This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
During any talk about British comedy, invariably it’s never long before someone mentions Only Fools and Horses, the show that still holds the record for the biggest TV sitcom audience in British history (24.3 million for a 1996 Christmas episode) and regularly tops polls to name our favourite ever sitcom.
Remarkably, it’s now 45 years since Derek Trotter (David Jason), brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and Grandad (Lennard Pearce, later replaced by Buster Merryfield as Uncle Albert) first appeared, fully formed in their Peckham abode, on our screens, but the nation’s love for the Trotters and their south London coterie remains undiminished. What is the special ingredient? Sir David Jason has an idea…
“I always think the writer is the unsung hero of any series you care to mention,” he says. “It’s the foundations of the house. With Only Fools, it was John Sullivan.” Despite his praise, Sir David reveals Sullivan wasn’t initially as enthusiastic for his own participation: “John told me later that he’d said, ‘We don’t want David Jason, he always plays a loser.’ Because I’d played wistful Granville in Open All Hours, he didn’t think I could take on this clever, witty hustler, but the director persuaded John to at least see me, and fortunately he saw something.”
Once established in the role, however, Jason made it his own – from the rhythm of Del’s lines to his physical comedy, including enduring laugh-out-loud moments like “the wrong chandelier” and his falling back through the bar.
At the heart of the show was the chemistry between the characters: the Trotter family, their friends, and later love interests Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong) and Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones). As with all the best comedies, in Only Fools Sullivan created a world full of dreams, disasters, laughs and occasionally tears. What is the show really about? Sir David smiles. “It’s about family, who aren’t in lovey-dovey land. Sometimes people can be a pain in the whatsit, you can say, ‘Oh shut up, will you?’ which you could only say to your nearest and dearest. And audiences recognised that.”
He notes, too, the classic structure of the domestic set-up: “You have Derek Trotter, the father figure, Rodney the lad, then grandfather and later Uncle Albert. I remember saying to Nick and Lennard Pearce when we first got together, ‘The secret is that this isn’t actually a situation comedy, it’s a situation drama of these people living together, and it just so happens that the characters do and say things to make you laugh.”
Sir David says that what he brought to the show were the “bits of business” (ie physical aspects) he’d learnt in comedy theatre, farces and pantomimes. “I suggested once, ‘Shall we do this scene in the kitchen?’ So it ended up being me making a sandwich all the way through the scene, and then Uncle Albert picking it up and eating it (as seen in the 1992 Christmas special). It becomes about character and the family dynamic.”
Finally, having made us all laugh and cry occasionally, what brings chuckles to the man who gave us Derek Trotter?
“I love physical-based comedy. It’s the knowing fool and the unknowing fool, like Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel. You put them together and the magic happens.” Just like Derek and Rodders? “Oh yes, of course.” He chuckles. “I never thought of that.”
Only Fools and Horses: The Lost Archive is on Tuesday 20 October at 9pm on U&Gold.
The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here.
Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast