Ronnie Barker

To start with, this felt too much like a great big luvvie love-in, with the voice-over eulogising one comedian (Hugh Dennis) so he could eulogise another (Ronnie Barker). My heart also sank a little when Dennis, more at home deadpanning through Mock the Week, set off to visit the semi where Barker grew up, noting that little was known about his home life. I was braced for the revelation that Barker, a jovial comic giant who made the world seem a happier place with one glance over the top of his spectacles, was an anguished soul who collected broken dolls.
Happily nothing of the kind emerged, and the programme moved on to surer footing with a highly enjoyable trawl through Barker's work, from The Frost Report to The Two Ronnies, Porridge and beyond. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of Barker's creative mind included his meticulous diagrams choreographing a Morris dancing sketch, and a mock press release which chastised David Frost for hogging the credit for the Golden Rose of Montreux award by accusing him of stealing it with the help of unnamed and mysterious accomplices.

It was hard not to get misty-eyed at the footage of Barker accepting his lifetime achievement Bafta in 2004 with typical warmth and wit. The programme captured the end of an era, when Barker's innocent blend of postcard innuendo, verbal tomfoolery and physical hi-jinks personified British comedy - long before the days of Mock the Week.

After works about Spike Milligan, Tony Hancock and Dad's Army, writer Roy Smiles once again plunders Britain's comedy heritage for this play about Ronnie Corbett (Aidan McArdle) and Ronnie Barker (Robert Daws).

Smiles uses the device of one of Corbett's monologues and parodies of their sketches to explore the differences in the two men and how they first met. The re-creation of the sketches has a novelty value for those who remember them, but often only serve to remind us how good the original Ronnies were. And having to explain gags that worked on screen ("you've thrown your drink over me") is plain uncomfortable.

An interesting curiosity, but the uneven structure and wayward impersonations ultimately make it rather disappointing.

When he was at Cambridge University, bookish Hugh Dennis was nicknamed "Desk Dennis" by his fellows because he was so serious about his studies. To this day Dennis is a quietly thoughtful rather than raucous comedian. So it's unsurprising that his comedy hero is the resolutely unshowbizzy Ronnie Barker.

In parallel with events in his own career, Dennis looks at Barker's life. He meets actress Dame Eileen Atkins, who got to know Barker during his days in rep, and there's a nice chat with Christopher Biggins about Porridge, which "almost made me want to go to prison," says Dennis.

Scriptwriter Martin Booth becomes parish priest

Martin Booth, who wrote for comedians including Eric Morecambe, Ronnie Barker and The Goons, has been ordained as a vicar in Kent.

From the Friday vault: Porridge with Ronnie Barker

A short guide to the sitcom Porridge.

Ronnie Barker's paedophile son will pocket £1.4m legacy

The paedo son of comedy legend Ronnie Barker stands to pick up a £1.4million inheritance when he is released from jail in the New Year.

Ronnie Barker's son Adam Barker jailed for child porn

Comedian Ronnie Barker's son has been jailed for 12 months for making indecent images of children.

Ronnie Barker's son faces jail over child porn

The son of comedian Ronnie Barker was yesterday told he faces jail after admitting having 1,675 indecent images of children on his computer.

Ronnie Barker: Oxford childhood home plaque unveiled

The late comedian Ronnie Barker is being commemorated with a blue plaque at the Oxford home where he grew up.

Ronnie Barker's fugitive son arrested

Adam Barker, the son of late comedian Ronnie Barker, has been arrested and charged with child porn offences after eight years on the run, the Metropolitan Police has said.