Ronnie Barker

Ronnie Barker, co-star of the Two Ronnies (BBC TV) and genius behind Porridge and Open All Hours, has died aged 76 of heart related problems.

Tributes pour in. He was a gentle-man, great to work with and a gifted and talented comedy writer, submitting scripts under a psuedonym. For me, his all time great performance comes from his work in Open All Hours with David Jason (who went on to star in Only Fools and Horses as well as doing serious dramatic parts and has recently been knighted), where he played a northern shop keeper with a stutter who was infatuated with a district nurse. Some simply brilliant comedy material.

He also did something which I greatly admired. He retired at the top of his game and ran an antiques store in Stow on the Wold.

Here are some of his best lines:

From The Two Ronnies: The man who invented the zip fastener was today honoured with a lifetime peerage. He will now be known as the Lord of the Flies.

From The Two Ronnies: The toilets at a local police station have been stolen. Police say they have nothing to go on.

From The Two Ronnies: The search for the man who terrorizes nudist camps with a bacon slicer goes on. Inspector Lemuel Jones had a tip-off this morning, but hopes to be back on duty tomorrow.

A sad day for those of us for whom laughter does more than Lipitor can ever do..