---
name: "Ian La Frenais"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ian-la-frenais"
fi1m_id: "ian-la-frenais"
imdb_id: "nm0478588"
tmdb_id: 38937
wikidata_id: "Q5982007"
roles: ["Writer","Producer"]
born: "7 January 1937"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-07T11:25:44.452518+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ian La Frenais

## Identity

Ian La Frenais

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ian-la-frenais
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ian-la-frenais
- **IMDb ID:** nm0478588
- **TMDB ID:** 38937
- **Wikidata ID:** Q5982007
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_La_Frenais, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5982007, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0478588/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/38937

Writer and producer. Born 7 January 1937 in Monkseaton.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer
- **Born:** 7 January 1937, Monkseaton
- **Active:** 1964–2006
- **Frequently works with:** [Dick Clement](https://film.one/person/dick-clement.md), [Baz Taylor](https://film.one/person/baz-taylor.md), [Jimmy Nail](https://film.one/person/jimmy-nail.md), [Roger Bamford](https://film.one/person/roger-bamford.md), James Bolam, Rodney Bewes
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as writer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 89 (1), 1980s 84 (1), 1990s 82 (1), 2000s 64 (1)
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 4, Drama 2, Adventure 1, Animation 1, Family 1, Music 1
- **Screen time:** 3 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $193m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_La_Frenais, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5982007, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0478588/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/38937

## Streaming the US now

- **Peacock:** [*The Commitments*](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md) (82)
- **Netflix:** [*Flushed Away*](https://film.one/film/flushed-away.md) (64)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Ian La Frenais

> Ian La Frenais, usually writing with Dick Clement, makes small advantages worth arguing over. We rate him for comedy that gives everyone a reason to speak, though the quick replies can leave too little room for characters to develop.

In *Porridge* (1974), Norman Stanley Fletcher wants the last word, especially when he has little say over anything else. Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement make that wish enough to sustain an exchange, because they are precise about what Fletcher wants and what the person facing him knows. Ronnie Barker makes each small advantage seem worth the effort. The writing lets us follow the manoeuvre without stopping to explain it.

The partnership began with the BBC sitcom *The Likely Lads* (1964), establishing their interest in working-class Northern life. By *Auf Wiedersehen, Pet* (1983), they were writing about British workers abroad, still finding comedy among people obliged to spend time together. Their later feature work brought the same partnership to *The Commitments* (1991) and the heist film *The Bank Job* (2008).

Familiarity has a cost in *Porridge*: Fletcher's contests with the warders can become predictable. Yet Clement and La Frenais usually keep the immediate business clear, and an excuse changes according to who must be persuaded. Richard Beckinsale helps keep the company worth having when the contest itself holds fewer surprises. The kindness works because it grows out of paying attention to what the characters want, however little that might amount to outside the prison.

*The Commitments*, directed by Alan Parker and adapted from Roddy Doyle's novel, gives that skill a practical job: getting a soul band together in Dublin. Doyle shares the screenplay credit with Clement and La Frenais, and the auditions let different personalities emerge through the same task. We laughed more than we expected at the auditions, where the business of finding musicians gives each encounter a reason to happen. At times, though, the script collects funny encounters faster than it develops the people in them. Start with *Porridge*; leave *The Commitments* for an evening when the songs matter as much as the conversation.

## Biography

Ian La Frenais is an English screenwriter best known for his long creative partnership with Dick Clement. Born on 7 January 1937 in Monkseaton, Northumberland, he began writing for television in the 1960s.

Their joint credits include the series *The Likely Lads* (1964–66), *Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?* (1973–74), *Porridge* (1974–77) and its sequel *Going Straight* (1978), *Auf Wiedersehen, Pet* (1983–86) and *Lovejoy* (1986–94). They have also written feature films including *The Commitments* (1991), *Still Crazy* (1998), *Flushed Away* (2006), *Across the Universe* (2007) and *The Bank Job* (2008).

La Frenais was appointed OBE in 2007. He has been married to artist Doris Vartan since 1984.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Flushed Away* (2006), Fi1m 64, Story, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/flushed-away.md)
- *The Commitments* (1991), Fi1m 82, Screenplay, Co-Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md)
- *Auf Wiedersehen, Pet* (1983), Fi1m 84, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/auf-wiedersehen-pet.md)
- *Porridge* (1974), Fi1m 89, Writer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/porridge.md)

## Complete filmography (50)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *My Generation* (2017), Writer, Producer
- *Porridge* (2016), Writer
- *Spies of Warsaw* (2013), series, Writer, Co-Executive Producer, Creator
- *Killing Bono* (2011), Screenplay
- *The Bank Job* (2008), Screenplay
- *Across the Universe* (2007), Screenplay
- *Comedy Map of Britain* (2007), series, Actor
- *Flushed Away* (2006), Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/flushed-away.md)
- *Goal!* (2005), Screenplay
- *Archangel* (2005), series, Writer
- *The Rotters' Club* (2005), series, Adaptation, Writer, Creator
- *The Best of Ronnie Barker* (2005), series, Writer
- *Honest* (2000), Writer, Executive Producer
- *Still Crazy* (1998), Writer, Executive Producer
- *Tracey Takes On...* (1996), series, Writer, Producer
- *The Commitments* (1991), Screenplay, Co-Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md)
- *Spender* (1991), series, Creator
- *Freddie and Max* (1990), series, Writer
- *Laat maar zitten* (1988), series, Creator
- *Vice Versa* (1988), Producer, Writer
- *Lovejoy* (1986), series, Writer, Creator
- *Water* (1985), Writer, Producer
- *Auf Wiedersehen, Pet* (1983), series, Writer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/auf-wiedersehen-pet.md)
- *Bullshot* (1983), Producer
- *Sunset Limousine* (1983), Writer
- *The New Adventures of Lucky Jim* (1982), series, Writer
- *Astronauts* (1981), series, Script Editor
- *The Prisoner of Zenda* (1979), Screenplay
- *Porridge* (1979), Writer
- *To Russia... with Elton* (1979), Director, Producer, Writer
- *Going Straight* (1978), series, Writer, Creator
- *Porridge: The Desperate Hours* (1976), Writer
- *The Likely Lads* (1976), Writer
- *Porridge: No Way Out* (1975), Writer
- *On the Rocks* (1975), series, Creator
- *Porridge* (1974), series, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/porridge.md)
- *Percy's Progress* (1974), Additional Dialogue
- *Thick as Thieves* (1974), series, Writer
- *Seven of One* (1973), series, Writer
- *Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?* (1973), series, Writer
- *Catch Me a Spy* (1971), Screenplay
- *Villain* (1971), Screenplay
- *A Severed Head* (1971), as Other
- *The Virgin Soldiers* (1969), Writer
- *Otley* (1969), Screenplay
- *Hannibal Brooks* (1969), Screenplay
- *The Touchables* (1968), Screenplay
- *The Jokers* (1967), Screenplay
- *The Likely Lads* (1964), series, Writer, Producer, Creator
- *Comedy Playhouse* (1961), series, Writer

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ian-la-frenais