"I bet he's the secretary of the Lord Chief Justice Goddard Appreciation Society, isn't he?" says Fletch of Mackay: Rayner Goddard had held that office between 1946-58; in favour of judicial corporal punishment he was often thought of as one of the last punitive hanging judges and had only died in May 1971.
This episode is an extra feature on the "Porridge - Series Two" DVD.
Originally commissioned as part of a series of seven unrelated one-off stories, 7 of 1 (1973), starring Ronnie Barker. After positive feedback from the public this then became the pilot episode for the TV series Porridge (1974) starting the following year. One of the other pilots was Open All Hours (1973), another highly successful sitcom but in a very different vein.
Lennie Godber does not feature in "Prisoner and Escort" despite being a mainstay of the series.
The success of this pilot led to the series Porridge, a spin off film, a sequel series (Going Straight), a reboot in 2016 featuring Fletch's grandson and a spoof documentary about the main character.