Porridge (2016)
- TV sitcom
- BBC One
- 2016 - 2017
- 7 episodes (1 series)
Reinvention of the classic Ronnie Barker sitcom Porridge. Fletch's grandson, Fletch, is imprisoned for cyber crimes. Also features Kevin Bishop, Dave Hill, Mark Bonnar, Dominic Coleman, Jason Barnett and more.
Episode menu
Porridge
Notes
This episode was commissioned and produced as a one-off special rather than a pilot for a prospective series.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Sunday 28th August 2016
- Time
- 9:30pm
- Channel
- BBC One
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Kevin Bishop | Fletch |
| Dave Hill | Joe Lotterby |
| Mark Bonnar | Officer Meekie |
| Dominic Coleman | Officer Braithwaite |
| Jason Barnett | Shel |
| Harman Singh | Aziz |
| Ricky Grover | Scudds |
| Pippa Haywood | Governor Hallwood |
| Zahra Ahmadi | Dr Tessa Marsden |
| Colin McFarlane | Judge (Voice) |
| Ralph Ineson | Richie Weeks |
| Martin Trenaman | Raymond Fletcher |
| Joanne Mitchell | Prosecuting Counsel |
| Edward Kagutuzi | Skinny Kid |
| Steve Marsh | Andy |
| Dick Clement | Writer |
| Ian La Frenais | Writer |
| Dominic Brigstocke | Director |
| Richard Webb | Producer |
| Gregor Sharp | Executive Producer |
| Peter Hallworth | Editor |
| Jo Sutherland | Production Designer |
| Tracey Gillham | Casting Director |
| Orla Smyth-Mill | Costume Designer |
| Martin Hawkins | Director of Photography |
| Clare Golds | Make-up Designer |
| Max Harris | Composer |
| Claire Grossmith | 1st Assistant Director |
Press
'Porridge' (BBC1) review
Where was the originality? Where was the charm that made the series so popular in the 70s, and continually so to this day? It all just seemed to be badly pitched and not thought-through well enough at all.
UK TV Reviewer, 30th August 2016At the risk of romanticising the past, Ronnie Barker's Porridge really was a thing of beauty. This isn't, though: scripted by original writers Clement and La Frenais, with Kevin Bishop as Fletcher's "cyber-criminal" grandson, it's a shockingly unfunny reboot full of crowbarred modern references and hoary jokes about Millwall FC. Hey, BBC comedy commissioners: experiencing symptoms of ennui? Why not greenlight some fresh writing from talented newcomers?
Ali Catterall, The Guardian, 28th August 2016Porridge review: Kevin Bishop can't sustain the wit
It's difficult to know why this new serving of Porridge was ever cooked up.
David Lewis, Cult Box, 28th August 2016Landmark comedy season: Porridge gets an update
The depth of the night-time conversations between Old Fletch and Godber, in particular, to a great extent laid in what was not said. When Richard Beckinsale's Godber asks: 'Fletch, are you awake?' Barker - after a beat - replies 'No'. A whole world of pain existed within that silence, and this was missing.
Deborah Shrewsbury, The Custard TV, 28th August 2016