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Only Fools and Horses

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Only Fools and Horses
File:Only Fools and Horses 1.jpg
The original lineup of Only Fools and Horses, featuring Rodney, Del Boy and Grandad, lasted from 1981 to 1983.
Created byJohn Sullivan
StarringDavid Jason
Nicholas Lyndhurst
Lennard Pearce
Buster Merryfield
Roger Lloyd-Pack
John Challis
Paul Barber
Tessa Peake-Jones
Gwyneth Strong
Patrick Murray
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes64
Production
Running time30-95 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC One
ReleaseSeptember 15, 1981 –
February 3, 1991
December 24-December 25 1991
December 25 1992
December 25 1993
December 25-December 29 1996
December 25 2001
December 25 2002
December 25 2003

Only Fools and Horses was a hugely popular British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC. Seven series were broadcast between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003. The show was selected as 'Britain's Best Sitcom' in a 2004 BBC poll.[1]

The programme title is based on an old saying: "Only fools and horses work (for a living)", a reference to the protagonist's tax- and work-evading lifestyle. John Sullivan originally wanted to call the show 'Readies', but later changed his mind as he thought a longer title grabbed people's attention. The theme song is written and sung by Sullivan. In the first series a different theme was used: this was changed to help viewers understand the meaning of the programme's title.

John Sullivan had previously used 'Only Fools and Horses' as the title for an episode of his previous hit, Citizen Smith.

Situation

Derek "Del Boy" Trotter (played by David Jason) and his younger brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) share a flat with their elderly Grandad (Lennard Pearce) several floors up Nelson Mandela House in a high-rise estate in Peckham, South London (although the actual high-rise shown in the show was in Acton, West London). Del Boy runs Trotter's Independent Traders (sometimes also called Trotters International Traders Plc)  — he's a fast-talking Cockney market trader, a wheeler-dealer, a wide boy, always looking to try to make a quick buck, cash in hand, no questions asked.

At the start of the first series Rodney joins Del in the business. Their mother died when Rodney was young, and their father disappeared long ago. Del's been Rodney's surrogate father for most of his life.

Del will do any deal to make money: "This time next year we'll be millionaires", he says. But most of the deals are too dodgy to succeed. Their flat is often piled high with dodgy gear they can't sell, from briefcases with the combination locked inside them to sun tan lotion in the middle of winter.

File:Only Fools and Horses 2.jpg
The more familiar lineup of Del, Rodney and Uncle Albert lasted from 1985-1996.

The brothers' friends include a nouveau riche used car dealer, Boycie, and his wife Marlene; a slow-on-the-uptake road sweeper, Trigger, who always calls Rodney "Dave"; lorry driver Denzil; Mike, the barman at their local pub the Nag's Head; and Del-wannabe Mickey Pearce.

The show's one constant is the bond between the brothers. Unafraid of mixing comedy with tragedy, over the years we see their successes and failures, their loves and their losses. Grandad dies, and they're joined by their Uncle Albert; Del and Rodney both find long term love; Del and his "significant other" Raquel have a child, Damien; Rodney and his wife Cassandra split up and get back together; Uncle Albert dies; Cassandra miscarries, but finally she and Rodney have a child too. The Trotters strike it rich but lose it all again. Template:Spoiler It was revealed in the 'final' Christmas special that Rodney’s father was in fact Freddie Robdul, or "Freddie the Frog", a man with whom Del Boy's mother had an affair.

About the programme

Only Fools and Horses was relatively unpopular when it began, but the BBC persevered, audiences grew steadily and episodes like A Touch of Glass (in which Del, Rodney and Grandad try and spectacularly fail to clean a chandelier) contained scenes that became instant classics.

Series four in 1985 saw the death of Grandad. This was hastily written into the series after the death of the actor Lennard Pearce some way into filming. The programme showed Grandad's funeral – uncommon territory for a sitcom – and quickly introduced a replacement character, Del and Rodney's Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield).

Although the programme ran from 1981 to 2003, there were only seven series. The final series in 1991 ended with the birth of Del and Raquel's son, Damien (whom Rodney is shown (albeit comically) to believe is the spawn of the devil, and the theme tune to The Omen plays at later moments when Damien performs an act, such as playing war with his toys). Ten special episodes were shown between 1991 and 2003, around Christmas time. The three specials shown at Christmas 1996 culminated in Del and Rodney and their families achieving their ambition to become millionaires (having found and auctioned a John Harrison longitude watch); it currently holds the record for the highest-rated episode of a sitcom on British television, with 24.3 million viewers. A further, short ten-minute insert was shown in 1997 as part of the Comic Relief telethon. Set just before their windfall, Del and Rodney (primarily, although Uncle Albert, Racquel and Damien also feature) discuss world hunger and poverty, whilst making clever references to each other's television characters (David Jason as Inspector Frost in the detective series A Touch of Frost; Nicholas Lyndhurst as time-travelling Gary Sparrow in another sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart). The sketch ends with the brothers making a direct appeal from the flat for the Comic Relief charity.

The Christmas 1996 trilogy was intended to end the series, but three further episodes shown at Christmas 2001, 2002 and 2003 carried on the story. Actor Buster Merryfield had died in 1999, and so Uncle Albert died too. Kenneth MacDonald, who played Mike the landlord of the Nag's Head pub, had also died in 2001, and Sullivan wrote around this by keeping his character in prison for fraud. The Trotters had lost their millions in the stock market crash, but Rodney and Cassandra finally had a baby. These three episodes were neither as successful nor as acclaimed as the earlier trilogy, and no further episodes are expected. A spin-off show, The Green Green Grass, centred on the characters of Boycie and Marlene and their plans to move out of Peckham and into the countryside, began filming in June 2005. Sullivan has reportedly also been developing a second spin-off, Once Upon A Time In Peckham, which would show Del and Rodney as youngsters in the 1960s.

One of the major examples of discontinuity in the show is the corridor outside the Trotter's flat. Every time it is shown, its appearance is dramatically different. Also, the interior furnishing of the flat is always different, with new tables and chairs. This was intentional to convey the fact that the Trotters were wheeler dealers and would sell virtually anything if a decent offer was made.

Theme music

File:Only Fools and Horses car.jpg
The Trotters' Reliant Regal in front of Nelson Mandela house. The van has reached iconic status in the UK.

