Going Straight

Written byDirected bySydney LotterbyStarringCountry of originUnited KingdomNo. of episodes6 (list of episodes)ProductionProducerSydney LotterbyEditorBill WrightRunning time30 minsOriginal releaseNetworkBBC1Release24 February (1978-02-24) –
7 April 1978 (1978-04-07)Related

Going Straight is a BBC sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. The programme was a direct spin-off to the sitcom Porridge, which all four were involved in, with its premise surrounding the exploits of Barker's character Norman Stanley Fletcher following his release from prison and his attempts to not commit another crime for the sake of his family, despite the allure that crime brings. The programme also featured the appearance of Patricia Brake, reprising her role in Porridge, and Nicholas Lyndhurst. Both Fulton Mackay and Tony Osoba guest starred in the first episode, also reprising their earlier roles.

A single series of six episodes was made and aired across 1978, attracting an audience of over 15 million viewers^[1] and winning a BAFTA TV Award for Best Situation Comedy in March 1979. Plans for further episodes were shelved after the premature death of Beckinsale in 1979.

Episodes

Six episodes of Going Straight, all written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, were produced for the BBC. The show began airing on 24 February and ended on 7 April 1978. All episodes had a running time of approximately 30 minutes.

Theme tune

The theme tune, sung by Ronnie Barker, detailed Fletch's determination to go straight, an ambition first laid out in the Porridge episode "Men Without Women":^[2] This was released as 7-inch single by EMI records. The B-side is a track called "The String Bean Queen'"

Cast

Main cast

Recurring cast

Guest cast

Notes

1. There is a problem with Fletch’s age in this series. Dialogue spoken by Fletch in several episodes throughout the 6 episodes states that he is 45 years old. However, the pilot of ‘Porridge’ (‘Prison & Escort’) is set on New Year’s Eve 1974 / New Year Day 1975 (according to Fletch’s diary in the episode “Going Home” he was arrested in September 1974, is in prison for 3 years & 8 months, and a calendar seen in the episode “Going To Be Alright” states it is 1978 when Fletch gets out of prison). In the first episode of Series 1 of ‘Porridge’ (“New Faces, Old Hands”) Fletch declares his date of birth as being February 2, 1932, and Mr Mackay says Fletch is 42 years old (meaning it must be January 1, 1975 for Fletch to be 42yo). If he is in prison for 3 years & 8 months, it must be August 1978 when he gets out, meaning that Fletch would have had four birthdays in prison (February 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978), making Fletch 46 years old at the beginning of ‘Going Straight’ and 6 months away from his 47th birthday.

References

External links

• Going Straight at BBC Online
• Going Straight at IMDb
• Going Straight at British Comedy Guide