Richard Beckinsale

Rising Damp was more than a sitcom

Writer Eric Chappell perfectly captured our all-too-human foibles, failures and frustrations.

The re-evaluation game: Porridge - A Night In

The whole thing is shot through with melancholy in a manner which we rarely see in sitcoms these days, and while I can't say it's a series that I'm any more passionate about given its questionable elements, having rewatched this episode it's certainly given me more respect for it.

Porridge reboot shows that past is best left alone

Watching the new Porridge is like visiting a favourite old café only to find that its best bits have been jettisoned: the tomato-shaped ketchup bottles have been replaced by sachets, the Formica tables by stripped pine. Sometimes the past is best left alone.

Kate Beckinsale unveils plaque for father Richard

Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale has unveiled a plaque in honour of her late television star father at his former school in Nottinghamshire. Richard Beckinsale, who starred in Porridge, attended College House Junior School in Chilwell, in the 1950s.

In an hour, they packed in Ruby Wax's RSC reminiscences (she couldn't master the wench accent), a tribute to Richard Beckinsale, Neil Innes on Rutland Weekend TV (surely worth a repeat), a little bit about the over-rated Adrian Mole, Alan Carr's guide to Northampton, David Baddiel going back to school, Mel and Sue in Oxford, David Renwick's life on the Luton News and the evolution of Spitting Image. Great value for money!