Mr. Mackay
Mr. Mackay (born 23 April 1923) is a character in the British television sitcom Porridge, played by Fulton Mackay.
Mackay is a neurotic and tough prison warder whose constant obsession in life is to catch out Fletcher. Fletch's sly tactics in misdeeds ranging from fixing boxing matches, stealing pills from the prison doctor and eggs from the prison farmyard right through to finding new and imaginative ways to stick two fingers up at Mackay and get away with it, were specially designed to get up Mackay's nose. In return, Mackay's frenzied attempts to catch Fletch out, when fruitful, gave Mackay a level of smugness and satisfaction which was only accentuated by Fletch's hostility and skulking. Mackay was born into a poor family and went on to be a drill sergeant in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and he brings the same manner and expectations of discipline to his job at HMP Slade. Mackay is married and his wife is named Marie, as mentioned in the episode 'Men without Women'. Mackay's temper is agitated by the constant suspicion he has of Fletch, and his despair at the leniency of his other polar opposite in the series - his optimistic, mild-mannered, kind-hearted prison officer colleague Mr Barrowclough. Mackay's homeland of Scotland serves as a constant source of entertainment for Fletcher who is always on the lookout for an opportunity to antagonise Mackay. In one episode Mackay asks Fletch whether he felt he was working class. Fletch responds 'I did, until I visited Glasgow. Now I think I'm middle class.'
Medals
During the series Mackay regularly wore his army service ribbons on his uniform. During the run of the series he wore the 1939-45 Star, the Defence Medal, and the War Medal 1939-45 and by the time of the film this was expanded to a second row containing the General Service Medal 1918-1962, the Korea Medal, the UN Korea Medal, and lastly the Jubilee medal, 1977, which was awarded on the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's rule.
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