Raquel Turner
Encyclopedia
Rachel "Raquel" Turner is a fictional character
from the BBC
television
sit-com Only Fools and Horses
, in which she was Del Boy
's longtime girlfriend. She was portrayed by Tessa Peake-Jones
.
With Only Fools and Horses moving into its sixth series, writer John Sullivan
wanted Del Boy to start looking for more mature women, rather than continually chasing 20-year-olds, and to have a long-term relationship, so he came up with the character Raquel for the 1988
Christmas special episode, "Dates
".
During the episode, she was introduced to Del via a dating agency
and at first the two got on well. She told Del that she was a trained actress, with ambitions to have a full-time career in the profession, although her only experiences of the business thus far had been an unsuccessful pop duo
with a friend, "Double Cream", various low-key stage appearances and a one-line part in a Doctor Who
episode (which may sound somewhat impressive in the modern day, but the show had a very poor reputation in 1988, and would be cancelled the following year). She also mentioned that, owing to her career choice, she had long been estranged from her parents.
However, she declined to mention to Del that she supplemented her income with a part-time job as a stripagram
, a fact he only discovered when he unwittingly booked her for Uncle Albert
's birthday party at the Nag's Head pub
. Humiliated in front of all his friends, Del told her he didn't care to see her anymore. Despite soon changing his mind, an unfortunate arrest prevented him from meeting up with her and she left London to work in the Middle East
and later the United States
.
It was initially intended for that to be Raquel's only appearance in the show, but a year later Sullivan wrote her into the series again, for the 1989 Christmas special, "The Jolly Boys' Outing
". During the episode, Del and a group of friends were on their annual day trip to Margate
and, by chance, were stranded there for the night when their coach blew up. They went to a night club in Margate that night, where Raquel was working as one part of a magician's double act. She and Del spoke again, and this time agreed to stay in touch. Shortly afterwards, Raquel moved back to Peckham
with Del and, from series seven onwards, she became a permanent character.
Thereafter, Raquel tried on several occasions to resurrect her showbusiness career, such as auditioning for Shakespeare
plays (she won a role in a production, only to turn it down after discovering that she was pregnant) and appearing on stage alongside the singing dustman with a speech impediment
, Tony Angelino, in "Stage Fright
". Following the birth of her and Del's son, Damien, she became a housewife, taking over the cooking and cleaning roles from Uncle Albert. In a plot twist in "The Class of '62", it was revealed that she had been married to DCI Roy Slater
, corrupt police officer and nemesis of Del, for four years. Raquel was reunited with her parents in "Time On Our Hands
", when she invited them to dinner at the flat.
A kind-hearted and motherly figure, in Del she met a man with a similar nature - well intentioned but ultimately with ambitions beyond his talent. Their relationship suffered several problems, and she briefly left Del in "Fatal Extraction
" due to his gambling and heavy drinking, but they were ultimately reconciled, though never married, despite hints of Del's desire to marry her. Some fan fiction
writers have tried to get Raquel and Del to tie the knot. Her character also changed as the show went on, moving from an ambitious woman lacking in confidence, to a tougher sarcastic one unafraid to stand up to Del's scheming and fast-talking nature.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sit-com Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, in which she was Del Boy
Del Boy
Derek Edward Trotter, better known as "Del Boy", is the fictional lead character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and one of the main characters of its prequel, Rock & Chips...
's longtime girlfriend. She was portrayed by Tessa Peake-Jones
Tessa Peake-Jones
Tessa Peake-Jones is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Raquel in the television comedy series Only Fools and Horses. She had a co-starring role in the 1999 TV series Births, Marriages, and Deaths...
.
With Only Fools and Horses moving into its sixth series, writer John Sullivan
John Sullivan (writer)
John Richard Thomas Sullivan OBE was an English television scriptwriter responsible for several popular British sitcoms, including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends....
wanted Del Boy to start looking for more mature women, rather than continually chasing 20-year-olds, and to have a long-term relationship, so he came up with the character Raquel for the 1988
1988 in television
The year 1988 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1988.For the American TV schedule, see: 1988-89 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:...
Christmas special episode, "Dates
Dates (Only Fools and Horses)
"Dates" is the seventh Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1988.-Synopsis:The Trotters have been earning a lot of money recently, and Albert's birthday is coming up, though Del Boy and Rodney pretend to have forgotten...