The theme music has been the source of many misconceptions down the years. First of all, the famous theme songs (different ones at the beginning and end of the show) are not the original themes. For the first series, theme music composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst was used; however, this music was extremely unpopular with the public and John Sullivan alike, so for the second series John Sullivan persuaded the BBC to use two of his own compositions instead.

The first series was subsequently re-edited to use the new theme songs, though the very first episode, Big Brother, is still regularly (but not always) repeated with the original Ronnie Hazlehurst music intact, as is the 1981 Christmas special. The DVD release on Series 1, however, replaces the theme music on all 7 episodes.

The original theme music is still used in the very first episode during a montage in which Del unsuccessfully conducts business throughout Peckham. This music still appears in versions of the episode where the famous "Only Fools and Horses" song is used for the opening and closing credits.

The theme songs are performed by Sullivan himself, and not — as many people think — by Nicholas Lyndhurst, though the voice Lyndhurst uses in the series is quite similar and the confusion is understandable.

The exact lyrics often cause confusion as well. The lines that cause most head-scratching are the first line of the opening theme and the closing refrain of the end theme, which are respectively, "Stick a pony in me pocket" ("pony" being common London slang for 25 pounds cash) and "c'est magnifique, Hookie Street". Hookie is British slang for something that is either stolen or acquired by illegal means, reinforcing the idea that Del Boy is something of a crook who will happily sell stolen goods to make any kind of profit.

The line "Why do only fools and horses work?", which explains the somewhat oblique title of the show itself, refers to a genuine though somewhat obscure saying which seems (prior to its exposure through the TV show) to have confined its currency to South London. This line provided an answer to the many questions regarding the show's title which were received by the BBC during the transmission of the first series.

BBC Radio 1 presenter Chris Moyles once sampled the theme and laid Without Me by Eminem neatly over the top.

