Unlike the other Christmas specials, this episode is not a one-off story, but sets up story arcs that run throughout the following series. It was filmed in the recording block for series 7.
At the Broadwalk Shopping Centre, Del Boy tries to sell children's dolls, before discovering that they sing Chinese lullabies.
Meanwhile, at Parry Print Ltd, a hungry Rodney discovers that Cassandra made him a very meagre sandwich for lunch, and his new secretary refuses to go out and buy him a hamburger during her lunch break because an important client is due to meet him. However, when he spots Raquel with shopping bags full of food, Rodney invites her into his office for a coffee and they chat about the tour that Raquel has been on since the events of "The Jolly Boys' Outing", and how Rodney's marriage with Cassandra is faring. Despite claiming they are happy together, Rodney implies that he and Cassandra are experiencing difficulties.
That evening, Rodney returns home to his flat, only to find that Cassandra has not prepared dinner for him and is instead going out to play badminton. They argue, and Cassandra accuses Rodney of being childish if he expects her to cook for him like a servant from the 1930s. Rodney subsequently storms out. Meanwhile, at Nelson Mandela House, Del and Raquel are enjoying a romantic dinner and, just as Del is about to proposition Raquel, Rodney bursts in and tells everyone that his marriage is over. Rodney decides to sleep in his old bedroom, but Del tells him that Raquel is sleeping there, so Rodney will be sleeping on the sofa.
A week later, at a nightclub, as Del and Raquel dance, Rodney is getting drunk with his friends Mickey Pearce and Chris, which leaves Del concerned. Del tries to make Rodney see sense and return to Cassandra, but Rodney refuses to listen.
The next evening, back at the flat, Del tells Albert that when Rodney took the Trotter van down to the Peckham Exhaust Centre earlier that morning to get it fixed, he foolishly arranged a date with an attractive receptionist, Tanya, following Mickey Pearce's advice to make Cassandra jealous. When Rodney tells Del, Raquel, and Albert that he is going to see Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with Tanya, they try to talk him out of his date, but Rodney ignores them and heads off. Del then realises that Rodney is deliberately taking Tanya to the cinema opposite Cassandra's evening school, where he hopes Cassandra will see them together. Aware that this will lose Rodney both his marriage and his job, Del goes over to Cassandra's flat to persuade her not to go to her class, and ends up breaking the bad news to her. Cassandra is reduced to tears, but agrees not to tell her parents.
Later, back at the flat at midnight, as Del tries to remove the voice boxes from the Chinese dolls, he gets a telephone call from Rodney, who took Del's advice, cancelled his date, and has decided to wait at his flat for Cassandra, so they can be reconciled. Before Del can warn him about what he just did, Rodney hangs up and removes the receiver from the machine, preventing Del from calling him back. Del admits to Raquel and Albert that he told Cassandra, and then quickly drives over to Rodney and Cassandra's flat. Cassandra arrives moments before Del and furiously throws Rodney out. Rodney confronts Del over telling on him and sends him home, but realises that he himself has been locked out of his home, leaving him no choice but to go back to Nelson Mandela House with Del.
Albert Gladstone Trotter, better known as Uncle Albert, is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, portrayed by Buster Merryfield. He was introduced during the fourth series as a replacement for the character of Grandad due to the sudden death of Lennard Pearce in 1984.
Rodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the long running BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.
"The Jolly Boys' Outing" is the eighth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1989. Despite being aired as a Christmas special, it is set on an August bank holiday weekend, and sees Del and the gang go on a road trip to Margate.
"Fatal Extraction" is the twelfth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first broadcast on 25 December 1993. In the episode, Raquel leaves Del so in response he asks out another woman. When he and Raquel are reconciled, Del becomes convinced that the woman is stalking him.
"Modern Men" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the second episode of the 1996 Christmas trilogy and the fourteenth Christmas special, first screened on 27 December 1996. In the episode, Del Boy is a reading a new lifestyle book, Modern Man. Later, Cassandra suffers a miscarriage.
"Little Problems" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the final episode of series 6, and was first screened on 12 February 1989.
"Time on Our Hands" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. First screened on 29 December 1996, it was the final episode of that year's Christmas trilogy and the fifteenth Christmas special overall. It attracted a television audience of 24.3 million, a record for a British sitcom. In the episode, the Trotters finally become millionaires. It had initially been intended to be the series finale, but creator John Sullivan wrote three more specials that were screened annually between 2001 and 2003, starting with "If They Could See Us Now".
Cassandra Louise Trotter is a fictional character from the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses. She is portrayed by Gwyneth Strong.
"If They Could See Us Now.....!" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 2001 as the first part of the early 2000s Christmas trilogy and the sixteenth Christmas special. In the episode, the Trotters lose their fortune and Del goes on a game show to try to regain some of it.
"Strangers on the Shore...!" is An episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 2002 as the second part of the early 2000s Christmas trilogy, the seventeenth Christmas special and the 63rd episode of the series.
"Sleepless in Peckham...!" is the final episode of BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was first screened on 25 December 2003 as the third and final part of the early 2000s Christmas trilogy, and as the eighteenth and final Christmas special. It was the last Only Fools and Horses-related episode until the Sport Relief special in March 2014.
"From Prussia with Love" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the first episode of Series 5, and was first broadcast on 31 August 1986. In the episode, the Trotters meet a pregnant German girl and invite her to stay at the flat.
"Video Nasty" is the fifth episode of series 5 of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first broadcast on 28 September 1986. In the episode, Rodney receives a grant to make a local film, but Del sees it as an opportunity to make money.
"Watching the Girls Go By" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the sixth episode of series 4 and first broadcast on 28 March 1985. In the episode Rodney, egged on by Del, bets Mickey Pearce that he can find a date for an upcoming party and Del decides to help him win the bet.
"Sickness and Wealth" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the fifth episode of series 6, and was first broadcast on 5 February 1989. In the episode, Del is suffering from stomach cramps, but refuses to see a doctor. Elsewhere, Del organises a séance.
"The Sky's the Limit" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the first episode of series 7, and first broadcast on 30 December 1990. In the episode, Del acquires a satellite dish for Boycie, unaware that it has been stolen from Gatwick Airport.
"The Chance of a Lunchtime" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the second episode of series 7 and first broadcast on 6 January 1991. In the episode, Raquel auditions for a role in a Shakespeare play. Elsewhere, Del tries to sell musical national anthem doorbells.
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the fifth episode of series 7, and was first broadcast on 27 January 1991. In the episode, Uncle Albert comes home claiming to have been mugged and, thinking he has become a burden, decides to leave Nelson Mandela House.
"Three Men, a Woman and a Baby" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the final episode of series 7 and was first broadcast on 3 February 1991. This is the last episode of the last regular series, although Christmas specials were broadcast intermittently until 2003. In this episode, the birth of Del and Raquel's baby is imminent. Damien Trotter appears in the show for the first time in the episode's finale.
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