Where are the cast of Porridge now? Horror deaths to star's 'big regret'

Porridge star Ronnie Barker revealed before his tragic death from heart failure twenty years ago, aged 76, that there was one aspect of Britain's most beloved sitcom that he wished he'd never got involved in. His distinctive voice could be heard during the opening credits of every show, with him posing as a judge and reading out sentencing.

The judge role was later played by Maurice Denham in two episodes, with Ronnie previously just narrating as the character. However, the star - who had fans in stitches when he sarcastically described prison as an "occupational hazard" on the show - didn't have his regrets shared by his co-stars. In fact, , who is to turn 85 this year, recently revealed the affectionate name he had for the late Ronnie - "the Governor".

"The main reason why I liked him so much is that he had time for everybody," confirmed the star during an appearance on the Chris Moyles show.

"He was the nicest guy that you could possibly meet, and he was at the top of his tree, for me, which is comedy acting, and I just got used to calling him The Governor."

Ronnie sadly stepped away from the limelight aged just 58 after experiencing a crisis of confidence about his writing abilities and believing they had diminished.

There are now just two main surviving ex-members of Porridge - Christopher Biggins as Lukewarm, who has continued his showbiz career into his 70s, and Tony Osoba, who has just turned 76.

The latter went on to play two characters after Porridge - Wesley McGregor and Peter Ingram - while he has also appeared in Bergerac, Tanner and Planetfall.

Canary Black star Kate Beckinsale's dad Richard was famed for his role as Lenny Godber - both in Porridge and its sequel series Going Straight - but he tragically died way back in 1979 after suffering a heart attack due to coronary artery disease.

Fulton Mackay, who played Principal Officer Mr McKay, earned himself an MBE and even founded the Scottish Theatre Company before dying of stomach cancer in 1987.

A year later, Michael Barrington, also famous for The Black Panther and The Stud, died of a heart attack, putting a permanent end to his character Geoffrey Venables.

Brian Wilde, who'd channelled prison officer Mr Henry Barrowclough, had gone on to star in Last of the Summer Wine, The Kit Curran Radio Show and Wyatt's Watchdogs, but after a tragic fall in 2008 which he never recovered from, he died in his sleep.

Sam Kelly, who was famed for his "Bunny" Warren character, later performed in the final series of Agatha Christie's Poirot and the sitcom My Family, as well as becoming a star of the production Wicked - but he died just hours after being admitted to a cancer hospice in 2014.

Then, finally, there was Peter Vaughan as "Genial" Harry Grout, who admirably continued working into his 90s: his final role was as Maester Aemon in Game of Thrones, and just a year after his last appearance, he died of natural causes aged 93.