Regular cast

File:Only Fools and Horses 3.jpg
Del Boy (right) with regular cohorts Boycie and Trigger.
Born after the war, Del became his family's main moneymaker before he left school. His gift of the gab made him a natural salesman, no matter what the quality, safety, legality or suitability of the goods in his possession. Devoted to the memory of his mother and hateful of the way his father left after her death, Del puts family high on his agenda, refusing to put Rodney into care as a child and looking after Grandad in his frailty until his death. That said, Del was never afraid to stitch up Rodney to save his own skin or pride. Popular with the ladies, Del was engaged numerous times during the 60s and 70s but never got close to marriage, only finally settling down after re-meeting Raquel and having a son with her. Del misuses French phrases as part of his wish to appear cultured but is ultimately found wanting in aesthetic situations. Del's luck changed in 1996 when an antique watch hidden in his garage made him and his family overnight millionaires. He lived the high life for 5 years before losing it all in 2001 due to a stock market crash.
Born in the early 1960s after being accidentally conceived, Rodney Charlton Trotter never got to know his parents. His mother died and his father absconded before he had barely started school, so he was brought up by his teenage brother Derek and his declining Grandad. Rodney was a bright but easily-influenced child, attaining GCE passes in mathematics and art before going to art college in Basingstoke, where he was thrown out after three weeks for smoking marijuana, which also earned him a criminal conviction, a fine and a suspended prison sentence. Rodney subsequently became Del's apprentice, suitcase-carrier and general whipping boy, and became the opposite to his brother cerebrally - blessed with knowledge but lacking entirely in street-wisdom or common sense, hence Del's frequent labelling of him as a "plonker". Rodney tried numerous times to take more control of the business, pursue new interests or go out on his own, but it was only after meeting Cassandra at his evening school that Del finally decided not to interfere. Rodney duly married Cassandra but continued to stay to an extent under Del's influence. In the final episode of the show, Sleepless in Peckham, it was finally revealed to Rodney that his biological father was in fact local crook "Freddie the Frog", and not Reg Trotter, following much speculation in preceding episodes. In the same episode he and Cassandra became the parents of a baby girl, named Joan after his mother.
Born at the turn of the 20th century, Edward "Grandad" Trotter, grandfather on Del's father's side (Del and Rodney's absent father Reginald was his son) served in the Army during the Second World War and worked in a number of semi-skilled jobs. He was widowed early and spent much of his final years almost completely housebound, although Del made him responsible for the housekeeping and the cooking while he and Rodney went out to work. Grandad never removed his hat, watched at least two television sets at once and rarely failed to burn the meals he prepared. He died in 1984 (just as filming for Series 4 was getting underway) and was buried in the episode "Strained Relations".
Born approximately five years after his elder brother Edward, Albert Gladstone Trotter was a seaman as man and boy, initially in the Royal Navy, then the Merchant. He married Ada but the marriage didn't work out for reasons unknown, and Albert was a pensioner alone, moving to the homes of distant relation after distant relation, until attending Grandad's funeral and moving in with his great-nephews Del and Rodney afterwards. He took over the Grandad roles of housekeeping and cooking, doing a considerably better job of it, and was also in the Nag's Head with frequency, drinking rum and playing the piano. Albert never stopped talking about his war days to anyone in earshot, often issuing tedious anecdotes which allowed Del or Rodney to mock him. Albert's death - 15 years after moving in with his great-nephews - was mourned on as grand a scale as Grandad's. This was written into the next episode made after the death of actor Buster Merryfield in 1999. In his will he left Del and Rodney £145,000 each, which got them out of debt with the Inland Revenue.
A trained actress and singer whose career never took off, Rachel "Raquel" Turner married and then separated from policeman Roy Slater before joining up with a dating agency, where she was introduced to Del. They hit it off but split after a row over Raquel's part-time job as a stripper. They re-met accidentally in Margate, where Del was stranded after missing his transport back from a day trip, and Raquel was working in a club as one half of a conjurer's act. This time they got back together and Raquel moved in, taking much of the housekeeping duty off Albert while also trying occasionally to relaunch her theatrical career. She and Del survived a crisis after Del found out the identity of her ex-husband - Slater was his old nemesis - and had an unplanned but very welcome son, Damien, although they never got round to marrying. Raquel was responsible for re-furnishing and re-decorating the flat to the extent that it looked like a family home for the first time.
An intelligent, slightly spoilt daughter of a wealthy, self-made businessman, Cassandra was a bank worker who was taking evening classes when she met Rodney, with whom she started a relationship after they danced together at a nightclub. Their love blossomed to the extent that even Del approved, and the two soon married. Cassandra's ambitious nature and Rodney's own difficulty in untying the apron strings of his family meant the marriage initially struggled to work, with the two separating after a year, although ultimately they reconciled their differences and grew stronger, especially after Cassandra miscarried their first child. She later gave birth to Joan Trotter.
The chief supporting character throughout the show's run, Trigger was a local road sweeper, small time thief and rogue and 'village idiot' who had no enemies and was highly valued by Del as a friend. Trigger - apparently so called because he looks like a horse - was the son of a local woman and an unknown military father, but had numerous extended family members. He went to school with Del and has always swept the roads of Peckham by day before propping up the Nag's Head bar at night. Early in the run we saw Trigger also as a mild crook and trader but eventually he stopped getting involved in buying and selling and just became a valued hanger-on. Despite being extremely dim, Trigger's generosity and good nature is respected by all in the area. He consistently called Rodney "Dave" under the genuine belief that that is his name, even though he hears everyone else using the correct name time and again. John Sullivan later revealed that Trigger's real name is Colin Ball.
Boycie went to school with Del and Trigger and emerged as the most financially successful but least popular of the trio. A frightful snob with a machine gun laugh and membership of the local Masonic lodge, Boycie was a ruthless businessman - mainly in used cars and movie retailing - who still socialised with his Peckham compatriots partially out of a sense of duty, although under it all he remains fond of Del and Trigger. He married Marlene in the mid 1960s but it took more than 20 years for them to conceive a child after Boycie was discovered to have a low sperm count. Their son Tyler was subsequently born and recently the family moved to the countryside for spin-off sitcom "The Green Green Grass" to escape local gangsters, The Driscoll Brothers, whom Boycie had grassed up to the police. (In the episode 'Sickness and Wealth', Boycie admits that 'Aubrey' is his first name.)
Mrs Boyce had a prior reputation as a well loved 'entertainer' of men, including Del and Trigger, before she married Boycie in the 1960s. However, there was a consistent undercurrent of an affair between Del and Marlene throughout the programme. It was revealed in the episode 'Fatal Extraction' that they had actually had a short romance in the 60's before she was with Boycie. Del met her when she was working as a cashier in a betting shop on Ladbroke Grove. Marlene did not work but instead kept the Boyce home in the Kings Avenue, for a long time having her beloved Great Dane, Duke, as her only company until a long fertilisation course produced son Tyler.
An unemployed put-upon husband when first seen, Denzil was another schoolfriend of Del's although he arrived in the area from Liverpool well into his teens. A trusted and liked friend of all, Denzil was nevertheless regularly on the receiving end of Del's scams. He was married to Corinne (Eva Mottley) who was only sighted once before leaving him. He ultimately forged a reasonable living as a courier and long distance lorry driver.
A young, confident but largely unimaginative spiv figure and friend of Rodney's, often on the receiving end of Del's jibes whenever he issues one of his regular boasts or exaggerations. In the early days he often targeted the same girls and high-reaching ambitions as Rodney, later just becoming a cash-in-hand delivery man for Boycie, amongst other things. One of the regular jokes about Mickey was that at the beginning of the series, he sported the pork-pie hat and suit of the Two-Tone/Ska scene (which was very popular at the time), but continued to wear these clothes for the rest of the series, well into the 2000's.
The landlord of the Nag's Head (although not from the very beginning; his predecessor was never seen, with just a succession of barmaids providing service), Mike Fisher became a respected landlord and friend of the regulars, often targeted by Del as a potential customer for any dubious gear he was selling. Mike's private affairs rarely were discussed, although he was divorced before taking over the pub. The death of actor Kenneth MacDonald in 2001 prompted a plot line of Mike's imprisonment for fraud in subsequent episodes, with the local cafe owner Sid taking over as licensee of the pub.
Damien Derek Trotter, Del and Raquel's son, grew up into a typically moody and brash teenager and was a constant threat to Rodney, who viewed him as a 'devil child', even suggesting the name of Damien as a joke over The Omen films, only for Del and Raquel to take his suggestion seriously. The Omen joke between Rodney and Damien - often featuring the music from that film - is continuous throughout the episodes following his birth. Damien also appeared as an adult in Rodney's futuristic dream in the episode Heroes and Villains, portrayed as the war-mongering and all-powerful president of the now multinational Trotters Independent Traders.
Sid made sporadic appearances throughout the show's run, mainly as the proprietor of the run-down and unhygienic local cafe (which was shot in different locations, depending on the episode), for which he racked up a conviction for 'unintentional attempted poisoning' and subsequently three more for running an 'unhygienic eating house'. Sid was always seen with a cigarette dangling from his mouth and on one occasion Denzil found two hairs in his porridge. After Nag's Head landlord Mike was imprisoned for embezzlement in the episode If They Could See Us Now, Sid took over and remained in that role for the remainder of the series.
A regular cast member during series six and seven, Alan Parry was Cassandra's father and subsequently, Rodney's father-in-law. He was the owner of a successful printing firm which employed Rodney for a time, and later became a friend of Del, often ending up drunk or getting sick after eating too many jellied eels whilst under Del's influence, much to the chagrin of his wife, Pam.

Guest cast

Appeared in three episodes: May The Force Be With You, To Hull and Back and The Class of '62. A much-reviled ex-schoolmate of Del's, Slater is a corrupt policeman and (as revealed in a subsequent episode) the ex-husband of Raquel. He was later to sent to prison for diamond smuggling.
Only appeared in one episode but mentioned in numerous others, Reg was the father of Del and (until the plot twist of the final episode) Rodney. He abandoned his sons and his father upon the death of his wife Joan in 1965 but returned 18 years later in the Christmas special episode Thicker than Water, in which Del's paternity was called into question. When it later emerged that he had edited Del's medical records to show a different blood group, he left again, never to return.
Only appeared in the episode, The Frogs Legacy. She informs Del of the gold legacy that Freddie the Frog left to his mother.
Better known as the Driscoll Brothers, they only appeared in one episode - Little Problems - but were mentioned in numerous others. The Driscoll brothers were the local gangsters with a fearsome reputation. They beat up Del Boy after he failed to repay money owed to them, and in the same episode left Mickey Pearce and Jevon with broken bones for a similar reason. In a similar joke to the different-looking Del and Rodney being brothers, the Driscoll brothers differ in height by as much as two feet.
Appears in the episode Who Wants to be a Millionaire? but also mentioned in 'Jolly Boy's Outing' as Del's ex-business partner on a Jellied eels stall. Mills returns from Australia to persuade Del to move out there with him and become business partners again. Stringer also appeared in an earlier episode, Go West Young Man, playing an Australian man who bought a dodgy car from Del Boy, which he later crashed into the back of Boycie's E-type Jaguar, which at the time was being driven by Del.