".
During the episode, she was introduced to Del via a dating agency
Dating agency
A dating agency is a business which acts as a service for matchmaking between potential couples, with a view toward romance and/or marriage between them.-Variations:...
and at first the two got on well. She told Del that she was a trained actress, with ambitions to have a full-time career in the profession, although her only experiences of the business thus far had been an unsuccessful pop duo
Pop duo
Pop duo is a term generally referring to a pop group with only two members.- Male :*The Everly Brothers*Simon & Garfunkel*The Righteous Brothers*Hall & Oates*Pet Shop Boys*Erasure*Red Box*Savage Garden*The Communards*Tears for Fears*Wham!...
with a friend, "Double Cream", various low-key stage appearances and a one-line part in a Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
episode (which may sound somewhat impressive in the modern day, but the show had a very poor reputation in 1988, and would be cancelled the following year). She also mentioned that, owing to her career choice, she had long been estranged from her parents.
However, she declined to mention to Del that she supplemented her income with a part-time job as a stripagram
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
, a fact he only discovered when he unwittingly booked her for Uncle Albert
Uncle Albert
Albert Gladstone Trotter is a fictional character from the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. He was introduced during the fourth season as a replacement for the character of Grandad due to the death of actor Lennard Pearce...
's birthday party at the Nag's Head pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. Humiliated in front of all his friends, Del told her he didn't care to see her anymore. Despite soon changing his mind, an unfortunate arrest prevented him from meeting up with her and she left London to work in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and later the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It was initially intended for that to be Raquel's only appearance in the show, but a year later Sullivan wrote her into the series again, for the 1989 Christmas special, "The Jolly Boys' Outing
The Jolly Boys' Outing
"The Jolly Boys' Outing" is the eighth Christmas special episode of the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December, 1989...
". During the episode, Del and a group of friends were on their annual day trip to Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
and, by chance, were stranded there for the night when their coach blew up. They went to a night club in Margate that night, where Raquel was working as one part of a magician's double act. She and Del spoke again, and this time agreed to stay in touch. Shortly afterwards, Raquel moved back to Peckham
Peckham
Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
with Del and, from series seven onwards, she became a permanent character.
Thereafter, Raquel tried on several occasions to resurrect her showbusiness career, such as auditioning for Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
plays (she won a role in a production, only to turn it down after discovering that she was pregnant) and appearing on stage alongside the singing dustman with a speech impediment
Rhotacism
Rhotacism refers to several phenomena related to the usage of the consonant r :*the excessive or idiosyncratic use of the r;...
, Tony Angelino, in "Stage Fright
Stage Fright (Only Fools and Horses)
"Stage Fright" is an episode of the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses. It was the third episode of series 7, and first broadcast on 13 January, 1991....
". Following the birth of her and Del's son, Damien, she became a housewife, taking over the cooking and cleaning roles from Uncle Albert. In a plot twist in "The Class of '62", it was revealed that she had been married to DCI Roy Slater
DCI Roy Slater
Detective Chief Inspector Roy Slater is a recurring character in the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses. He is played by Jim Broadbent and, in the prequel Rock and Chips, by Calum MacNab.-Background:...
, corrupt police officer and nemesis of Del, for four years. Raquel was reunited with her parents in "Time On Our Hands
Time On Our Hands
"Time On Our Hands" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. It was the final episode of the 1996 Christmas trilogy, and was originally billed to be the last ever episode of the show, it was first screened on 29 December 1996...
", when she invited them to dinner at the flat.
A kind-hearted and motherly figure, in Del she met a man with a similar nature - well intentioned but ultimately with ambitions beyond his talent. Their relationship suffered several problems, and she briefly left Del in "Fatal Extraction
Fatal Extraction
"Fatal Extraction" is the twelfth Christmas special episode of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1993.-Synopsis:...
" due to his gambling and heavy drinking, but they were ultimately reconciled, though never married, despite hints of Del's desire to marry her. Some fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
writers have tried to get Raquel and Del to tie the knot. Her character also changed as the show went on, moving from an ambitious woman lacking in confidence, to a tougher sarcastic one unafraid to stand up to Del's scheming and fast-talking nature.