Fulton Mackay from Porridge praised by veteran playright

Knightswood pensioner Alex Robertson was an ever-present on the London entertainment scene during the sixties and seventies when Mackay was at the height of his fame starring in much-loved Ronnie Barker sitcom Porridge.

Mackay – who was born in Paisley but grew up in Clydebank - is remembered for playing the part of his namesake and comically ferocious prison officer Mr Mackay in the hit BBC show that ran between 1973 and 1977.

And Alex, who worked with Mackay on a radio play he wrote called Credit Account during his own 18-year stint living in London, revealed the pair of them used to reminisce about life back home in between takes.

Speaking exclusively to the Clydebank Post, Alex said: “We would have talked about home.

Mackay (middle) was one of the best known faces on British TV in the 1970s (Image: Stock)

Alex is now selling his artwork (Image: Tom Grant)

“First of all, the fact he was Scottish was a way in, then, the fact he came from Clydebank and my auntie lived in Clydebank, so we had plenty to talk about.

“They were great times.”

Before adding: “What struck me first of all was that he was a pleasant man, he was a helpful man in rehearsals, the better the actor the more helpful they are, they come up with good ideas.

“But to me, he was a neat man, a tidy, neat man, he reminded me of that character he played in Porridge.”

Alex worked with plenty of famous faces of the day during his time working in the creative arts, people like Carry On star Diana Dors, Dandy Nichols and Liz Fraser.

And he told a tale of the late English actress Dors, and how she used to keep her young son in check whenever he would behave badly.

“Whenever she had trouble with her son,” Alex continued.

“She would drive him in her Rolls Royce past the local school, and she would say that is where you’re going if you don’t behave.

“Because he was obviously at a posh school.”

Alex began life as a keen artist before moving south and getting into writing for theatre shows and radio dramas.

And he expressed his pride in the play he wrote called Luck of the Draw, a story he wrote after weeks and months of knockback letters.

He finished: “I got the usual rejections, send it away, reject, reject, TV and radio.

“And then, it was in Edinburgh when I wrote a play and I sent it and it was accepted.

 “I still have an affection for my first play, which is the one play that has gone around the world.

“It’s been to Australia, it’s been to the States, it’s been everywhere.”

Alex, now back in Glasgow, is still painting, and has recently finished colouring great landmarks from the region with the plans to turn the paintings into prints.