Cultural impact

Only Fools and Horses — and consequently John Sullivan — is credited with the popularisation in Britain of at least two words/phrases (both used by Del Boy regularly):

  • Plonker — a fool or an idiot. "Rodney, you plonker!"
  • Lovely jubbly — excellent! "A grand? Lovely jubbly!"

The latter was originally an advertising slogan, "Lubbly Jubbly!" for an obscure 1960s frozen orange juice drink, called Jubbly, that was packaged in a pyramid shaped, waxed paper carton. John Sullivan remembered it and reckoned it was exactly the sort of thing Del Boy would say.

Other British slang words commonly used in the series are "berk", "prat" and "wally", mild ways of calling someone an idiot; "dipstick", an outdated slang term meaning someone who is "thick" (i.e. slow-witted to the point of idiocy); and "twonk" and "pranny" are occasionally used, yet more mild insults which are no longer in common use.

The Reliant van used by the Trotters is on display in the Star Cars exhibition at the National Motor Museum. Their second vehicle, a Ford Capri Ghia which Del acquires in the seventh series and Rodney calls the "Prat Mobile". This vehicle was sold to a private buyer after the conclusion of the 1996 Christmas specials for £500.

An unsuccessful adaptation of the show was made in Portugal, by the name of O Fura-Vidas.

Peckham Spring

The series contributed to the media frenzy surrounding The Independent's revelations that the new bottled water Dasani marketed by Coca-Cola was in fact 'purified' tap water from Sidcup. Mocking parallels were made with the OFAH episode concerning Del's attempts to sell tapwater as "Peckham Spring". Dasani was withdrawn from the UK market and the planned rollout over continental Europe cancelled. In the UK, it is sometimes joked that mineral water from low cost supermarkets such as Lidl and Netto might be "like Peckham spring."

Episodes

Series One (30 minute episodes)

Title First broadcast Audience Notes
Big Brother 1981-09-15 9.2m Del employs Rodney; Rodney subsequently runs away from home after an argument, saying that he is going to visit the 'Chinese girl,' with whom he was arrested for taking drugs, in China. Eventually he returns home claiming to have reached St Tropez and then realised how much he missed his home. Howvere Del reveals that he had found Rodney's passport after he had left, finally prompting Rodney to admit only reaching a London dosshouse. Trigger's first appearance; also the first time Trigger calls Rodney "Dave". Del Boy's character is notably milder in this episode than in all later episodes.
Go West Young Man 1981-09-15 6.1m Boycie's first appearance. At the start of the episode, Del and Rodney are looking around Boycie's carlot, where Boycie has hidden an E-type Jaguar as a surprise for his bit on the side. Del offers to lock it up his garage so that Marlene won't see it, as long as Boycie sells him a car he wants for less. When bringing the car to Nelson Mandela House to be locked away Rodney says that it is a death trap, with brakes that don't work correctly. Del eventually manages to sell the car to a sceptical Australian. After this Rodney decides to go out in the Jaguar but does his best to suggest to Del that he wants him to come as well and Del agrees.When coming back from a successful time at a club, Rodney throws out a cigarette packet, which happens to have the number of the girls that Del and Rodney have just 'pulled'. This causes Del to brake suddenly. They are then crashed into by the, at first apoloetic, Australian as his car brakes didn't work.
Cash and Curry 1981-09-22 7.3m Del and Rodney become involved in a feud between two Indian families over a small statue that is worth several thousand pounds. At the end of th episode it is revealed that the two gentlemen who were supposedly feuding were, in fact, co-conspirators who all along had been planning to scam Del out of his money. It is revealed that they have done the same operation in several other cities.
The Second Time Around 1981-09-29 7.8m Del's murderous ex-fiancee returns, knowing that he is still in love with her and will take her in. Rodney eventually convinces Del that Pauline is bad news and together with Grandad they flee to a distant relation's house to hide for a few days. Once they have been in the house for a while, they realise that the woman they assumed to be their aunt is infact a complete stranger. When they return Pauline has left, leaving the house in a pristine state, but she has signed them up for the talking clock in America.
A Slow Bus To Chingford 1981-10-06 7m Del hires a tour bus, hoping to lure foreign tourists onto his over-priced tours of "Ethnic London", which includes a view of Lower Edmondton at dusk. The tour bus is actually free, in exchange for Rodney's services as a night watchman at the bus station. Del claims that he has created a new subsidiary of the T.I.T. Co. named Trotter Watch and that he has had the initials put on Rodney's uniform. Rodney correctly observes that T.W. also stands for Traffic Warden. Unfortunately, Grandad has thrown all of Del's publicity flyers down the rubbish chute.
The Russians Are Coming 1981-10-13 8.8m The Trotters build a nuclear war shelter. This is notably the "heaviest" episode of the first series, as it deals with the very real (at the time) concerns about the Cold War. There is some misinformation about the effects of radiation in this episode - presumably this is supposed to reflect the Trotters' ignorance.

1981 Christmas special (35 minutes)

Christmas Crackers 1981-12-28 7.5m Del and Rodney spend Christmas night at a club where they see two attractive girls. Unfortunately, neither of the brothers dares go and talk to them.

