Porridge star Ronnie Barker has revived his character, Norman Stanley Fletcher, for a one-off Christmas special.

The classic sitcom character will be the subject of a mock documentary to find out what has happened to him in the 25 years since the show ended.

Barker filmed "a very small scene", and other Porridge stars will also appear, executive producer Leanne Klein said.

A similar programme about The Good Life's Margot Leadbetter is being made - but without actress Penelope Keith.

 Ms Klein said she could not reveal what happened to Fletcher, since he was at the centre of the 1970s prison comedy. But he was "well and happy", she told BBC News Online.

Barker, who played the role from 1973 to 1978, now gets involved in few TV projects.

"We wrote him a letter and he liked the script. We were very pleased to get him," Ms Klein said.

The hour-long show, to be screened on BBC Two, will include mock archive footage plus interviews with people Fletcher grew up with, worked with and served time with.

Several of Porridge's other stars, such as Richard Beckinsale, who played Lennie Godber, and Fulton Mackay as warder Mr Mackay, have died since the show ended.

But others, including Christopher Biggins, Tony Osoba and Sam Kelly, have been interviewed in character about Fletcher.

"We've got a lot of the surviving cast from Porridge actually in it. Most of his fellow cons are in it," Ms Klein said.

Porridge and The Good Life - about a couple trying to be self-sufficient in the suburbs while their snooty neighbours looked on - were among the most popular shows of the 1970s.