Arkwright gave us service with a smile
Want a bargain? The first series of Open All Hours launched 45 years ago
MISERLY shop keeper Albert Arkwright proved to be one of Ronnie Barker’s classic comedy roles. His corner shop opened for business on BBC 1, on February 20, 1976, and followed the success of a comedy pilot three years earlier, shown as part of a Ronnie Barker showcase series called Seven Of One. The second episode, Prisoner And Escort, had already led to Porridge, and Arkwright was ready to enter the world of sitcom.
He was joined by Sir David Jason as shop assistant Granville and Lynda Baron as Nurse Gladys Emmanuel... the object of Arkwright’s unrequited lust.
Roy Clarke wrote the script and Ronnie was among the BBC’s biggest comic stars at the time, with both Porridge and The Two Ronnies under his belt. However, the initial critical reaction to Open All Hours was lukewarm.
Ronnie helped with his own rewrites, giving Arkwright a stammer, and viewers gradually warmed to the penny-pinching shop owner who would do anything to make a sale.
Arkwright once commented: “I hate that scrunching sound errand boys make when you stand on them.”
Future Only Fools And Horses actor John Challis appeared in one episode as a bread man, with Eric Richards from The Bill as a cash till repair man.
The sitcom ran until 1985 and at its peak was watched by 15 million viewers every week. David had to wear a hairpiece during the last series as he was 45 playing a teenager.
An American version was made called Open All Night and set in a 24-hour convenience store. Chat show host David Letterman made a cameo appearance, but the comedy ended after one series.
The British sitcom found new life in 2013 when David Jason returned with sequel Still Open All Hours. David said: “When I worked with Ronnie Barker, who was very well known himself at the time, I always remember him saying ‘You don’t have to be a s**t to be a big star, David’. I’ve always remembered that.”