Open All Hours/WMG
Granville had multiple pseudonyms through his life.
Granville spent his first 20-30 years slaving for his uncle while dreaming about a better life. Eventually he left home, changed his name and went to live out some of those dreams.
First he tracked down some relatives in Peckham, where he used the skills his uncle taught him to try to build an empire. He also tried to finally get somewhere with the ladies, with a lot more success than his uncle. Unfortunately, since he idolised Hollywood lifestyles (and maybe also believed some of what Arkwright told him about his mother), he found long-term relationships difficult.
Eventually he made enough money to settle down in rural Kent, where he remarried and carried on wheeling and dealing at a slower place in nicer surroundings.
When his kids left home, he decided he'd had enough of dodgy dealing and wanted to go straight - and being just about young enough, he talked his way onto the police force, eventually revealing a talent for detective work.
The stress of his job got to him and he wanted to get back to his roots. His uncle died, leaving him the shop, so he decided to go back and do it right this time.
He hoped to lead a quiet semi-retirement and eventually die in the shop, but something from the past caught up with him and he was sent to jail.
It is no coincidence that David Jason played Granville in all these stages of his life. The various scriptwriters hoped he would do it to preserve continuity, and he was happy to oblige because he enjoyed playing the character. Besides, the different settings and life stages gave a lot of scope for his acting talents.
Granville is a Time Lord
Astute readers will notice some apparent anachronisms in the "Granville had multiple pseudonyms ..." section. In particular, The Darling Buds of May was set decades before Granville could have left Doncaster, besides having some internal oddities in its timeline. Also, the old Granville seen in Porridge is more or less contemporary with the Open All Hours period.
This is because Granville is actually a time-lord. He chose to spent one regeneration in a human-like life in order to study the race, but wasn't too strict about timing within the life-span he'd chosen.
Granville's Time Lord status is also why his surname is never confirmed. In fact, his entire real name is a closely-guarded secret. "Granville" is just a title he gave himself. On Gallifrey, it translates as "screaming genius", but also sounds modest and a little bit sexy. If he had chosen a different Tardis on the day he left Gallifrey, we would have a long-running series called Granville Who.
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