Beckinsale was married twice. In 1965, he married his pregnant girlfriend, a local Nottingham woman named Margaret Bradley, whom he had met in 1964 while singing at a folk club. Their daughter, actress Samantha Beckinsale, was born on 23 July 1966. When Beckinsale was accepted into RADA, they moved to London. Beckinsale became immersed in student life and he and his wife grew apart. They separated in 1968 when Margaret took Samantha back to live in Nottingham and Beckinsale left London to work in repertory in Crewe. They divorced in 1971 and Beckinsale did not see his daughter for years.

After graduating in 1968, he moved to Crewe to begin in repertory theatre. He also appeared in various other repertory productions around the country, including Hull, Leeds, London, and Colchester. While at Crewe, Beckinsale played such roles as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night, and the title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Following his stint in 1969 playing Hamlet, Beckinsale took a brief hiatus from acting and worked at a bottle factory, before returning to acting soon after.

Beckinsale met actress Judy Loe in 1968 at Crewe repertory. They soon began dating and lived together for years. Their daughter, actress Kate Beckinsale, was born on 26 July 1973. They finally married in 1977, prior to Kate starting nursery school.

Beckinsale made his television debut in 1969 as a police officer in Coronation Street, in which he had to arrest veteran character Ena Sharples. He later had a small role in a 1970 episode of A Family at War, playing a young soldier.

He had the lead role of a young detective in the 1971 Armchair Theatre episode Detective Waiting.

From 1974 to 1977, Beckinsale starred as prison inmate Lennie Godber alongside Ronnie Barker in the hit BBC sitcom Porridge. Beckinsale expressed relief at landing the role, due to his concern about being typecast as Geoffrey from The Lovers. Barker had suggested actor Paul Henry for the role of Godber, due to Henry being from Birmingham (as Godber was meant to be), but director Sydney Lotterby chose Beckinsale instead.

Beckinsale had previously worked with Leonard Rossiter in the 1974 Johnny Speight drama If There Weren’t Any Blacks You’d Have To Invent Them. Due to a scheduling conflict with the play he was starring in, I Love My Wife, Beckinsale was unable to appear in the fourth series of Rising Damp.

Beckinsale was born in Carlton, Nottinghamshire, the youngest of three children, to an Anglo-Burmese father, Arthur John Beckinsale, and an English mother, Maggie Barlow. Beckinsale stated in a 1977 interview that he was a distant relative of the actor Charles Laughton.

In 1977, Porridge was brought to an end with his character of Godber being released from his prison sentence in the final episode. He subsequently starred alongside Barker in Going Straight (1978), a spin-off of Porridge in which the two criminal characters are seen on the outside rebuilding their lives.

Beckinsale appeared in the films Rentadick (1972) and Three for All (1975) and made appearances in several other television series such as the Stephen Frears-directed ITV Playhouse episode “Last Summer” in 1977.

In 1977, he starred in a radio comedy series called Albert and Me with Pat Coombs and John Comer. He also appeared in an advertisement for Asda which aired in 1978 and early 1979. Beckinsale appeared in the film version of Porridge released in 1979. It was to be his last and only completed work of the year.

Margaret later remarried and her new husband raised Samantha as his daughter. Samantha was unaware that her real father was Richard Beckinsale until she was 11. Beckinsale and Samantha reconnected soon after and spent time together, before his death in 1979.

In January 1979, for an insurance policy for a film, Beckinsale passed a full medical examination in which his heart, lungs, breathing, and blood pressure were checked. Beckinsale spent January and February working on the Porridge film and then prepared to start work on the film Bloody Kids in March.

Beckinsale was cremated during a private service in Bracknell, Berkshire and his remains were then taken to Mortlake Crematorium. Although Beckinsale left more than £65,000 in his will, only approximately £18,000 was left after taxes and other costs. On 19 April 1979, one month after his death, more than 300 people attended a memorial service at the actors’ church St Paul’s in Covent Garden. Porridge co-star David Jason attended, as well as Beckinsale’s Bloomers co-star, Anna Calder-Marshall. Leonard Rossiter, Fulton MacKay, Richard Briers, and Porridge writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais gave tributes. La Frenais stated: “I was always amazed by Richard’s talent. I’m convinced he would have become an international actor.”

In October 1980, Frederick Muller Ltd. posthumously published a volume of Beckinsale’s poetry entitled “With Love” ( ISBN 0-584-10387-5).

Plans had been drawn up to make a film version of Rising Damp and ultimately the film was made in 1980. Christopher Strauli was recruited to replace Beckinsale, playing a different character.

When Beckinsale’s book of poetry, With Love was published in 1980, Judy Loe, Ronnie Barker, and Richard Briers appeared on The Russell Harty Show to talk about the book and recite some of the poetry.

In 2000, 21 years after his death, a documentary was broadcast on ITV in tribute, called The Unforgettable Richard Beckinsale. It featured interviews with his widow, the actress Judy Loe, as well as his father, sister, closest school friend and two daughters. Also contributing were his co-stars, Ronnie Barker of Porridge and Don Warrington of Rising Damp. Barker, remembering Beckinsale’s premature death, said: “He was so loved. He hadn’t done much but he was so loved that there was a universal sort of grief that went on.”

In the 2006 film Venus, during a scene inside the actors’ church, St Paul’s, Peter O’Toole’s character, an aging actor, points out Beckinsale’s plaque, as an example of an actor who died in his prime.

In 2007, actor Alan Davies nominated Beckinsale as his chosen subject for the BBC Radio 4 series Great Lives. Judy Loe and Stephen Frears participated in the discussion of Beckinsale’s life and career.

A biography of Beckinsale, titled The Richard Beckinsale Story was published in 2008 by author David Clayton. It featured interviews with family, friends, and co-workers of Beckinsale’s.

In 2013, a blue plaque in Beckinsale’s memory was unveiled at his former school, College House Junior School in Chilwell. Kate Beckinsale, Judy Loe, David Walliams, and Michael Sheen attended the ceremony.

Channel 4 aired a three-part documentary in 2014 called Porridge: Inside Out, in celebration of Porridge’s 40th anniversary. During this series, there was a memorial segment dedicated to Beckinsale, in which Judy Loe and Kate Beckinsale took part.

ITV3 aired a two-part documentary in 2016 called Rising Damp Forever which looked back at the making of Rising Damp. There was a memorial segment for Beckinsale during the series in which his daughters, Samantha and Kate took part.

In 2018, as part of an art project in Beckinsale’s former hometown of Beeston, a mural of him was commissioned by the town council and painted by the French street artist, Zabou.