Real-life Arkwright’s in danger of ‘calling it a day’ after 90 years

After 90 years of serving the community of Thornbury in Gloucestershire, the shop that is credited as being the inspiration for the classic British comedy series, Open All Hours, could be forced to shut after complaints that their outdoor display is a health and safety risk for mobility scooters (i.e. goods stacked outside to entice passerby’s to come inside […]

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Arkwright’s to remain open as BBC confirms 5th series

Some 45 years after Sir David Jason first set foot into Arkwright’s convenience store, Still Open All Hours has been commissioned for a 5th series which will air later this year on BBC One. Jason will return in the role of Granville who inherited the shop from the miserly Arkwright, played by Ronnie Barker. Granville was […]

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From the Vault: The 1973 ‘Open All Hours’ pilot

I may be in the minority here, but one of my most favorite British situation comedies of all-time is Open All Hours. Written by Roy Clarke (Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping Up Appearances) and starring comedy legends Ronnie Barker and David Jason, Open All Hours ‘premiered’ in 1973 as a last-minute addition to Barker’s comedy anthology series, Seven […]

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Closed temporarily, ‘Still Open All Hours’ set to re-open just in time for Christmas

Still Open All Hours, the sequel to the iconic BBC sitcom Open All Hours, which originally ran from 1973 to 1985, will return later this year for a Christmas special one-off followed by a third series with a targeted transmission date of January 2017. Starring original OAH cast members, David Jason, Lynda Baron, Stephanie Cole and Maggie Ollerenshaw, Still Open All Hours is written by […]

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‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ re-boot cast announced

Of all the one-off programs that the BBC has lined up to celebrate the 60th anniversary of comedy on the BBC, Goodnight Sweetheart has to the one I’m most excited about. I thought the original was brilliant. With the original writers and virtually all of the original cast involved, this has potential much like Still Open […]

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First look at new ‘Porridge’ 2016 special

Porridge, the early 70s British sitcom starring Ronnie Barker, Richard Beckinsale, Fulton Mackay and Brian Wilde, is being re-made as part of the BBC’s 60th anniversary of comedy celebration, the Landmark Sitcom Season, beginning this Fall. Barker starred as habitual criminal, Norman Stanley Fletcher. “Fletch” shares his cell with young Lennie Godber, a first time inmate upon whom he imparts his […]

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“…So it’s good night from me” – R.I.P. Ronnie Corbett

Sadly, this is no April Fools joke. Ronnie Corbett, the co-star of The Two Ronnies, one of the most successful and long running light entertainment shows on British television, has died at the age of 85. At its peak, over 17 million viewers each week watched the legendary sketch comedy show, which ran from 1971-1987 on […]

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Anyone up for a 21st century ‘Are You Being Served’, ‘Keeping Up Appearances’, ‘Up Pompeii’ and ‘Good Neighbors’!

On the heels of yesterdays announcement that the BBC is looking into reviving several classic British sitcoms, including the Ronnie Barker classic, Porridge, and the Michael Crawford’s Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, as part of their forthcoming Landmark Sitcom Season. Officials at the BBC announced that the series would mark 60 years since Hancock’s Half Hour transferred from radio […]

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