Theme music, logo and titles

John Sullivan wrote the theme music for Only Fools and Horses when he wrote the first series, but the producers opted instead for an instrumental, saxophone-led tune composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst, who had also arranged the themes for other BBC sit-coms, such as Yes Minister and Last of the Summer Wine. However, Sullivan was unhappy with this, so for the second series he persuaded the BBC to use his own compositions instead, partly because the new lyrics would explain the obscure title, which had been the subject of viewers' questions to the BBC during the first series.

The title sequence of Only Fools and Horses, which introduces the main characters

The first series was subsequently re-edited to use the new theme songs, though the first episode, "Big Brother", is still sometimes repeated with the original Hazlehurst music intact, as is the 1981 Christmas special. The current DVD release of Series One, however, replaces the theme music on all seven episodes. The original theme music is still used in the first episode during a montage in which Del unsuccessfully conducts business throughout Peckham while trying to find Rodney.

The lyrics to the established themes contain both slang and references to British culture, and describe elements of the show. The opening lyrics include "stick a pony in my pocket", pony being London slang for 25 pounds sterling; "fetch the suitcase from the van" and "where it all comes from is a mystery", all references to the Trotters' shady, cash-only business. It ends with the title lyric, "why do only fools and horses work?"

The closing theme follows suit, describing the dubious goods that the Trotters specialise in, from "miles and miles of carpet tiles" to "Trevor Francis tracksuits"; Francis was an English football player during the 1970s and 1980s. These are "from a mush in Shepherd's Bush"; mush is slang for a man whose name is unknown and Shepherd's Bush is a West London district. The line "no income tax, no VAT" summarises their outlook, before closing with the refrain "God bless Hooky Street". Hooky is British slang for something stolen or which has been acquired illegally.

Both songs are performed by Sullivan, and not – as is sometimes thought – by Nicholas Lyndhurst, though the voice Lyndhurst uses in the series is quite similar and the confusion is understandable. Sullivan had intended for Chas & Dave to sing it, since they were an act associated with Cockney-style music, but they were unavailable having just recorded a hit record with "Ain't No Pleasing You", so he was persuaded to do it himself by Ray Butt. The new theme was also arranged by Hazlehurst. Chas & Dave did later contribute to the show, performing "Down to Margate", the closing credits song for "The Jolly Boys' Outing".

The Only Fools and Horses logo is designed as an adhesive label split into three rows with the title displayed in an ONLY FOOLS and HORSES case format written in the typeface Mistral. Early versions of the titles sequence used a slightly different version of Mistral to the later series, although the logo as it appeared in the titles was the same throughout the series' run, despite updates that were made to the text of the actor credits. The logo has appeared in many forms on merchandise over the years, including being written on one line in an elongated box or utilising different colour schemes to the yellow and red which has been used everywhere bar the titles sequence. Most recent depictions of the logo use the current variation of Mistral and stick to the yellow and red colours. In addition, Mistral was used as the episode title and closing credits typeface for many of the early series.

The images peeling away was conceived as a metaphor for the Trotters' lifestyle

The opening credits see images of the three principal actors peel on and off the screen sequentially like adhesive labels. These appear over a background of still photographs of everyday life in South London, including a used car lot and a tower block. The sequence was conceived by graphic designer, Peter Clayton, as a "metaphor for the vagaries of the Trotters' lifestyle", whereby money was earned and quickly lost again. The action was shot manually frame by frame, and took around six weeks to complete.

As the series progressed, the sequence was occasionally updated with new footage, but it only ever featured Del, Rodney and either Grandad or Uncle Albert. The 2001–2003 trilogy featured just Del and Rodney. In total, the shots of Del and Rodney were updated three times during the series' run to reflect their ageing, whilst Grandad and Uncle Albert only ever received one version each during their run. The 2001-2003 Christmas specials used the same titles sequences but rendered for broadcast in the now standard 16:9 ratio widescreen.

