COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
GENRE: Sitcom
First Aired: 8 September 1981
CHANNEL: BBC1
Produced by: Ray Butt
Years: 1981-91, With Christmas specials until 2003
NUMBER OF SERIES: 7
NUMBER OF SPECIALS: 16
EPISODES: 64
CREATED BY: John Sullivan
THEME MUSIC: Ronnie Hazlehurst
DIRECTED BY: Various
STARRING: David Jason
Nicholas Lyndhurst
Lennard Pearce
Buster Merryfield
Roger Lloyd-Pack
Paul Barber
Patrick Murray
Sue Holderness
Kenneth MacDonald
John Challis
Tessa Peake-Jones
Gwyneth Strong
Could there ever be a sitcom more beloved to British audiences than Only Fools and Horses? The term 'Classic comedy' gets bandied about a lot but it's one that fits Only Fools & Horses perfectly. If you were around in the eighties, chances are you never missed an episode of Only Fools. Not only did we laugh out loud at the antics of Del, Rodney and co. but the sitcom did what Friends did much later on for the English language by giving us words and phrases that are still uttered today and have become synonymous with the show. Lovely Jubbly!
As the sitcom celebrates forty years since it first aired on British television, we reminisce over the comedy show that made three-wheel vans look cool in the first part of this cos-mic (hands up all of you who read that in Rodney's voice!) post about Only Fools and Horses. Cushty!
Plot
A Cockney South London market trader who dreams of the high-life while living in a high rise with his grandfather and younger brother, dives head first into one disastrous enterprise after another in his quest to become a millionaire - often with side-splittingly hilarious results!
The Writer
If you've never heard of John Sullivan, you've probably never laughed a day in your life! John Sullivan is to comedy what Mary Berry is to baking. He was responsible for Just Good Friends, Citizen Smith, and the charming Dear John. Those sitcoms were and still are magnificent but Only Fools - that was Sullivan's great masterpiece.
David Jason, the man who breathed life into Only Fools' Del Boy, believed that the success of the show lay in the characters being real people who just happened to be funny. And Sullivan knew all about being real. A man from a working-class background who left school at fifteen, and took on various jobs before getting his big break in comedy writing. Sullivan received more than his fair share of rejection when he was trying to get started in the business, and there's probably something of his real-life experiences that comes through in his work: ordinary people striving towards their goals; showing determination and resilience, and determined to make it, even when the odds are stacked against them. Only Fools is a show that people can laugh along with, containing characters they can relate to - created by a writer who knew his audience and knew how to write for them.
So When They Say 'Only Fools and Horses' - What Are They On About?
Back in 1979, John Sullivan, working on his hit sitcom, Citizen Smith, wrote an episode entitled 'Only Fools and Horses'. That must have given Sullivan an idea because when he started work on his next project about a tax-evading market trader from Peckham and needed a name for the sitcom - guess what he came up with?
The show's title originated from the saying, "Only fools and horses work for a living," Sullivan quite liked the saying and felt the name was bang on the money for his new sitcom with regards to the lead character's wide boy ways. But before that, Sullivan had actually given the show the working title of Readies (British slang for money) and rumour has it that the show might have been called Big Brother (but they couldn't fit the diary room into the Trotters' flat!)
The powers that be at the BBC weren't convinced that Only Fools was the right title for the sitcom because they didn't think that viewers would understand the meaning behind it. It's weird to think that one of the nation's favourite comedy shows might very easily have been known by another name. But Sullivan stuck to his guns, and the rest, as they say, is history...
So How Did The Only Fools Sitcom Come About Then?
When John Sullivan's hit show Citizen Smith was coming to an end in 1980, he tried to come up with a new project that he could sink his teeth into. Certain ideas were rejected by the BBC - including his proposal for a sitcom about a high-rise living Peckham market trader and his family, who dreamt of getting rich. But nevertheless, Sullivan drafted a script and sent it to John Howard Davies, the BBC's head of comedy at the time - and Sullivan was commissioned to write a whole series.
Storyline
Meet Derrick 'Del Boy' Trotter; a charming market trader who lives in Peckham, South London and deals in 'hooky' (dodgy or illegally obtained) gear which is often stacked to the rafters in his flat in Nelson Mandela House tower block. At least it hides his taste in tacky décor if nothing else! Del is a charmer with the gift of the gab, who will stop at nothing to persuade his friends and unsuspecting members of the general public to pay for useless goods or services they don't need, or get them to part with large sums of money for the latest doomed enterprise du jour. You know it makes sense!