Series Two (30 minute episodes)

The Long Legs of the Law 1982-10-21 7.7m At the start of the episode, Rodney is complaining to Grandad of the double date he went on last night with Del and a mother and her daughter, saying that when Del told him about it, he was expecting that he would be paired up with the daughter and that he didn't enjoy spending the night with the mother who had a cough. This prompts Del to expand on the other happenings of the previous night, including meeting a friend, Tommy Razzle, and his 'dog,' which he had now married. Apparently he and Monkey Harris had formed a partnership, selling 'false ceilings or something,' and the night before the pair had a big argument as Tommy had claimed to have seen a salt beef bar in Jeddah and Monkey Hariis didn't agree in the least. The argument soon became physical, so bad in fact that at one point they 'almost had to call for the manager.' To end the fight someone had called the police and the person who turned up was a young police woman, named Sandra. As women in uniforms are Rodney's fetish, he soon began talking to her, trying to date her, which Del believes was unsuccessful. However he did manage to secure a date with her. He dates her to the pictures to see The Exterminator and gives her a stolen watch, as a gift. He then takes her back to the flat, where Del begins panicking over all th eillegal items in their home, including records that haven't yet been released, more of the watches and cases of export gin. Rodney then escorts Sandra back to her apartment where as they hug outside Sandra asks him if anything in their flat is legal. She then says that she will give him twenty four hours to clear out the flat and then she will arrive withe a warrant accompanied by back-up.
Ashes to Ashes 1982-10-18 9.8m Trigger's grandmother, never seen or afore mentioned, dies, leaving everything to him, and TRiger has no-one to come to the wake, so he invites the Trotters. Whilst at the house Del is investigating everything that Trigger now owns, syaing that he wil not pay teh market value for anything but that it is better that Trigger is stitched up by a friend than by a stranger, as Trigger wants to sell everything to go on holiday to Ireland. One particular item that Del purchases is a pair of 'Grecian' urns. Upon opening one of them it becomes apparent that Trigger's grandfather, Arthur, was cremated and kept in one of the urns. Del refuses to give the urns back considering their value and instead tries to get rid of 'Arthur's ashes' by depositing them on the Peckham bowling green at night but the members turn up for a meeting, which stops that plan. Then they attempt to perfrom a 'burial at sea at St. Catherines dock' but the river police stop them as they didn't have written permission to do so. Then whilst they are discussing what to do next and Rodney is suggesting that it could be a sign that they shouldn't dabble in that sort of thing, the urn is sucked up up a machine that cleans the road. Though they manage to successfully recover the urn, it's contents are lost forever. Del appreciates that poetic irony of this end, as Arthur was a road sweeper, and speculates whether Arthur may have wanted it that way. Rodney says 'maybe' but ultimately does not think that it would have been Arthur's wish. Upon returning home el has a call from Trigger, who is finally returning Del's numerous calls. Del convinces Trigger to leave the final arrangements up to Del but says something to him that Del does not elaborate on. Del then fetches the other urn and reveals that Trigger's grandmother was married twice.
A Losing Streak 1982-11-04 7.5m The Trotters have money trouble and this is not helped by them trying to sell 'French Scent,' which one woman claimed smelt the smae as when the cat sanctuary was bombed. This isn't helped by Del losing everything in a series of fixed poker games with Boycie. To resolve this, Grandad gives Del a dounble headed coin, that he was given during the war just before the man deserted. Del tries using this once in the Nag's Head to win back money that he has only just lost but Boycie picks heads. He uses it again to decide whose pack of cards is used in the poker game that night back at the flat and once again Boycie picks heads. Del uses the coin a third time, just as a defeated Boycie, both in mind and in money, as a way to try to extract a further two hundred pounds from him. To make it fait he allows Rodeny to call for him, at which Rodney says tails. It is revealed to the audience that Boycie is cheating in the poker game at the flat, which would sugest that he had been cheating every other time, and then later he is caught out by Del. Del deals him a hand, knowing what the cards are, and Boycie swaps them, replacing them with four kings. When he announces this Del seems amazed and says that he has two pair. He then reveals that he has a pair of aces and another pair of aces. It is unclear whether Del was cheating.
No Greater Love 1982-11-11 8.6m Rodney dates an older woman whose jailed husband happens to be a psychotic criminal. This episode establishes Del's capability to defend himself when he is attacked by the psychotic husband, but manages to win the fight.
The Yellow Peril 1982-11-18 8.2m Del buys some stolen luminous paint (not realising what kind of paint it is) and redecorates his local Chinese restaurant - and his mother's grave - with it.
It Never Rains 1982-11-25 9.5m Delboy manages to convince Alex ,a friend who owns his own travel agency, to bring life to his ailing business by doing a special offer wherehy he reduces the cost of the holiday of the next person to buy a one by 80% and then sell full price holidays to the other people who came for the offer at the full price. Unfortunately for Alex, his next customer is Del who decides to go to Benidorm. Whilst there, he and Rodney generally seem to enjoy themselves but Grandad appears a little preoccupied. He soon leaves his grand children and goes off on his own. Later Rodney interrupts Del's unsuccessful attempt at pulling a British tourist, that he assumes to be French, telling him that Grandad has been arrested. When they arrive they immediately tru to extract from Grandad the reason as to why he has been incarcerated. He then tells the pair of them that during the Spanish Civil War he joined the French Foreign Legion and delivered a cargo, namely guns, from the FFL's base in Tangiers to Spain. He says that this wasn't done purely for financial gain but also because he and the friend with which he was doing this, Nobby Clarke, also felt a deep political commitment to to a political cause - i.e. the side that had the most money. Then on the seventh trip there were troops awaiting his and Nobby's arrival. Then they took them both to a town outside Tarifa where ther tortured Nobby, who refused to say a word. They did not, however, torture Grandad as he told them everything. Then Nobby and he were deported. They all assume that this is the only possible reason for his arrest. Del tries to remedy this problem by bribing the prison guard, who - after receiving plenty of money from Del - explains to them all that Grandad is free to go as he was originally arrested for 'Jay Walking.'
A Touch of Glass 1982-12-02 10.2m At the beginning of the episode, Del has just been to an auction where he has purchased some musical cats that have had the 'wrong chimes' put in and now sing, 'How much is that doggy in the window?" On their way back home the Trotters encounter a lady, lady Ridgemere, whose car had stopped working and needs help. Rodney does not want to do so but Del is only too keen and in the end they tow her car back to her home, which turns out to be a nice mansion, using Grandad's scarf as tow rope. Del then invites himself and his family into the house, where he eventually tries to sell a musical cat to Lady Ridgemere to add to her collection of porcelain statues. On re-entering the house Del overhears a conversation between the Lord Ridgemere and a company that cleans chandeliers. During this conversation, Del, still in hiding, discovers that the chandlier is Louis XIV crystal and that Lord Ridgemere is very unhappy at the estimate he has been given for the cleaning of the chandeliers. As they are leaving, with husband and wife ushering them out quite desperately, Del looks up at the chandelier, demonstrating his new found knowledge and saying that the Trotters used to make them, but that now there is not enough call for it and so they specialise in cleaning them. At this he is invited in for a port and a deal is discussed. Back at the flat when the Rodney, Granada and Del are talking about their prospective work Rodney shows his sense of morality and common sense, saying that it is wrong and that they know nothing about the subject, adding that Del will probably use Windolene and superglue. Del reacts badly to this and manages to persuade Rodney to help but as soon as he is out of earshot, Del asks Grandad to check if they have the above mentioned items. When they arrive at Ridgemere Hall they get straight to work, with Grandad undoing the nut and bolt, to release the chandelier, and Del and Rodney ready to catch it. However though they all manage to get in position, Grandad is releasing a different chandelier to the one that Del and Rodney are ready to catch. The chandelier plummets to thr ground and the Trotters have to make a quick getaway.

