Summary
"Only Fools and Horses" is a British sitcom following the misadventures of Peckham market trader Derek `Del Boy" Trotter (David Jason) and his younger brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst). In the beginning, they share a high-rise council flat with their elderly Grandad (Lennard Pearce) and scratch a living flogging `hooky" gear to anyone who will buy it. Created by John Sullivan ("Citizen Smith", "Just Good Friends", "Dear John"), it was slow to catch on with viewers initially but the BBC stuck by it and it went on to achieve the highest ever UK audience for a sitcom episode (24.3 million in 1996). After Pearce's death in 1984, his character was replaced by World War Two Navy veteran Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield), who usually began long-winded anecdotes with the words "During the war…" As the series developed, it moved away from the confines of a situation comedy and became more of a comedy drama as the length of episodes expanded and story arcs added an ongoing dimension. It was also notable for having a strong supporting cast of memorable characters, including dopey road sweeper Trigger (Roger Lloyd Pack), pretentious car salesman Boycie (John Challis) and his flirty wife Marlene (Sue Holderness), pub landlord Mike (Kenneth MacDonald), lorry driver Denzil (Paul Barber), young spiv Mickey Pearce (Patrick Murray), Del's partner Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) and Rodney's wife Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong). It premiered on BBC One in 1981 and ended in 2003. Sixty-three episodes were made, including a number of feature-length Christmas specials. In the final years of his life, Sullivan also created the spin-off "The Green Green Grass" and prequel "Rock & Chips".
