Locations
The prison exterior in the title sequence and some episodes is Maidstone Prison, which was also featured in the BBC comedy series Birds of a Feather. The interior shots of doors being locked were filmed in Shepherds Bush Police Station - the BBC had a good relationship with officers there. In the episode "Pardon Me" Fletcher speaks to Blanco (David Jason) in the prison gardens: this was filmed in the grounds of an old brewery outside Baldock on the A505 to Royston. The barred windows approximated a prison. The building has since been demolished. The 1974 episode "A Day Out", which features a prison work party, was filmed in and around the Welsh village of Penderyn, the prisoners' ditch being excavated by a JCB. In the episode "No Way Out", Fletcher tries to get MacKay to fall into a tunnel in a tarmac area, these outside shots were filmed at Hanwell Asylum in West London, the barred windows in this case, being those of the hospital pharmacy. The 1979 film was shot entirely at Chelmsford Prison, Essex.
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