A Touch of Glass

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"A Touch of Glass"
Only Fools and Horses episode
A Touch of Glass.jpg
Del and Rodney realise Grandad has felled the wrong chandelier.
Episode no.Series 2
Episode 7
Directed by Ray Butt
Written by John Sullivan
Produced byRay Butt
Editing byMike Jackson
Original air date2 December 1982 (1982-12-02)
Running time27:57 (DVD/iTunes)
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"A Touch of Glass" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses , first screened on 2 December 1982 as the final episode of series 2. It was the first episode of the show to attract over 10 million viewers.

Contents

In the episode, the Trotters are hired to clean some priceless chandeliers in a country mansion. The scene when they accidentally smash one of the chandeliers came second in a Gold poll to find the best Only Fools and Horses moment.

Synopsis

While on a trip to Dorset to buy a consignment of musical China cats which play the song "How much is that doggie in the window?", Del Boy, Rodney and Grandad stop to help a woman whose car has broken down. The woman turns out to be a member of the aristocracy, Lady Ridgemere. They tow her home and are reluctantly invited in by the arrogant Lord Ridgemere.

The Trotters quickly offend the residents at the mansion. Whilst there, Del overhears Lord Ridgemere haggling with someone on the telephone about the cost of cleaning their two priceless Louis XIV chandeliers. Seeking opportunity, Del tricks the Lord into believing that chandeliers are the Trotters' family business and agrees to carry out the necessary work at a low price.

The Trotters return to the mansion a week later to clean the chandeliers, though the Lord and Lady are on holiday. Grandad goes upstairs to unscrew the holding bolt for one of the chandeliers while Del and Rodney climb up on step ladders with a blanket ready to catch it. However, unbeknown to Del and Rodney (and the audience), Grandad is loosening the bolt for the adjacent chandelier. He knocks the bolt out, and as Del and Rodney are ready to catch their chandelier, the second chandelier plummets to the ground and smashes. After verifying with the butler that they never gave any of their contact details to the Ridgemeres, the Trotters flee from the mansion in their van.

Episode cast

ActorRole
David Jason Derek Trotter
Nicholas Lyndhurst Rodney Trotter
Lennard Pearce Grandad Trotter
Elizabeth BensonLady Ridgemere
Donald Bisset Wallace (butler)
Geoffrey Toone Lord Ridgemere

Production

John Sullivan's father was the inspiration for the smashed chandelier storyline. Working as a plumber in the 1930s, he was part of a group of men who were fitting a new heating system into a stately home, and had to move some chandeliers. As with the Trotters, there was a mix up and the wrong one was undone and smashed. Sullivan found the story hilarious, although his father – who was sacked as a result of the incident – did not see the funny side. After watching the episode, however, he telephoned his son and agreed that it was funny after all. David Jason and Ray Butt agreed that the storyline ought to be used, meaning Sullivan had to write the script backwards, starting with just the end point and then working out how the Trotters would come to be in a mansion. [1]

The smashed chandelier was made by props company Trading Post. [2] Despite being a fake, it was still worth about £6,000 and only one was made, meaning the scene could only be filmed once. It was initially intended that this would be the final scene in the episode, so after the incident Jason and Lyndhurst were required to stand and stare at each other in silence for 30 seconds while the camera rolled. Lyndhurst later recalled that Butt threatened to sack him if he ruined the scene by laughing. Many of the cast and crew struggled to contain their laughter in the aftermath of the shot; Butt himself stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth and left the room. [1]

Given the task of finding a suitable "Ridgemere Hall", production manager Janet Bone eventually settled on Clayesmore School, a boarding school in Iwerne Minster, Dorset. The school would not give permission for any of its floorboards to be pulled up, however, so the scene with Granddad undoing the fastening nut was filmed in a house belonging to Ray Butt's girlfriend. The auction house seen at the beginning of the episode is the village hall of Sutton Waldron, Dorset. [3]

Reception

"A Touch of Glass" was the first episode of Only Fools and Horses to attract a UK television audience of over 10 million. Owing to the chandelier scene, it is one of the show's best known episodes. In December 2006, the scene came second in a UKTV Gold poll to find the Top 40 Only Fools Moments, second only to Del Boy falling through an open bar flap in the episode "Yuppy Love". [4] It was also voted the best British comedy moment in a 2000 poll. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Only Fools and Horses</i> British TV sitcom (1981–2003)

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. Set in working-class Peckham in south-east London, it stars David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter and Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger half-brother Rodney Trotter, alongside a supporting cast. The series follows the Trotters' highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Boy</span> Fictional character

Derek Edward Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and one of the main characters of its spinoff series, Rock & Chips. He was played by David Jason in the original series and was portrayed as a teenager by James Buckley in the prequel. Del Boy is often regarded as one of the greatest comedy characters in the history of British television, and is regarded as an iconic character in British culture. In a 2001 poll conducted by Channel 4 Del Boy was ranked fourth on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.

Grandad (<i>Only Fools and Horses</i>) Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses

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"The Frog's Legacy" is the sixth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was first broadcast on 25 December 1987. In the episode, the Trotters search for the hidden gold legacy of Freddie "The Frog" Robdal, an old friend of their mother's.

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<i>Rock & Chips</i> British television miniseries

Rock & Chips is a British television comedy-drama miniseries and a prequel to the sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The show is set in Peckham, southeast London, during the early 1960s, focusing primarily on the lives of Del Trotter, Freddie Robdal and Joan and Reg Trotter. Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Rodney in Only Fools and Horses, plays Robdal alongside James Buckley, Kellie Bright (Joan), Shaun Dingwall (Reg) and Phil Daniels (Grandad). The Shazam and BBC Studios Comedy Drama co-production was written by Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan, directed by Dewi Humphreys and produced by Gareth Gwenlan.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beckham in Peckham</span> Episode of Only Fools and Horses sitcom

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References

  1. 1 2 Clark, Steve (1998). The Only Fools and Horses Story. BBC Books. p. 91. ISBN   0-563-38445-X.
  2. Webber, Richard (2003). The Complete A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. Orion. p. 206. ISBN   0-7528-6025-9.
  3. Webber, Richard (2003). The Complete A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. Orion. pp. 121–22. ISBN   0-7528-6025-9.
  4. "Top 10 Only Fools Moments". UKTV Gold. 21 December 2006. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
  5. "Comedy greats". BBC. 13 August 2000. Retrieved 2 August 2007.