The closing credits for the programme varied series by series. The first series used peeling labels featuring the names of the cast and crew, mirroring the opening sequence, but these had to be updated with every new episode, making the process very time-consuming; from the second series the credits switched to a standard rolling format. Towards the end of the run they settled on a uniform style with the typeface Dom Casual scrolling against a freeze frame of the final scene which faded to a plain black background Despite strict BBC crediting guidelines in place by the time the most recent episodes screened, the programme was able to enjoy unedited closing credits and the full version of the theme song.

Episodes

Sixty-four episodes of Only Fools and Horses, all written by John Sullivan, were broadcast on BBC1 between 8 September 1981 and 25 December 2003. The show was aired in seven series (1981–83, 1985–86, 1989 and 1990/91), and thereafter in sporadic Christmas special editions (1991–93, 1996, 2001–03). All of the earlier episodes had a running time of 30 minutes, but this was extended after series five (1986), and all subsequent episodes had a running time ranging from 50 to 95 minutes. Most episodes were shot in front of a live audience or had a laugh track added, the only exceptions being "To Hull and Back", "A Royal Flush", and the second part of "Miami Twice".

Five special editions were produced, some of which have only recently been rediscovered. An eight-minute episode aired in 1982 as part of a show hosted by Frank Muir, The Funny Side of Christmas, in which mini-episodes of Yes Minister, Open All Hours, Butterflies and Last of the Summer Wine also featured. A 5 minute spoof BBC documentary was shown on Breakfast Time in 1985, with Del being investigated by consumer expert Lynn Faulds Wood.

An educational episode named "Licensed to Drill", in which Del, Rodney and Grandad discuss oil drilling, was recorded in 1984 but only shown in schools. A 15 minute 1990–91 Gulf War special was shown to British troops serving in the conflict. It has never been broadcast commercially, but a copy exists at the Imperial War Museum, London. A Comic Relief special showing Del, Rodney and Albert making an appeal for donations was shown in 1997.

Only Fools and Horses had two producers: Ray Butt from 1981 to 1987, and Gareth Gwenlan thereafter. Five directors were used: Martin Shardlow directed all episodes in series one, Susan Belbin series four and Mandie Fletcher series five. Butt directed series two and three, as well as the 1985, 1986 and 1987 Christmas specials. Tony Dow became the established director after 1988, directing all subsequent episodes. John Sullivan was executive producer on seven of the final eight episodes.

Del Boy & Rodney

Del Boy (David Jason) — A stereotypical market trader, Del would sell anything to anyone to earn money, and was the driving force behind the Trotters' attempts to become rich. Sharp-witted, image-conscious and self-confident, but lacking in the required nous to realise his high ambitions, he was invariably a failure. Del's cultural pretensions, best seen in his use of inaccurate French phrases, were equally wanting. He nonetheless had endearing features, especially his "lovable loser" qualities and his devotion and loyalty to his family, which saw him take care of Rodney and Grandad on his own from the age of 16. However, this gave him a tendency to emotionally blackmail Rodney with the memories of their mother, often trying to manipulate him with the line "Mum said to me on her death bed....." He also tried to interfere with his brother's personal life, much to the latter's annoyance. Ostensibly popular with women - his poor choice in women was another running gag - Del never settled down with one until he met Raquel, with whom he had a son, Damien.

Sullivan later said he had always been fascinated by the unlicensed traders who sold goods from suitcases, and it was them on which he based Del Boy. David Jason himself added elements of a similar man he had known when working as an electrician to the part, including Del's cheap gold jewellery and his camel-hair coat. Jason was a relatively late candidate for the part, with Jim Broadbent (who would later appear in a minor recurring role as DCI Roy Slater), Enn Reitel and Billy Murray all earlier preferences. It was only when producer Ray Butt saw a repeat of Open All Hours that Jason was considered and, despite initial concerns over his ability - at that point, Jason had not had a leading television role - and the fact that he and Lyndhurst did not look alike, he was cast.

Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) — The ideal comic foil for Del Boy in numerous ways: naive, much younger and easily-influenced, more academically gifted, although only to the extent of two GCEs, but generally gormless and lacking in common sense. Effectively orphaned when young, Rodney was raised by Del. His principal job throughout the show was as Del's lackey and sidekick, whose duties included looking out for policemen at the market and cleaning the van. Much of the conflict between the two came from Rodney's dislike of his reliance on Del, and his unsuccessful attempts to gain greater independence through girlfriends or by setting up his own businesses; he was only partially successful after marrying Cassandra and briefly going to work for her father. In contrast to Del Boy, the part of Rodney was cast early, with Lyndhurst settled on quickly. Sullivan partly based Rodney on his own experiences; he, too, had a much older sibling and, like Rodney, claims to have been a dreamer and an idealist in his youth.

History

In 1980, John Sullivan, a scriptwriter under contract at the BBC, had already written the successful sit-com Citizen Smith. It had come to an end and he was searching for a new project. An initial idea for a comedy set in the world of football had already been rejected by the BBC, as had his alternative idea, a sit-com centring around a cockney market trader in working-class, modern-day London. The latter idea persisted. Through Ray Butt, a BBC producer and director whom Sullivan had met and become friends with when they were working on Citizen Smith, a draft script was shown to the Corporation's Head of Comedy, John Howard Davies. Davies commissioned Sullivan to write a full series. Sullivan believes the key factor in it being accepted was the success of ITV's new drama, Minder, a series with a similar premise and also set in modern-day London.

Sullivan had initially given the show the working title, Readies. For the actual title he intended to use, as a reference to the protagonist's tax and work-evading lifestyle, Only Fools and Horses. That name was based on a genuine, though very obscure saying, "why do only fools and horses work? (for a living)", which had its origins in 19th century American vaudeville. Only Fools and Horses had also been the title of an episode of Citizen Smith and Sullivan felt that a longer name would help to grab the viewers' attention. He was first overruled on the grounds that the audience would not understand the title, but he eventually got his way and, from the second series onwards, the theme music was changed to a version explaining the meaning of the saying; some first series episodes were subsequently re-edited to use the new theme.

Filming of the first series began in May 1981, and the first episode, "Big Brother", was transmitted on BBC1 at 8.30 pm on 8 September that year. It attracted a respectable, though unspectacular (by those days' standards) 9.2 million viewers and generally received a lukewarm response from critics. The viewing figures for the whole first series, which averaged at around 7 million, were considered mediocre but owing to the BBC's policy of nurturing television shows, a second series was commissioned for 1982. The second series fared little better and the show was close to being cancelled altogether. However, both the first and second series then went out for a repeat run in a more low-key time slot but attracted respectable viewing figures in June 1983, which convinced Davies to commission a third series. From there, the show gradually built up a following, and began to top the television ratings. Series four saw viewing figures double those of the first series.

Mid-way through the filming of the fifth series, David Jason told John Sullivan at a dinner that he wanted to leave the show in order to further his career elsewhere. Sullivan thus wrote "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", which was intended to be the final episode and would see Del accepting a friend's offer to set up business in Australia, leaving Rodney and Albert behind. Plans were made for a spin-off entitled Hot-Rod, following Rodney's attempts to survive on his own with help from Mickey Pearce, but leaving open the prospect of Del's return. Jason ultimately changed his mind, and the ending of the episode was changed to show Del rejecting the offer.

Sullivan had a tendency to write scripts that were too long, meaning pages of material had to be cut. Shortly before filming of the sixth series began, he requested that the show's time slot be extended and it was agreed to extend its running time to 50 minutes. This coincided with the show becoming one of the BBC's most popular programmes, according to producer Gareth Gwenlan, and allowed for more pathos in the series and an expansion of the regular cast.

The seventh series, which was to be the last, was aired in early 1991. Sullivan and the major actors were all involved with other projects, and it was confirmed that there were no plans for a new series. The show continued in Christmas specials in 1991, 1992 and 1993, followed by a three year break. Sullivan wanted a "final" episode to tie up the show and see the Trotters finally become millionaires; this was later extended to three one hour episodes, all to be broadcast over Christmas 1996. All three were well received, and given the happy ending it was widely assumed that they were to be the last. After a five year break, however, the show returned again in 2001 with another Christmas special, followed by two more in 2002 and 2003. There are currently no further plans for Only Fools and Horses to return, though a fan fiction community continues to exist.

