The full cast has been announced for the remake of Porridge as part of the BBC's forthcoming landmark sitcom season.
As exclusively reported by beyondthejoke earlier this week Kevin Bishop will play the grandson of Ronnie Barker's Norman Stanley Fletcher, who has been convicted for computer hacking. The one-off is written by original writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais,
Bishop will be joined by Mark Bonnar, recently seen in C4's Catastrophe and in a straight role in Line of Duty. Ralph Ineson, best known as Finchy in The Office, will play a prison bully and Dave Hill from EastEnders will be another convict.
Nearly 40 years after his grandfather served his time, Nigel – ‘Fletch’ to his friends – has landed himself in a spot of bother. Imprisoned for a series of cyber-crimes, Fletch finds himself beholden to Richie Weeks (Ineson) and forced to use his hacking skills to get Weeks off the hook. The problem being that wily Officer Meekie (Bonnar) has got his beady eye on Fletch – he knows a wrong ’un when he sees one.
Kevin Bishop says: "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. 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!”
Shane Allen, Controller of BBC Comedy Commissioning, says: “Dick and Ian are comedy writing royalty who have cleverly re-conceived the spirit of Porridge into a modern setting with new characters. Their endorsement of our sitcom season is a true blessing.”
Also joining the cast are Dominic Coleman (Miranda) as Officer Braithwaite; Harman Singh (Rude Boys) as Aziz; Jason Barnett (The Javone Prince Show) as Shel; and Ricky Grover (EastEnders) as Scudds.
It will be produced by Richard Webb (Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, The Kennedys, House of Fools), directed by Dominic Brigstocke (Tracey Ullman’s Show, I’m Alan Partridge, Green Wing) and executive produced by Gregor Sharp (The Rack Pack, Boomers, Count Arthur Strong).
