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.

Going Straight
Going Straight main title
Created by
Written by
  • Dick Clement
  • Ian La Frenais
Directed bySydney Lotterby
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerSydney Lotterby
EditorBill Wright
Running time30 mins
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release24 February (1978-02-24) –
7 April 1978 (1978-04-07)
Related

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 allegedly shelved after the premature death of Beckinsale in 1979 although in an interview published in "Porridge The Complete Scripts and Series Guide" (2001) the writers stated that only one series was ever planned as Ronnie Barker would only agree to do the six episodes.

Episodes

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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

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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

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Main cast

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Recurring cast

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Guest cast

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References

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  1. ^ Information published on DVD back cover
  2. ^ "The Full Lyrics to the Theme Tune from Going Straight". Retrieved 25 January 2009.
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