Situation

Derek "Del Boy" Trotter (played by David Jason), a fast-talking, archetypal cockney market trader, lives in a council flat in a high-rise tower block, Nelson Mandela House, in Peckham, South London - though it was actually filmed in Harlech Tower in Acton and later Bristol - with his much younger brother, Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst), and their elderly Grandad (Lennard Pearce). Their mother Joan died when Rodney was young, and their father Reg absconded shortly after his wife's death, effectively making Del Rodney's surrogate father and the family patriarch. Despite the difference in their ages, the brothers share a constant bond throughout.

The situation focuses primarily on their futile attempts to get rich - "This time next year, we'll be millionaires" is a frequent saying of Del's - through buying and selling a variety of low-quality and illegal goods, such as Russian Army camcorders, luminous yellow paint and sex dolls filled with an explosive gas. They own an unregistered company, Trotters Independent Traders, trade primarily on the black market and generally neither pay taxes nor claim money from the state; as Del says "the government don't give us nothing, so we don't give the government nothing". Most of their deals are too dodgy to succeed and usually end up backfiring, an important factor in generating sympathy for the characters. They also drive a grubby three-wheeled van, and are regulars at their local pub, The Nag's Head.

Initially, Del Boy, Rodney and Grandad were the show's only regulars, but gradually the likes of dopey roadsweeper Trigger (Roger Lloyd Pack), snobbish used car salesman Boycie (John Challis) and his wife, Marlene (Sue Holderness), Nag's Head landlord Mike (Kenneth MacDonald), youthful spiv Mickey Pearce (Patrick Murray) and lorry driver Denzil (Paul Barber) were added to the cast, becoming popular in their own right and contributing to the humour and the plots, although the show always centred around the Trotters.

As the series progressed, the scope of the plots expanded, leading to the larger regular cast, with writer John Sullivan unafraid to mix comedy with drama. Many early episodes were largely self-contained, with few plot-lines mentioned again, but the show developed a story arc and an ongoing episodic dimension. The character of Grandad was killed off following the death of Lennard Pearce, and the brothers' long-lost Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield) emerged to restore the three generations line-up. After years of fruitless searching, both Del and Rodney found long-term love, in the form of Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) and Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong) respectively; Del also had a son with Raquel, Damien (played by five actors, most recently Ben Smith). Rodney and Cassandra married, separated and then got back together again. Uncle Albert died. Cassandra miscarried, but then she and Rodney eventually had a baby. Rodney found out who his real father was. The Trotters finally became millionaires, before losing it again, and then gaining some of it back.

The humour comes from several sources. The interaction between Del and Rodney is key, with each an ideal comic foil for the other in both personality and appearance. Much is made of the traits of individual characters, such as Del's lack of cultural refinement, despite his pretensions, best seen in his misuse of French phrases or his claims to be a yuppy; Rodney's gormless nature, resulting in him being labelled a "plonker" or a "dipstick" by Del; the general daftness of Grandad and Trigger, and the rampant snobbery of Boycie. There are also several running gags, including Trigger's constant reference to Rodney as "Dave", Uncle Albert's "during the war..." anecdotes, Del's supposed long-time affair with Marlene and the dilapidated Reliant Regal van.

About

Only Fools and Horses is a British television sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC. Seven series were originally broadcast in the UK between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003. After a relatively slow start the show went on to achieve consistently high ratings, and the 1996 episode "Time On Our Hands" holds the record for the highest UK audience for a sitcom episode.

Set in the inner city London district of Peckham, it starred David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother Rodney, and Lennard Pearce as their aging grandfather (later replaced by Buster Merryfield as their Uncle Albert). Backed by a strong support cast, it chronicled their highs and lows in life, particularly their attempts to get rich.

Critically and popularly acclaimed, the series received numerous awards, including recognition from the British Academy, the National Television Awards and the Royal Television Society, as well as helping both Sullivan and Jason win individual accolades. It was voted Britain's Best Sitcom in a 2004 BBC poll.

It also had an impact on British culture, contributing several words to the English language and helping to popularise the Reliant Regal van. It spawned an extensive range of merchandise, including books, DVDs, toys and board games. A spin-off series, The Green Green Grass, has run for two series on BBC One in the UK.