Porridge (1974)

Comedy · Crime

Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film also titled Porridge. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. "Doing porridge" is British slang for serving a prison sentence, porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight, which established that Fletcher would not be going back to prison again. Porridge was voted number seven in a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms.

IMDb rating: 8.3 (7,635 votes)
Episode average: 8.1 -0.2 vs IMDb
Seasons: 3
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 3 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1974)

7.97 avg 6 episodes 8.0 → 8.1 29 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	New Faces, Old Hands	8.0	257
2	The Hustler	7.7	230
3	A Night In	8.2	240
4	A Day Out	8.2	227
5	Ways and Means	7.6	207
6	Men Without Women	8.1	210

Season 2 (1975)

8.30 avg 7 episodes 8.3 → 8.4 30 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Just Desserts	8.3	198
2	Heartbreak Hotel	7.9	196
3	Disturbing the Peace	8.3	194
4	No Peace for the Wicked	8.3	186
5	Happy Release	8.7	220
6	The Harder They Fall	8.2	184
7	No Way Out	8.4	220

Season 3 (1976)

8.07 avg 7 episodes 8.3 → 8.3 31 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
0	The Desperate Hours	8.3	217
1	A Storm in a Teacup	7.8	169
2	Poetic Justice	8.0	170
3	Rough Justice	7.7	163
4	Pardon Me	8.3	172
5	A Test of Character	8.1	157
6	Final Stretch	8.3	164