But for all of his slightly roguish ways, Del Boy is very likeable, very popular and has a heart of gold - which might explain why his friends and family forgive him when yet another one of his schemes falls flat. And while Del makes no secret of the fact that he wishes to be a millionaire, part of it is so that he can take care of his grandfather and brother Rodney; both of whom Del has looked after since his mother died and his dad walked out on the family.
The Core Cast
The main Only Fools characters consisted of Del, Rodney and Grandad, although after Grandad passed away in the fourth series, they were joined by his estranged brother, Albert, who lived with Del and Rodney until the show ended. The three characters contrast greatly but they work very well as a trio.
There's Del, who fancies himself as a bit of a yuppie, indicated by his mobile phone, brief case, and his desire to be seen in the right places and rub shoulders with the right people - despite driving around in a battered three-wheeled van that's clearly seen better days. And let's hope the initials of his company's name - Trotter's Independent Traders - aren't highlighted on the letterheaded stationary!
His younger brother Rodney is quieter, more reserved and socially awkward, often reluctantly dragged into his brother's schemes with slightly humiliating results. But he's the more principled one and regarded as the more intelligent member of the family thanks to his two GCSEs! Just don't mention his conviction for smoking his funny cigarettes!
Then there's Grandad; with a penchant for burning rather than cooking, and spends much of his time watching not one but two TVs - at the same time! After Grandad passed away, Del and Rodney were joined by their great-uncle Albert, whose experiences in the Navy made for stories that bored anyone who he had the misfortune to corner. "During the war..."
Grandad and Uncle Albert both fulfilled the role of the older, sometimes wiser guardian of the two young men, although the older gentlemen often do get roped into Del's schemes and get bossed around and used as a general dogsbody by him. But despite the bickering and sibling rivalry, the Trotter family's bond is unmistakable and unbreakable.
Although Lennard Pearce who played Grandad sadly passed away during the fourth series, the core cast of the Trotter family remained pretty much the same until the sitcom ended with none of key players leaving the show. David Jason DID however plan on leaving the show after the fifth series - which would have been the show's last had he gone through with his plan. But thankfully for fans, Jason decided to stay. And Only Fools continued on it's journey to becoming one of the best loved sitcoms in British TV history.
Don't believe us? The final episode where Del and Rodney became millionaires was watched by almost a third of the population! Now how's that for popular???
The Supporting Cast
The Trotters had a fantastic group of friends who viewers took to their hearts as much as they did the Trotters. Del's old schoolfriends, nice but dim roadsweeper, Trigger; long-distance lorry driver, Denzil; snooty businessman Boycie and his flirtatious wife, Marlene, as well as Mike, the publican at The Nag's Head, and Sid from the cafe. Then there were Rodney's friends Micky Pearce and Jevon. It is astounding that in an industry where actors are happy to jump ship when the next big break comes along, the same actors returned throughout the years and contributed towards this fantastic sitcom - which was great for us viewers who had not only become well-acquainted with these characters but also emotionally invested in their stories.
While the Trotter family may have been the lead characters, it's so hard to think of the other characters as supporting cast because they were so much more than that and we fell in love with them as much as we fell in love with the Trotters. They all added something to the show, and were integral cogs in the Only Fools machine - even if they didn't always make regular appearances. When Buster Merryfield and Kenneth MacDonald passed away, their absence was very much felt by the show's fans during the comeback episodes. We know that there's no chance of any new episodes now, and with the loss of Roger Lloyd-Pack (Trigger) and more recently John Challis (Boycie) it's inconceivable to think that the show could ever go on. With most TV shows, it's often said that the show is bigger than any of the stars of the characters, so if a character is written out, the show will still go on. But with Only Fools, it's the characters and the talents of the actors who played them that helped to make the show what it is, so the absence of a character will most definitely be felt whether it's the lead or supporting cast.
Where Are All The Ladies???
Actress Cheryl Hall, who played Shirley in Sullivan's other comic hit Citizen Smith, revealed after leaving the show that Sullivan was incapable of writing strong roles for women. Those who were avid viewers of Only Fools and Horses might have recalled her words and believed she was right after looking at the predominately male cast. Sure there were lots of actresses in guest roles who played barmaids or Del's latest conquest but with the exception of Boycie's wife Marlene, there weren't any regular female characters. Thankfully Sullivan decided that Only Fools needed more of a female presence so he introduced Raquel Turner and Cassandra Parry - love interests for Del and Rodney respectively.
