Only Fools and
Horses.... is
a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven
series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with
sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until the end of the show in 2003.
Episodes are regularly repeated on UKTV comedy
channel Gold. Set in Peckham in south-east London, it stars David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, Nicholas Lyndhurst as
his younger brother Rodney Trotter, and Lennard Pearce appeared in the first three series as
their elderly Grandad. Backed
by a strong supporting cast, the series follows the Trotters' highs and lows in
life, in particular their attempts to get rich. After Lennard Pearce's death in
1984, the show introduced a new sidekick, Uncle Albert, the boys' great uncle, played by Buster Merryfield. From 1988 onwards, the show features
regular characters in Del Boy and Rodney's love interests, Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) and Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong) respectively. Other recurring characters
include haughty car dealer Boycie (John Challis), dim-witted road sweeper Trigger (Roger Lloyd-Pack), lorry driver Denzil (Paul Barber), obnoxious
spiv Mickey Pearce (Patrick Murray) and
bartender Mike (Kenneth MacDonald).
The show was not an immediate hit with viewers and received little promotion
early on,[1] but later achieved consistently high ratings,
and the 1996 episode "Time on Our Hands" (originally billed as the last ever
episode) holds the record for the highest UK
audience for a sitcom episode, attracting over 24.3 million viewers.
Critically and popularly acclaimed, the series received numerous awards,
including recognition from BAFTA, the National Television Awards and
the Royal Television Society,
as well as winning individual accolades for both Sullivan and Jason. It was
voted Britain's Best Sitcom in
a 2004 BBC poll. In a 2001 Channel 4 poll Del Boy was ranked fourth on their list of
the 100 Greatest TV Characters.
The series influenced British culture, contributing several words and phrases to the
English language. It spawned an extensive range of merchandise, including
books, videos, DVDs, toys, and board games. A spin-off series, The Green Green Grass,
ran for four series in the UK from 2005 to 2009. A prequel, Rock & Chips, ran for three specials in 2010 and 2011.
A special Sport Relief episode aired
in March 2014, guest starring David Beckham. In July 2018, John Sullivan's son, Jim Sullivan, announced
that a musical adaptation of the
show was nearing completion and launched on 9 February 2019 at
the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.