Trigger (Only Fools and Horses)

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Trigger
Only Fools and Horses
Rock & Chips
character
Trigger Only Fools.jpg
Portrayed by Roger Lloyd-Pack (1981–2003)
Lewis Osborne (2010-2011)
Duration1981–1983, 1985–1993, 1996, 2001–2003
Only Fools and Horses
2010–2011:
Rock & Chips
First appearance Big Brother
Last appearance Sleepless in Peckham
Classification Former; regular
Created by John Sullivan
Spin-off
appearances
Rock & Chips (2010)
In-universe information
Occupation Road sweeper
FatherDonald Turpin
MotherElsie Ann Ball
SistersAt least one unnamed
GrandfathersArthur Ball
GrandmothersAlice Ball
Aunts Reenie Turpin
NiecesLisa Williams
First cousinsCyril
Sidney
Marilyn
Ronnie

Trigger (born 12 May 1946), [1] is a fictional character (full name Colin Ball) in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and its prequel Rock & Chips . [2] He was played by Roger Lloyd-Pack in Only Fools and Horses and Lewis Osbourne in Rock & Chips.

Contents

Characteristics

A regular at the Nag's Head pub, and old friend of Del Boy, Trigger is a road sweeper, and also engages in trading and petty thefts. Trigger speaks in a slow, monotone voice, and is very simple-minded, although affable and warm-hearted. Trigger did not know his father, saying "he died a couple of years before I was born", when Rodney asks of his whereabouts in the episode "Ashes to Ashes". He was brought up by his grandparents, with his grandfather having also been a roadsweeper. When Trigger is pushed by Boycie to say who his mother had written down on the birth certificate as Trigger's father Trigger says, reluctantly, "Some soldiers". The 2015 official 'autobiography' of Del Boy, He Who Dares, states of Trigger: "It was generally agreed though that his dad was Donald Turpin (brother of Mum's best mate, Reenie)... when Elsie started showing, she claimed she'd been 'visited by an angel!', leading the rest of the Ball clan to start making plans for the arrival of a new messiah. But Donald had been heard bragging about how he'd lost his virginity... giving full details of the time and place, and was therefore fingered as a much more likely suspect than the Archangel Gabriel." [3] Trigger is not married, but he occasionally mentions past relationships during the series and is seen on a blind date with a woman in the 1988 Christmas special, Dates.

Trigger always calls Rodney Trotter "Dave". Rodney corrects him in "Homesick", and he agrees to stop, but a few seconds later he calls him "Dave" again. [4] When Cassandra Trotter, Rodney's wife, announced she was pregnant in "Modern Men", everybody raised a toast and said "To Cassandra and Rodney", but Trigger can be heard saying "Dave" after everyone else has spoken. At another point, while discussing Del and Raquel's son, Trigger reports that "if it's a boy, they're naming him Rodney, after Dave". [5]

Appearances

Trigger appeared in the first episode and continued to appear regularly throughout the entire show's run. He is an example of a breakout character in that he became popular with the show's audience, despite his status as a minor, supporting character.

Trigger appears as a teenager in the Only Fools and Horses prequel series, Rock & Chips . He is a relatively minor character in the prequel series, but in "The Frog and the Pussycat", Violet Trotter, Del's grandmother, mentions Grandad's affair with Trigger's grandmother, Alice Ball. [6] This is the first time in the Only Fools and Horses franchise that Trigger's real name is mentioned. At one point in the pilot episode, Reg asks Del and Jumbo if Trigger is mentally OK, since he once spotted Trigger laughing at a television set which was turned off.

Trigger was scripted to appear in the 2014 Only Fools and Horses sketch for Sport Relief, but Lloyd-Pack died on 15 January 2014, from pancreatic cancer. The script was subsequently rewritten to omit his role, although it is mentioned in the sketch that Trigger cannot assist Del and Rodney with their latest business venture because he is working at the market. The sketch was dedicated to the memory of Lloyd-Pack and John Sullivan.

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

Edward Kitchener "Ted" Trotter, better known as Grandad, is a fictional character who was one of the original leads of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. He appeared in the show's first three series, played by Lennard Pearce. The character is grandfather to Del Boy and Rodney Trotter. Pearce's death in December 1984 was written into the series with the death of Grandad. His place was taken by Uncle Albert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uncle Albert</span> Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Trotter</span> Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses

Rodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the long running BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Slater</span> Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses

Roy Slater is a recurring character in the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses. He was played by Jim Broadbent, and in the prequel Rock and Chips, by Calum MacNab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denzil Tulser</span> Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses

Denzil Tulser, is a character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Paul Barber.

"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.

"Big Brother" is the first episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It is the first episode of series 1, and was first broadcast on 8 September 1981. In the episode, Del buys a consignment of briefcases, only to later discover that the combinations are locked inside.

"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.

"Homesick" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the first episode of series 3, and was first broadcast on 10 November 1983. In the episode Rodney is appointed chairman of the local Tenants Association, and Del expects him to use his influence to secure a move to a council bungalow.

"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.

"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.

"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.

Damien Derek Trotter is a fictional character in the BBC series Only Fools and Horses. He is son to Derek Trotter and Raquel Turner.

<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.

"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.

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

"Beckham in Peckham" is a 10 minute edition of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, broadcast as part of the Sport Relief 2014 appeal on 21 March 2014. Actors David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst reprised their roles as Del Boy and Rodney in the sketch written by Jim Sullivan and Dan Sullivan; the script included previously unused material written by their father John Sullivan, who created and wrote every episode of the series. David Beckham guest starred, Beckham having got in touch with Jim Sullivan.

References

  1. "Comedy - Only Fools and Horses - Trigger".
  2. He Who Dares, Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter, Penguin Random House, 2015, p. 2
  3. He Who Dares, Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter, Penguin Random House, 2015, pp. 3–4
  4. BBC Comedy Greats (29 October 2009), My Name is Rodney! - Only Fools and Horses - BBC , retrieved 9 May 2016 via YouTube
  5. BBC Comedy Greats (17 January 2014), If it's a boy they're naming him Rodney... - Only Fools and Horses - Series 7 , retrieved 9 May 2016 via YouTube
  6. "Peckham Uncovered". BBC Online. February 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2013.