Porridge remake: Fans get first look at BBC revival with Kevin Bishop as Fletch
FANS of the wildly popular British sitcom Porridge can now get excited as the first pictures have emerged of the BBC's revamped edition, due to air this summer.
The first pictures of the BBC's revamped edition of Porridge have surfaced
The snaps show new inmates in the fictional HMP Slade prison in Cumberland, where actor and and comedian Kevin Bishop will play the role of Nigel "Fletch" Fletcher.
As grandson of Ronnie Barker's famous character Norman Stanley Fletcher, Bishop, 36, is set to lead the rebooted version behind bars after being imprisoned for a series of cyber-crimes.
Joining him will be Catastrophe star Mark Bonnar as the beady-eyed Officer Meekie, and The Office actor Ralph Ineson as the prison bad boy Richie Weeks.
The new version will feature Kevin Bishop as Nigel "Fletch" Fletcher
Mark Bonnar will play Officer Meekie as well as Ralph Ineson as the prison bad boy Richie Week
Written and created by the original screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, the one-off episode will hit the BBC as part of a classic sitcom series.
EastEnders' Dave Hill, who starred as Bert Atkinson in the soap from 2006 and 2007, will feature as Fletch's cellmate Joe Lotterby.
News of Bishop's casting was announced the day before it was confirmed that Barker's comedy partner Ronnie Corbett had died aged 85.
Ronnie Barker originally played Norman Stanley Fletcher in the sitcom
The one-off episode will air this summer on BBC
EastEnders' Dave Hill will feature as Fletch's cellmate Joe Lotterby
Furthermore, this remake comes almost 40 years since the acting royalty served time as the original Fletcher for being a "habitual criminal".
Richard Beckinsale played alongside him as Lennie Godber, a kind-hearted delinquent from Birmingham who was locked up for attempting to steal a present for his girlfriend.
Porridge originally ran from 1974 to 1977 for three series', two Christmas specials and a film of the same name, and is widely acknowledged as one of the best pieces of British comedy.