"Sleepless in Peckham" | |
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Only Fools and Horses episode | |
Episode no. | Episode 18 (Christmas Special) |
Directed by | Tony Dow |
Written by | John Sullivan |
Original air date | 25 December 2003 |
Running time | 75 minutes |
"Sleepless in Peckham...!" is the final episode of BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses . [1] 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. [2]
This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(January 2018) |
All seems calm and peaceful at Nelson Mandela House. Cassandra is in the late stages of pregnancy, which means Rodney will finally become a father. Del Boy takes Raquel's washing-up gloves and drives to the cemetery to clean the monument of his and Rodney's mother Joan. It is revealed that after they became millionaires, the Trotters used some of their money to give their mother's grave a makeover.
Later, at The Nag's Head, Sid tells Trigger (who has been creating a portable backscratcher made of chopsticks) that he got some suggestions from Mike on how to make the pub look a lot better. He also shows Rodney, Trigger and Mickey Pearce an old photograph of the first Jolly Boys' Outing in 1960. Sid mentions that there were no more because the coach company refused to do business with them after the events of the last one. They also notice that Marlene has been mysteriously absent for several weeks. Mickey and Sid quickly believe that Boycie killed her.
Back at the flat, Del helps Rodney with an idea for a film about Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts crashing an aeroplane on an uninhabited island of cavepeople. The next day, the Trotter Brothers and Trigger find Denzil at a pizzeria and ask him if he has run off with Marlene. Denzil says that he has not seen Marlene recently either but has been in hospital getting treatment for haemorrhoids. This prompts Del and Rodney to go straight to Boycie and ask him if he murdered his wife and buried her in the garden. The Trotter Brothers arrive at Boycie's house and ask him, and he replies that he did not murder Marlene since she is home and upstairs asleep. Boycie promises that he will bring Marlene with him to the Nag's Head that night. That night, at the Nag's Head, Boycie arrives with Marlene, who shows everybody that the reason she was absent for the last couple of weeks was to get her chest surgically enhanced. Raquel wisecracks at the sight of it, and Boycie and Marlene are tricked by Sid into paying for everyone's drinks. The next day, Rodney and Raquel berate Del because they are nowhere near the total sum of money that they owe the Inland Revenue. Del is deeply hurt when Raquel tells him, "only women bleed", and he angrily recounts his own life of having to take care of both Rodney and Grandad after their father abandoned them. As Raquel goes to lie down, Del privately says to Rodney that if they do get evicted, then he and Raquel will go their separate ways, but Del and Raquel are reconciled shortly after.
With only a few days left before the Trotters are evicted from Nelson Mandela House, Rodney gets an enlarged copy of the 1960 Jolly Boys' Outing photo and shows it to Cassandra at a restaurant. He shows her who was in the photo: Del, Boycie, Trigger, Denzil, Sid, Roy Slater, Grandad, Reg – and local gentleman thief Freddie "The Frog" Robdal (pictured as Nicholas Lyndhurst), who bears an uncanny resemblance to Rodney. Rodney tells Cassandra that Robdal is his real biological father, explaining the affair Robdal had with Rodney and Del's mother Joan. Meanwhile, back at the flat, after returning from the market, Del finds the original photo and concludes that Rodney has learned the horrible truth. Del tells Raquel about how he only knew Robdal as "Uncle Fred" in the 1960s, and mentions that only Joan, Uncle Albert, and Trigger's aunt Reenie Turpin knew that Robdal was Rodney's real father. Del did have his suspicions for many years but did not believe it until Albert told him after getting drunk at a wet corset contest sometime after "The Frog's Legacy". Del refused to tell Rodney the truth about his parentage out of fear of breaking his brother's heart. Raquel and Cassandra both ask Del and Rodney why they will not tell each other. The Trotter brothers answer that it would indeed break the other's heart.
The next morning, Del and Rodney are called to see a solicitor named Mr. Cartwright, thinking that he will charge them with fraud since they failed to pay the Inland Revenue. But Mr. Cartwright brings good news to the Trotter brothers. After reading a copy of Albert's will, the Trotters discover that Albert never spent his share of the Trotter fortune but invested it in a far more stable area prior to his death, while his nephews invested their shares in the Central American market. According to his will, Albert wanted to give his enlarged share of the fortune to his nephews, leaving them with £145,000 each. Del and Rodney are both stunned by all this, until Del gets a phone call from Raquel telling him that Cassandra has gone into labour. Del and Rodney race to the hospital, where Cassandra has delivered a baby girl via Caesarean section.
A few days later, Rodney takes his daughter to the cemetery to visit his mother's grave. He looks up to the heavens and voices his hope that she and Freddie the Frog really loved each other. He notes his regret that he never really knew her, as well as his hope that his daughter will grow up to be like her. As Del pulls up, Rodney then says that if she ever sees Albert, Joan should tell him that Rodney and Del said thanks. Del arrives and asks Rodney if he came up with a name for his daughter. Rodney hints at Del to look at their mother's grave, which now reads: "Here lies Joan Mavis Trotter. Fell asleep 12 March 1964. Wife of Reg. Mother of Del Boy and Rodney. Grandmother of Damien and Joan." As they prepare to leave the cemetery, Rodney asks Del if he is anything like his father, Freddie the Frog. Del replies firmly by saying that Robdal was "a womaniser, a home-breaker, a con-man, a thief, a liar, and a cheat... So, no, Rodney, you're nothing like him." The Trotter Brothers then leave the cemetery and drive home to Nelson Mandela House with a new Joan Trotter in the world. Rodney also announces that he has no intention of continuing to write his movie, which Del agrees is a good idea.
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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.
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.
Rodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the long running BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.
"To Hull and Back" is the fourth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1985. It was the first feature-length edition of the show and also the first special not to feature or mention the holiday of Christmas itself in the episode. Parts of the special were shot on location in Amsterdam and unlike most other episodes was shot entirely on film and not before a studio audience. In the episode, the Trotters agree to smuggle diamonds from Amsterdam for Boycie.
"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.
"Chain Gang" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the third episode of series 6, and was first broadcast on 22 January 1989. In the episode, Del puts together a consortium to buy a set of 18 carat gold chains from a retired jeweller.
"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.
"The Class of '62" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the fourth episode of series 7, and was first broadcast on 20 January 1991. In the episode, Del Boy, Rodney, Boycie, Denzil and Trigger attend a school reunion which, to their surprise, has been arranged by Roy Slater.
Cassandra Louise Trotter is a fictional character from the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses. She is portrayed by Gwyneth Strong.
"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.
"Danger UXD" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the second episode of series 6 and first broadcast on 15 January 1989. In the episode, Del acquires a batch of faulty sex dolls, which have inadvertently been filled with an explosive gas.
"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.
"I Done It My Way" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, The Green Green Grass. It aired on 19 February 2009, as the seventh episode of the fourth series, and was written by series creator John Sullivan, and directed by Dewi Humphreys. This episode acted as a 'clip show' for both Only Fools and Horses and The Green Green Grass. In total, the episode contained around forty clips, some of which were made specially for this episode. When series 4 was released on DVD, both separately, as well as part of a box set, the episode was left out, because of the archive clips. Even digital comedy channel Gold refuse to show the episode because of this, and is not available to watch on any catch-up services, including BBC iPlayer.
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.
"Five Gold Rings" is the second episode of the Rock & Chips trilogy and the series' only Christmas Special. It was first aired on 29 December 2010.
"The Frog and the Pussycat" is the third and final episode of the Rock & Chips trilogy. It was first screened on 28 April 2011, six days after the death of writer John Sullivan.