Porridge Revisited

net1

Porridge star Ronnie Barker has revived his character, Norman Stanley Fletcher, for a one-off Christmas special.

The sitcom character will be the subject of a mock documentary to find out what has happened to him in the 25 years since the show ended.

Executive producer Leanne Klein said that Barker filmed "a very small scene", and other Porridge stars will also appear.

A similar programme about The Good Life's Margot Leadbetter is being made - but without actress Penelope Keith.

The hour-long show, to be broadcast on BBC Two, will include mock archive footage plus interviews with people Fletcher grew up with, worked with and served time with.

Several of Porridge's other stars, such as Richard Beckinsale, who played Lennie Godber, and Fulton Mackay as warder Mr Mackay, have died since the show ended.

But others, including Christopher Biggins, Tony Osoba and Sam Kelly, have been interviewed in character about Fletcher.

"We've got a lot of the surviving cast from Porridge actually in it. Most of his fellow cons are in it," Klein said.

The new shows, under the Life Beyond the Box title, are being made by production company Wall To Wall.