The UKTV Gold Porridge @ 30 Weekend was Produced by Veerinder Mann and Executive Produced by Katie Kinnaird for Free@Last TV.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FREE@LAST TV OUR PEOPLE AND OUR PROGRAMMES GO TO WWW.FREEATLASTTV.CO.UK
