Then And Now: Only Fools And Horses

Did you know that this month it has been 35 plonker filled years since Del, Rodney, Grandad and co entered not only our TV screens but the hearts of the nation. A show that easily tops pretty much every list of the best sitcoms of all time, Only Fools and Horses plays a major part of British culture. It was a series that spanned two decades and 64 episodes. It became a Christmas day viewing must throughout the 90s and early 00s and had 20 million of us glued to our seats, well there was Only Fools and Horses and too much turkey and stuffing! That’s not too bad for a show that almost didn’t get a third series. So stick a pony in me pocket, i’ll fetch the suitcase from the van as we take a look at what the cast of everyone’s favourite sitcom have been up to in the last 35 years.

So as part of our popular Then and Now series, we take a look at what the cast of Only Fools and Horses are up to now-a-days. The one thing we may struggle to do is to answer that age old question… Why do only fools and horses work? La la lala – la la la la la.

David Jason as Derek “Del Boy” Trotter

A multi television BAFTA award winning actor David White (aka David Jason) never left our screens. From his leading roles as Pop Larkin and DI Jack Frost in The Darling Buds of May and A Touch of Frost respectively David remained a key figure on British television up until 2010. Most recently he has done a bit of voiceover animation work as well as making his directorial movie debut but most recently he has starred in the sequel to Open All Hours, the cleverly titled, Still Open All Hours. Personally we think that the poor guy is possibly due a long overdue retirement.

Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney Trotter

Shooting to stardom at the age 20 may be a curse in modern day celebrity but Nicholas took to playing the unlucky in life Rodney (Dave) like a fish to water. He is another of the Only Fools alumni to remain as a firm favourite on British television screens over the last 35 years with his role as Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart. In 2010 Lyndhurst played Freddie Robdal, the 1960s gangster father of Rodney Trotter in the short lived series Rock & Chips, a prequel to the Only Fools and Horses series. Most recently he reprised his role as Gary Sparrow in a Goodnight Sweetheart special that aired earlier this month.

Tessa Peake-Jones as Raquel Turner

Interesting (and kind of creepy) fact. Tessa Peake-Jones married Douglas Hodge, they were married for 27 years before splitting up in 2013. Wait, we hear you say, what is creepy about that? Well, Douglas appeared in an episode of Only Fools and Horses playing the adult Damien Trotter aka Raquel’s son in Rodney’s dream sequence. Tessa popped up most recently in an episode of Doctor Who and spent some time in Midsomer, although we guess that it wasn’t that long based on the crime rate in that small countryside town.

Gwyneth Strong as Cassandra Trotter

Since her time as the poshest member of the Only Fools and Horses gang, Gwyneth Strong has only had a small number of television and a couple of stage roles. Most recently she appeared in BBC One’s The Great Train Robbery, alongside Jim Broadbent, which was filmed from the point of view of the police.

Roger Lloyd-Pack as Trigger

Up until his death in early 2014 Roger Lloyd-Pack was another key player on the British television scene. He remained on our screens thanks to roles in The Vicar of Dibley, The Bill and The Old Guys. International audiences will recognise him as Barty Crouch Sr. in the fourth Harry Potter outing, The Goblet of Fire.

John Challis as Boycie

After playing the snobby, shady car dealer Boycie for over 20 years John Challis went on to play the snobby, shady car dealer Boycie for another four years in the Only Fools spin off The Green Green Grass. Earlier this year it was announced that he had been cast in the role of Captain Peacock taking over the role originally played by the late Frank Thornton in a remake of Are You Being Served?

Paul Barber as Denzil Tulser

Aside from his role as the old guy/good dancer Horse in The Full Monty, Paul has kept things relatively quiet since his time on Only Fools and Horses. He has appeared in Coronation Street, Brookside and Casualty where he played multiple small roles over many years.

Long live Hooky Street! Pay homage to THE greatest sitcom of all time with our range of Lovely Jubbly Only Fools and Horses tees.

What was your favourite moment and character from Only Fools and Horses? Let us know in the comments below, or on social media. Head on over to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and let’s get discussing!