The introduction of Raquel and Cassandra divided viewers a little as there were some who felt that the characters of Del and Rodney and the show's dynamic had changed once the boys became 'domesticated' and had settled into committed relationships with long-term partners - especially with Del going on to become a father. But for the most part, the show's fans welcomed the arrival of the two women as they felt the ladies brought a different element to the show; they gave the Trotter boys stability and more of a home life. And far from being boring, the laughs were still there. Sullivan could have, if he wished to, intensified the drama by having Raquel and Cassandra constantly at loggerheads but instead they were as supportive to each other as they were to their partners, and the bond between the Trotter wives was a delightful thing to watch.
Opening and Closing Themes
The opening and closing theme tunes - no they were not the same pieces of music - were composed by well-known British composer and conductor Ronnie Hazlehurst, who worked on many theme tunes for TV shows in the seventies and eighties including Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em; The Liver Birds; Butterflies and The Generation Game among many, many others. The show opened up to Only Fools and Horses while the closing number was Hooky Street.
Now hands up all those who thought it was Nicholas Lyndhurst who played Rodney, who sang the show theme tune? Well you're all wrong! Because it was none other than the show's creator, John Sullivan, proving that he really was a man of many talents! Though funnily enough, Sullivan very nearly didn't get to sing two of the most recognizable theme tunes to a TV sitcom. He actually wanted Cockney duo Chas and Dave to do the honours and perform the theme tunes for the opening and closing credits. It's not totally clear why it didn't happen. Whether it was because Chas and Dave had other commitments or because Sullivan himself was persuaded to sing, one thing's for certain - it definitely wasn't Nicholas Lyndhurst! Chas and Dave did however sing the song Margate to the closing credits of the episode entitled Jolly Boys' Outing.
What's all this about another actor playing Del Boy?
We know, we know, it's so hard to believe that another actor may well have played the iconic role that David Jason was just born to play! The role of Del Boy could have been played by either Jim Broadbent or Enn Reitel but both had work commitments so the search for Del Trotter went on. Oh and at one point, Billy Murray was also a name in the frame. But if he'd got the role he'd never have got to play Don Beech in The Bill, or Johnny Allen in EastEnders where he delivered the ultimate insult to Phil by calling him Filth Mitchell - to his face! And lived to tell the tale (actually on second thoughts - he didn't!)
But anyway, when producer Ray Butt saw an episode of Open All Hours with David Jason playing Granville - a character as far removed from Del Boy as you can get - he considered Jason for the role. Nicholas Lyndhurst had already been cast as Del's younger brother Rodney, and there were doubts that the two could convincingly play brothers due to the lack of similarity in physical appearance. Furthermore there were concerns over Jason's suitability as he had never had a high-profile lead role on a TV show. Moreover with both Jason and Lyndhurst sounding a lot more elocuted in real life, could they convincingly play true Sarf London boys? Well apparently so - and that's testament to their great acting abilities.
Oh a la brochette!
It seems hard to believe now, but Only Fools was not the big hit it went on to become when it first aired. It received mixed reviews from critics and the first episode pulled in just over nine million viewers. The first series as a whole managed to attract an average of seven million viewers.
Oh Mon Dieu!
Viewing figures began to soar after the third series and it soon became clear that the Beeb had another hit on their hands. But then two setbacks occurred.
Sadly Lennard Pearce who played Del and Rodney's grandad suffered a heart attack and passed away in December 1984, leaving the cast and crew devastated. They had, at the time, been filming the fourth series, and Grandad's passing was written into the show in the episode entitled Strained Relations (also the episode where Grandad's estranged brother, Uncle Albert, makes his first appearance.)
Then David Jason announced that he wanted to leave at the end of series five in order to pursue other projects. We know right - Only Fools without Del? Was that even possible??? Well the episode Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was meant to be the final Only Fools episode as Del swaps Peckham for a new life and business venture in Australia. There were plans for a spin -off called Hot-Rod which would see Rodney come into his own as he deals with life without his big brother ordering him around. But then thankfully, Jason changed his mind and decided to stay in the show (cue much rejoicing from the show's fans) and the ending of what should have been the final ever episode was changed to Del declining rather than accepting his friend's offer to join him in his Aussie business venture.
Check out the rest of the Only Fools story in the upcoming second part of the post God Bless Hooky Street: 40 Years Since Only Fools and Horses Began.
Photos: YouTube
Word Cloud: Angel Noire