Perhaps the best loved British sitcom of all time, Only Fools and Horses was written by John Sullivan. It was first screened in 1981 and ran for 10 years on BBC1, becoming the most watched television programme in history and returning for several Christmas specials until 2003.
Brilliantly played by David Jason, wheeler dealer market trader Del Boy Trotter, his younger brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and the rest of the Trotter clan – plus a host of other memorable Peckham characters – were much loved by the British public.
Their three-wheeler yellow Reliant Regal van with ‘Trotters Independent Traders’ emblazoned on the side, was legendary. It was recently revealed that Only Fools and Horses was the show most viewers would like to see back on TV.
More than 24 million people watched the most famous episode of all time, the 1996 Christmas special, in which Del Boy and Rodney finally hit the big time after auctioning an antique watch that turned out to be worth a fortune.
When the series began Del Boy, Rodney and grandad (played by Lennard Pearce) were the main regulars of the show, with occasional appearances from second-hand car dealer Boycie (John Challis) and Trigger the road sweeper (Roger Lloyd-Pack).
Over the years, more characters appeared including regulars at the Nag’s Head pub, such as landlord Mike (Kenneth MacDonald), wide-boy Mickey Pearce (Patrick Murray), lorry driver Denzil (Paul Barber) and Boycie’s wife, Marlene (Sue Holderness).
After Lennard Pearce’s death, the character of grandad died in the series in 1984. Buster Merryfield was then introduced to the show as grandad’s younger brother, uncle Albert. He moved in with Del Boy and Rodney to complete the regular cast, along with the love of Del Boy’s life, Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) and Rodney’s wife, Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong). Del and Raquel’s son Damien was played by five actors, although Ben Smith played the role for the longest.
A regular meeting place, Sid’s Café was a ‘greasy spoon’ run by Sid (Roy Heather). Nicknamed the ‘Fatty Thumb’ due to its reputation of selling greasy foods swimming in fat, it was first seen on 21st October 1982 in an episode called The Long Legs of the Law, in which Del stole some cutlery from the cafe and Sid emerged from the kitchen, his apron covered in fat and grease. Sid had run the cafe since the 1960s and it was frequented by truckers, labourers and builders… and the Trotter family, despite its reputation for serving awful food!
If Sid had known about Bartlett’s catering supplies, he could have made the Fatty Thumb into a respectable dining establishment, where food poisoning wasn’t on the menu. Bartlett’s supplies high quality refrigeration, air conditioning and catering equipment to the industry.
Our massive range of catering equipment includes griddles and grills for healthy cooking options and the most modern counter top fryers, chargrills, rotisseries and other equipment that will ensure that food is cooked to perfection. Please contact us for further information about our full range of products.