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.