Del-Boy arrived in Peckham driving a stolen Zephyr and everyone laughed...
Only Fools and Horses collectibles are really big business with a few words of a John Sullivan script fetching nearly a grand at auction and signed photographs of Del Boy and Rodney from the iconic series going for three hundred quid a piece. So why is memorabilia, from this 1980s BBC TV sitcom, that didn’t even make it big until series four, so enduringly popular?
Interesting Fact | Only Fools and Horses was first screened in 1981 and received mediocre reviews and ratings.
The short answer is that you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t love the show and anything that helps Only Fools and Horses fans remember how they felt when they first watched and laughed along with Del-Boy and Rodney is going to sell like hot-cakes. At Kate’s, all these years on, our NEW Only Fools and Horses range is already a best seller. Whether it be a simple Del Boy Mug, a Trotter Trading Company Three-wheeler Money Box, or a Cushty key-ring, we just can’t get enough of them. Whether you are an online shopper spending a few pounds on a gift, or a seasoned collector spending a small fortune on Del-Boy’s trademark sheepskin coat, Only Fools and Horses fans are buying into the same thing, a little piece of British TV history at its best.
Only Fools and Horses is set in Peckham, South London, and the star of the show is the loveable rogue and ever so dubious Market Street Trader, Del Boy. Del and "little" brother Rodney spend their time trying to get-rich-quick selling dodgy goods which nearly always backfire. Quite apart from the quality of the casting, the shows appeal, owes a lot to the plethora of jaw-dropping one-liners written so brilliantly by John Sullivan and dished out by everybody’s favourite Peckham chancer, courtesy of David Jason and his “plonker” of a brother Rodney played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.
Interesting Fact | Nicholas Lyndhurst, who plays Rodney told the BBC’s Radio Times magazine that Only Fools and Horses "would never be made today,” because TV companies don’t give sit-coms the time they need to develop.
Del boy and Rodney may have done many a deal in dodgy Rolexes and fake jewellery, but the most memorable things the Trotter brothers traded in were insults. Here are a few comedy golden moments that Kate’s picked out with the help of Dan Sullivan, the son of Only fools and Horses script writer John Sullivan and the author of the book The Wit And Wisdom Of Only Fools And Horses.
Kate’s favourite Only Fools and Horses one-liners
The first few are some lovely examples of Del Boy’s genius of sounding sophisticated before bringing himself, sometimes within the same sentence, down to earth with a bump:
• As Macbeth said to Hamlet in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “We’ve been done up like a couple of kippers”. Del Boy
• They're yuppies. They don’t speak proper English like what we do. Del Boy
• It's a well-known fact that 90% of all foreign tourists come from abroad. Del Boy
This next few also show us that Del-Boy takes himself way too seriously, but in these lines it’s the brotherly banter with Rodney that attempts and usually fails, to put Del in his place. This happens a lot in Only Fools and Horses:
• Del Boy: The French have a word for people like me. Rodney: Yeah, the English have a couple of good ’uns an’ all.
• God knows how you’ve got the courage to walk down dark alleys wearing all that gold. When they see you coming you must look like a mugger’s pension scheme. Rodney to Del-boy
Rodney’s self deprecating nature extends to putting down the whole Trotter family. Here’s two examples of Rodney at his best:
• One day they might make a musical about the Trotter family. Then, as a sequel, they could do Schindler’s List on ice. Rodney
• I’ve got this horrible feeling. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, knowing my luck, I’ll come back as me. Rodney
Poor Rodney gets tired of being at the sticky end of Del-Boys razor-sharp humour and, occasionally, the younger brother is given the opportunity to fight back:
• Whatever the subject is, Mum had something to say about it on her deathbed. She must’ve spent her final few hours in this mortal realm doing nothing but rabbiting. Rodney
You have to feel sorry for Rodney, but boy it’s so funny when Del’s insults are in full swing. Even then though there’s always a sneaky suspicion that Del’s trying to be protective of his little brother:
• You've had more dogs than Crufts. The other day, Grandad took your suit to the cleaners. They found a muzzle in the pocket. Del Boy to Rodney
• Come on Rodney, I’ve told you before, it’s everything between you and me split straight down the middle, 60-40. Del Boy
Every dog has his day though and Rodney certainly shows us that he’s learnt from the master of the put-down. Take a look at these and see what I mean:
• ’Ere Boyce. This car’s a GTI. If you rearrange the letters, you’ve got yourself a personalised number plate. Rodney
• You must’ve spent a third of your life standing in front of mirrors. My earliest childhood recollection is of you standing in front of a mirror. Up until I was four, I thought you was twins. Rodney on Del Boy
Let’s not forget Trigger and Grandad. These two favourite characters make Del-boy and Rodney look like the Einstein Twins:
• I don't know what you’re worried about. I’ve been eating British beef all my life. Trigger
• I’ve always wanted to go to Benidorm. Where is it? Grandad
• He died a couple of years before I was born. Trigger on his Dad• What's the name of that bloke who invented the Dyson vacuum cleaner? Trigger
• Look at Grandad. His brain went years ago, now his legs have gone. There’s only the middle bit of him left. Del Boy
But the best Only fools and Horses one-liners of all though are the ones that are just plain clever:
• Asking a Trotter if he knows anything about chandeliers is like asking Mr Kipling if he knows anything about cakes. Del Boy
• I am a black belt in origami. Del Boy
• Dear old Grandad, bless him. He was about as useful as a pair of sunglasses on a bloke with one ear. Del Boy
• Give my love to Marlene... Everyone else used to. Slater to Boycie
We’ve been in stitches here at Kate’s writing this article for you and we hope it’s made you chuckle too and if you like to know more about Britain’s Favourite TV sit-com you can find all you need here:
1. OFAH Appreciation Society
2. The Wit And Wisdom Of Only Fools And Horses
3. Buy Only Fools and Horses Memoriabilia at Love Kates