1982 Christmas specials

Christmas Trees 1982-12-27 7.2m 8 minutes; Del can't shift his telescopic Christmas trees
Diamonds Are For Heather 1982-12-30 9.3m 30 minutes; Del falls for a girl named Heather

Series Three (30 minute episodes)

Homesick 1983-11-10 9.4m Grandad becomes ill
Healthy Competition 1983-11-17 9.7m Rodney leaves T.I.T. and goes it alone
Friday the 14th 1983-11-24 9.7m A fishing trip turns nasty for Del, Rodney and Grandad
Yesterday Never Comes 1983-12-01 10.6m An upper-class antiques dealer takes a sudden interest in Del
May The Force Be With You 1983-12-08 10.7m Slater nicks Del
Wanted 1983-12-15 11.2m Rodney thinks he's a wanted criminal
Who's a Pretty Boy? 1983-12-22 11.9m The canary episode

1983 Christmas special (30 minutes)

Thicker Than Water 1983-12-25 10.8m Del and Rodney's Dad reappears

Series Four (30 minutes)

Happy Returns 1985-02-21 15.2m Del thinks he has a daughter
Strained Relations 1985-02-28 14.9m Grandad sadly dies; Uncle Albert appears
Hole in One 1985-03-07 13.4m Albert gets the Trotters in trouble
It's Only Rock and Roll 1985-03-14 13.6m Rodney's rock group
Sleeping Dogs Lie 1985-03-21 18.7m The Trotters have dog trouble
Watching the Girls Go By 1985-03-28 14.4m Rodney bets he can get a girl
As One Door Closes 1985-04-04 14.2m The butterfly episode

1985 Christmas special (90 minutes)

To Hull and Back 1985-12-25 16.9m Diamond smuggling from Holland

Series Five (30 minute episodes)

From Prussia With Love 1986-08-31 12.1m The Trotters take in a pregnant German girl
The Miracle of Peckham 1986-09-07 14.2m The weeping statue episode
The Longest Night 1986-09-14 16.7m The supermarket hostages episode
Tea for Three 1986-09-21 16.5m Paragliding Del
Video Nasty 1986-09-28 17.5m Rodney is asked to make a film
Who Wants to be a Millionaire 1986-10-05 18.8m Jumbo offers Del a new start down under

1986 Christmas special (75 minutes)

A Royal Flush 1986-12-25 18.8m Whilst being on look out for police as Del sells dinner services, Rodney sees an attractive new girl, named Vicky, on a stall selling paintings. He goes over to her and they begin talking and as they are doing so, several policemen turn up at the market, catching Del completely unaware. To resolve this he packs up his suitcase and begins talking to Trigger, in English, French, Spanish, and German, pretending to be a tourist looking for the Hilton hotel and manages to successfully escape, though one policeman is not fooled by the guise. Rodney, thinking that Del has packed up and gone for an early lunch, offers to help Vicky pack up her stal and take it to her car, which happens to be a Mercedes Benz. Mentioning that he is going to go to Sid's Cafe, aka 'The Fatty Thumb,' Vicky says she will drive him there as she likes the sound of it and would like to join him. As they are dining there, she divulges information about her life, including that her mum died on a skiing accident and that she is aristocracy as her father is the Duke of Malebury. She al;so mentions that she has been trying to get hold of tickets to a Gala performance of Carmen but as of yet has failed. They both agree to meet the next day at noon outisde the Nation Gallery. Back at the flat Rodney repeats all of this information to Del, who interprets Rodney's befriending of Victoria as her father telling her to find a commoner to marryas the family must 'water the ld blue blood down a bit.' He then tells Rodney that he will get the tickets to the perfromance of Carmen. At the Royal Opera House, just before the tickets are checked Victoria jokes that she hopes they aren't forgeries. This causes Rodney to panick slightly but it transpires that they are legitimate. After this, still before the perfromance begins, Rodney meets Del, as he is getting himself and Victoria a drink, who purchased an extra pair of tickets for himself and his date. His date is shown to be June, the mother of Rodney's ex-girlfriend Debbie. During the perfromance Rodney and Vitoria conduct themselves with the correct standard of ettiquette, however Del and June fail to do the same. They are constantly eating, crisps, sweets, ice creams and drinking and when finsihed they simply drop the boxes, cartons and packets on the floor. Del purchases the ice creams from a lady outside and when he returns he is unable to locate his place and begins severely annoying the audience, as well as distracting the performers. Rodney tries to get Del;s attention but in the end June stands up and yells, 'We're over here Del!" Eventually June has eaten so much that she throws up and the four of them leave, with Del stil thinking that they have made a good impression. Victoria then invites Rodney down to her father's estate in Berkshire, where there is a social gathering that weekend, primarily a shooting party. To continue making a good impression Del makea sure that Rodney has what he considers to be the correct clothing. It turns out that the party is much less formal than expected. Just as Rodney had been invited to shoot, he saw the Trotter's van driving by and couldn't believe his eyes. Del had arrived with Rodney's evening suit, which Rodney had packed but Del had then unpacked in order to have to go to Berkshire. He also says that as he packed Rodney's evening suit he also packed his own as well as a shotgun, owned by Iggy Iggins the bank robber - who is not working on that day as it is Saturday-, which he then uses, much to the amazement of the other guests. Victoria's father Henry politely asks Del if he would like something to eat, however Del interprets this as an invitation to dinner and gladly accepts. At the party Del constantly asks if items around the house are Da Vinci's and drinks so much alcohol that he ends up slightly drunk. He then starts telling people about Rodney's life and eventually moves onto his university and mentions that he was arrested for taking illegal substances. As everyone else at the table is now speechless Del, starts telling jokes to lighten the mood and one of them is about an Irishman who won a skiing holiday. He then refers to the punchline as 'the killer' which infuriates Henry who demands to talk to Del outside. Del is still convinced that everything is going well and that he is about to finalise the details of Rodney's engagement to Victoria, which he has been telling people about for a while even though Rodney thinks that he and Victoria are more friends than anything else. Henry then tells Del that he wants his family to leave his house and never to come back. As Del mentions that it will be pretty hard to sepaate Rodney from Victoria, he suggests that there is one thing that could encourage Rodney to leave her and that they should discuss it in Henry's study. A matter of hours later, Rodney is back at the flat looking out of the lounge window, as Del enters, with whom Rodney is furious. Rodney then relates to Del how he fells and how he has felt for many years as Del has always tried to use him as a way of making money, never caring about Rodney and never willing to even invest properly in his ventures. Rodney then tells Del that Sir Henry offered him £1000 to leave Victoria but that he refused. Del reveals that he knew about this as he suggested it. IN the end he manages to convince Rodney to forgive him.

1987 Christmas special (60 minutes)

The Frog's Legacy 1987-12-25 14.5m Trigger's niece Lisa is once again getting married and whilst he is in the Nag's Head he informs his friends that she has invited Del, Rodney, Uncle Albert, Boycie, Marlene and Mike to come. Whilst he is telling Albert and Rodney all of this, Del is trying to sell one of his computers to Mr Johanne of the local funeral services, after being unsuccessful when trying with the governor of the Nag's Head. In the end he both manages to sell him a computer and to get Rodney a job, with no particular limits - he is referred to as the Chief Mourner but also processes all the data and has to get the sandwiches. After briefly informing Rodney of this information and getting him to come around to the idea, Del rushes off to an auction where a local Chinese takeaway, which Del refers to as the Chinkies, that has recently gone bankrupt is selling all of its possessions. When at the wedding Rodney and Del begin talking with Boycie and Marlene and they discover that they have both bought the newly wed couple a dinner service. Boycies reveals that his was bought from Royal Dalton's and speculates that Del's was bought from Dalton's weekly. Then slightly more seriously he suggests that it came from the Chinese takeaway, before he and Marlene leave them so as to circulate. Del then decides that the appropriate plan of action is to switch the gift cards between the two dinner services, which Rodney neither approves of nor stops. Uncle Albert is shown meeting with Trigger's Aunt Rene, who was Joan Trotter's best friend when she lived on the estate. They talk a bit about old times and then Albert points our Rodney to her, at first she mistakes Boycie for Rodney but she is swiftly corrected. She then begins talking about the times she looked after him when he was young, none of which he can remember. Del then exits the disco, as Marlene is pulling all the blokes shirt tails out and meets Rene. They then begin reminiscing about old times, as he does remember her. She starts talking to him about how he and Rodney could have been millionaires if the location of the gold had been known. Del is confused by the mention of this gold, at which Rene realises that Joan never told him about it. Though at first refusing to tell what she was talking about, she eventually gives in, and tells him that a man called Freddy the Frog, aka Frederick Robdul, stole a quarter of a million pounds in gold bullion and when he died he left everything to Del's mum, who had 'befriended him.' Del talks to people who confirm this information and also elaborate on it, telling him that Freddy started going out with a married woman on their estate and also that they had a son together and that now that kid would be in his mid-twenties. Whilst having this discussion Albert reveals that he knew Freddy. This alarms Rodney who begins asking questions about Freddy, including what his hobbies were. Then when Del leaves the room he begins to ask Albert a question, who quickly interupts him saying that it was just a rumour. Some days later Rodney comes to find Del and Albert in the Nag's Head with a piece of paper he had found at work. A few weeks before he died but stil after his great gold robbery, Freddy ordered an extremely large casket for a man named Alfred Broderick, which is an anagram of Frederick Robdal. Mr Johanne then turns up and Del questions him. It turns out that they he doesn't know where Alfred Broderick is buried as it was a private affair. Del then delegates out the responsibilites for finding the grave, making the assumption that it would be local as Freddy would have stuck to an area that he knew. Soon after Del goes back to the parish where Lisa was married as he had sold the vicar a computer. Whilst deesperately trying to get him to keep it, he discovers that the vicar knew Freddy, who had made several donations, and had had his friend Alfred Broderick buried there. Del then fetches Rodney and Albert and takes them, with a shovel, to where he is buried. He then informs them that he was buried at sea and that Freddy would have been able to get the gold back as he was a frogman and that Aolbert knew that as he had met him in the Navy. Rodney then asks Albert if he looks like Freddy, to which Albert says sort of.

1988 Christmas special (80 minutes)

Dates 1988-12-25 16.6m Del meets Raquel

Series Six (50 minute episodes)

Yuppy Love 1989-01-08 13.9m "Play it nice and cool son... know what I mean?" Del Boy falls through the bar!
Danger UXD 1989-01-15 16.1m The Inflatable Dolls episode
Chain Gang 1989-01-22 16.3m Del organises a big jewellery deal
The Unlucky Winner Is... 1989-01-29 17m Rodney wins an art competition
Sickness And Wealth 1989-02-05 18.2m Del's ill, Rodney's engaged to Cassandra
Little Problems 1989-02-12 18.9m Rodney marries Cassandra

1989 Christmas special (85 minutes)

The Jolly Boys Outing 1989-12-25 20.1m Del meets Raquel again

1990 Christmas special (75 minutes)

Rodney Come Home 1990-12-25 18m Rodney and Cassandra split up

Series Seven (50 minute episodes)

The Sky's The Limit 1990-12-30 15m Del nicks an air traffic control dish
The Chance Of A Lunchtime 1991-01-06 16.6m Raquel's pregnant
Stage Fright 1991-01-13 16.6m Del forms a singing duo
The Class of '62 1991-01-20 16.2m Del attends a school reunion
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle 1991-01-27 17.2m Albert is mugged
Three Men, A Woman And A Baby 1991-02-03 18.9m "It's a baby, Rodney"

Christmas specials

Miami Twice (part one) 1991-12-24 17.7m 50 minutes; Del and Rodney's holiday in Miami
Miami Twice (part two) 1991-12-25 14.9m 95 minutes; the Miami Mafia episode
Mother Nature's Son 1992-12-25 20.1m 65 minutes; the Peckham Spring episode
Fatal Extraction 1993-12-25 19.6m 85 minutes; Del gets stalked by a jilted woman
Heroes and Villains 1996-12-25 21.3m 60 minutes; the Batman and Robin episode
Modern Men 1996-12-27 21.3m 60 minutes; Cassandra miscarries
Time On Our Hands 1996-12-29 24.3m 60 minutes; the Antique Watch episode
If They Could See Us Now 2001-12-25 20.3m 71 minutes; broke again
Strangers on the Shore 2002-12-25 16.3m 75 minutes; the Illegal Immigrant ("Gary") episode
Sleepless in Peckham 2003-12-25 15.5m 75 minutes; Cassandra gives birth, Rodney discovers the truth about his father

Other (27 minutes)

Licensed to Drill 1984 Never Broadcast [2] [3] The lost episode; Del educates Rodney and Grandad in all things oil. Produced as an educational video for schools
Comic Relief 1997 Sketch 1997-03-14 10 minutes; special appeal

With the exception of the lost episode, the 1982 Christmas Trees short and the 1997 Comic Relief sketch, all of these episodes have been released on VHS and DVD. The 2005 DVD release of "A Royal Flush" has annoyed many fans due to the cutting of nearly 20 minutes of material and the adding of a laugh track to the episode, which was absent from the original version. The 1998 VHS & 2003 DVD release of "Miami Twice" did similar, by combining the two episodes into one and adding a laugh track to the second. The BBC have not explained why either of these were done, and it seems there are no plans to release either episode in their original forms. The DVD version of "A Royal Flush" has been broadcast on BBC One (though the original 76 minute version continues to be shown on UKTV Gold) though the video version of Miami Twice has never been broadcast. Roughly 6 minutes of footage was also cut from the 1994 VHS release of "The Jolly Boys' Outing".

The scripts, up to and including the 1997 Comic Relief sketch, have been published in three volumes as The Bible Of Peckham.

  • In 2005 a follow-up to the series was produced and aired by the BBC. Called Green Green Grass, it followed the exploits of Boycie and his wife Marlene after they moved to a farm in Shropshire.
  • The three last episodes of the series are not really considered canonical due to continuity errors, such as Del Boy knowing who Freddy Robdal was when he stated very clearly in The Frog's Legacy that he had no idea who Robdal was and neither knew about his mother's affair with him. Another error is when Del Boy mistakes the "Seaman's Mission" as a medical place for Rodney, who had recently got Cassandra pregnant; in the episode Strained Relations, Del Boy knows perfectly well what and where the Seaman's Mission is.

Miami Twice

One curiosity among fans is the 1991 Christmas special 2-parter "Miami Twice" (the episodes are subtitled "The American Dream" and "Oh, to be in England", though these were never used on-screen). It was originally screened in two episodes on the 24th & 25th of December 1991. The first episode is produced in the style of a regular episode- studio footage shot on videotape, locations on 16mm film, has a laugh track and uses the regular titles & theme music. However, the second episode is drastically different- the episode is shot entirely on film, and is without a laugh track. There is also incidental music throughout the episode, which is not normally used on the show. It is one of only two episodes to be shot entirely on film (the other being To Hull and Back), only three without a laugh track (the others being To Hull and Back and A Royal Flush), one of three not to use the regular closing music (the others being The Jolly Boys Outing and Rodney Come Home) and the only episode not to use the regular opening titles and theme music, instead opting for the song Summer in The City.

For the 1998 VHS release, the episode was titled "Miami Twice: The Movie" and the two episodes were combined into one, with the on-screen titles & credits removed from the second episode (presumably by using the original 16mm footage, rather than the master videotape of the episode) and a laugh track added (often drowing out dialogue). The end credits are also remade, including the credits for both episode and carrying the 1997 BBC logo. This version was also used for the 2003 DVD release, though has never been broadcast.

Trivia

  • John Challis' favourite episode is The Sky's The Limit.
  • Kenneth MacDonald stated Nicholas Lyndhurst as the co-star he most enjoyed working with on the show. His favourite episode is The Jolly Boys Outing
  • Jim Broadbent was John Sullivan's original choice to portray Del Boy, but Broadbent turned it down. He later appeared in the show as corrupt policeman Roy Slater. Enn Reitel and Billy Murray were also considered for the part, before Jason was settled on.
  • A curious coincidence about the show's leading actors is they both worked alongside Ronnie Barker's character Norman Stanley Fletcher. David Jason did so in Porridge, where he played the ailing con Blanco Webb; Nicholas Lyndhurst, on the other hand, played Raymond Fletcher, Norman's son, in the Porridge spin off Going Straight.
  • In Miami Twice, when Rico is handing his sunglasses to one of his henchmen, whilst in the Everglades, the henchman drops them but doesn't attempt to pick them up.
  • Though throughout most of the show, it is a running joke that DelBoy cannot speak French, often confusing 'bonjour' with 'au revoir,' in the earlier episodes he is able to make the afore mentioned distinction.
  • Though [Uncle Albert] is noted for constantly telling stories of his far reaching travels during the war, in 'A Hole In One,' it is mentioned that he spent most of the war stationed on the Isle of Wight. However, it is revealed in 'Strangers on the Shore' that he was at least definitely in France, so this could just be an inconsistency, or it could just be an interpretation of 'most'.

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