Porridge: first images from BBC revival with Kevin Bishop released

The classic comedy is making a limited comeback for the BBC’s Landmark Sitcom Season
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Ben Travis7 July 2016

The first images have emerged of the BBC’s Porridge revival.

The classic sitcom, which originally aired between 1974 and 1977, is making a limited comeback as part of the BBC’s celebrations of 60 years of TV comedy.

The Landmark Sitcom Season will mark the 60th anniversary of Hancock’s Half Hour making the move to TV, with several classic BBC series set for a revisiting.

The new Porridge episode will star comedian Kevin Bishop as Nigel ‘Fletch’ Fletcher, the grandson of Ronnie Barker’s original character Norman Stanley Fletcher.

The episode is being penned by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who created the classic series, in a one-off special set 40 years after the end of the original show.

Bishop’s Fletch is behind bars for cyber-crimes, forced to help out “prison bad boy” Richie Weeks, and avoid the suspicions of Officer Meekie.

Porridge: The Original TV Series

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“Dick and Ian have brought Porridge back to life again with a brilliant script and it is a genuine honour to be involved in a show that is iconic in so many ways,” says Bishop.

“Ronnie Barker’s character was one of the most loved in BBC history and the thought of stepping into his grandson’s shoes fills me with both thrills and paralytic fear!”

Other classic sitcoms set for special episodes include Goodnight Sweetheart, Are You Being Served?, and a Keeping Up Appearances prequel titled Young Hyacinth.

The Landmark Sitcom Season is due to air from this summer on the BBC.

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