Regarded by many critics as Britain's best sitcom, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais' tales of life inside Slade Prison first hit the screens in 1973. Three series were transmitted before the prison show finally closed its doors in 1977. Since then, the series has never been off our screens with BBC2 frequently repeating these classic series. Ronnie Barker, as Fletch the old lag, and Richard Beckinsale, as Godber the naive first-time offender, are comic creations as fine - and as well loved - as any in the history of television. But no book has ever told the behind-the-scenes story of how the series came to be made, until now...