The episode saw Kevin Bishop play Nigel ‘Fletch’ Fletcher – the grandson of Ronnie Barker’s iconic character Norman Stanley Fletcher – who had been imprisoned for a series of cyber-crimes.
Fletch soon found himself beholden to Richie Weeks (Ralph Ineson) and forced to use his hacking skills to get Weeks off the hook. The problem being that wily Officer Meekie (Mark Bonnar) has got his beady eye on Fletch – he knows a wrong ’un when he sees one.
Although Bishop will return, other casting for the full series has yet to be confirmed.
Series writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais said: “We’re in a state of disbelief that Porridge is coming back after all these years, but Kevin Bishop is a worthy successor to Ronnie Barker. So even though we feel like recidivists, we’re more than happy to go back inside.”
Bishop added: “It was an honour to be asked to play Fletch although I never thought it would go further than just the one off homage.
“To be welcomed back by Porridge fans and the BBC to make a full series, is one of the proudest moments in my career. Dick and Ian are true sitcom masters and I know they’re going to write a brilliant series.”