Only Fools and Horses - Scenario

Scenario

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 Trotter (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, meaning Del effectively became 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 become millionaires through questionable get rich quick schemes and by 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, based in a grubby three-wheeled Reliant Regal van, 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".

Initially, Del Boy, Rodney and Grandad were the show's only regulars, along with the occasional appearances of dopey roadsweeper Trigger (Roger Lloyd Pack) and pretentious used car salesman Boycie (John Challis). Over time, the cast expanded, mostly in the form of regulars at the local pub The Nag's Head. These included pub landlord Mike (Kenneth MacDonald), lorry driver Denzil (Paul Barber), youthful spiv Mickey Pearce (Patrick Murray) and Boycie's flirtatious wife Marlene (Sue Holderness). Although the show still centred around the Trotter family, these characters became popular in their own right, contributing to the plots and humour.

As the series progressed, the scope of the plots expanded which saw comedy often mixed 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 his long-lost brother 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. 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 belief that Rodney's name is actually Dave, Uncle Albert's "during the war..." anecdotes, Del's supposed long-time affair with Marlene, the rumours surrounding Rodney's true paternity, and the dilapidated Reliant Regal van.