Watching the Girls Go By
Encyclopedia
"Watching the Girls Go By" is an episode of the BBC
sitcom, Only Fools and Horses
. It was the sixth episode of series 4 and first broadcast on 28 March 1985.
plays the piano, Del Boy
is beating Boycie
easily at a game of cards. As Rodney
enters, Mike is handing out tickets for a party on Saturday night. Mickey Pearce believe that Rodney won't be going because he hasn't got a date. Rodney says that he is bringing a girl who's a big noise in show business, and he and Mickey agree to have a bet of "fifty" to prove who's right come Saturday.
Later that night, back at Nelson Mandela House, as the Trotters eat a take-away for dinner, Rodney tells Del and Albert that he lied when he told Mickey that he was bringing a girl. Del and Albert remind Rodney about the other girls he went out with, such as a Southern Areas Shot-put Champion, and a 15-year old girl who needed an adult with her to get into the cinema.
The next night, Del phones all of his old girlfriends, but none of them are perfect for Rodney. Then, Rodney enters the lounge wearing a white jacket, a black shirt and a stripey tie, as he is hoping to get a girl and win the bet. As Albert goes off to get something, Del tells Rodney how he pictures his vision of love. Albert returns with an old photograph of a German woman named Helga. There's a story behind that photo: it was in 1946, Albert and his fellow shipmates had sailed to Hamburg
to pick up some prisoners of war. Albert first met Helga in a pub near the docks, in which Helga was working as a barmaid. According to Albert, Helga was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and fell in love with her the moment he saw her. The little finger on Helga's right hand was missing, due to an air-raid bombing on her home, killing her family. When Albert asked Helga to marry her, she said no, because he mistook her gestures of friendship as tokens of love. Although it was for the best, since the authorities didn't like their soldiers fraternising with the Germans, and Albert was married to his wife Ada at the time. And now, if Albert is ever watching a German war film and hears the word "nein", he always thinks of Helga, because it's the German word for "no". Rodney then decides to give up and pay Mickey Pearce the money, but Del buys the bet off his younger brother for £5 and promises to help get him a date for Saturday night.
Later, the Trotter Brothers arrive at a rather seedy nightclub, where Del Boy gets reacquainted with another old girlfriend named Yvonne, an ex-stripper now turned exotic dancer with a snake. Del tells her about the upcoming party at the Nag's Head. Yvonne is eager to go, but only if she goes with Rodney. Del promises to pay her some of the money from the bet once it's collected from Mickey Pearce. Yvonne chats up Rodney, who successfully invites her to the Nag's Head party. Now completely confident that he's gonna win the bet, Rodney tells Del that he scored a date.
On Saturday night, Del runs all the way back into the flat in a state of panic. Albert follows and reminds him that Rodney is coming up the stairs to kill Del. Rodney bursts in and complains to his older brother that Yvonne started stripping after a few drinks because she has a drinking problem. Del reminds his younger brother that he did win his bet. Just as Del hopes that he's going to have £50 in his hands, Rodney hands him a 50p coin, which the bet was really for. Albert comments that he can't wait to tell his friends that Del paid £5 for a 50p bet and Rodney went on a date with a stripper, and in response, Del and Rodney quickly wind Albert up by telling him that Yvonne's snake is the hood of his duffel coat.
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...
sitcom, 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...
. It was the sixth episode of series 4 and first broadcast on 28 March 1985.
Synopsis
At the Nag's Head, as AlbertUncle 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...
plays the piano, 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...
is beating Boycie
Boycie
Terrance Aubrey Boyce best known as Boycie is a fictional character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses played by John Challis. His story is continued in the spin off series The Green Green Grass, which began filming in June 2005, in which Boycie and family have fled from a gang of...
easily at a game of cards. As Rodney
Rodney Trotter
Rodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.-Personality:Rodney's personality was based on the experiences of series creator John Sullivan, who also had an older sibling and, like Rodney, claimed to have been a dreamer and...
enters, Mike is handing out tickets for a party on Saturday night. Mickey Pearce believe that Rodney won't be going because he hasn't got a date. Rodney says that he is bringing a girl who's a big noise in show business, and he and Mickey agree to have a bet of "fifty" to prove who's right come Saturday.
Later that night, back at Nelson Mandela House, as the Trotters eat a take-away for dinner, Rodney tells Del and Albert that he lied when he told Mickey that he was bringing a girl. Del and Albert remind Rodney about the other girls he went out with, such as a Southern Areas Shot-put Champion, and a 15-year old girl who needed an adult with her to get into the cinema.
The next night, Del phones all of his old girlfriends, but none of them are perfect for Rodney. Then, Rodney enters the lounge wearing a white jacket, a black shirt and a stripey tie, as he is hoping to get a girl and win the bet. As Albert goes off to get something, Del tells Rodney how he pictures his vision of love. Albert returns with an old photograph of a German woman named Helga. There's a story behind that photo: it was in 1946, Albert and his fellow shipmates had sailed to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to pick up some prisoners of war. Albert first met Helga in a pub near the docks, in which Helga was working as a barmaid. According to Albert, Helga was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and fell in love with her the moment he saw her. The little finger on Helga's right hand was missing, due to an air-raid bombing on her home, killing her family. When Albert asked Helga to marry her, she said no, because he mistook her gestures of friendship as tokens of love. Although it was for the best, since the authorities didn't like their soldiers fraternising with the Germans, and Albert was married to his wife Ada at the time. And now, if Albert is ever watching a German war film and hears the word "nein", he always thinks of Helga, because it's the German word for "no". Rodney then decides to give up and pay Mickey Pearce the money, but Del buys the bet off his younger brother for £5 and promises to help get him a date for Saturday night.
Later, the Trotter Brothers arrive at a rather seedy nightclub, where Del Boy gets reacquainted with another old girlfriend named Yvonne, an ex-stripper now turned exotic dancer with a snake. Del tells her about the upcoming party at the Nag's Head. Yvonne is eager to go, but only if she goes with Rodney. Del promises to pay her some of the money from the bet once it's collected from Mickey Pearce. Yvonne chats up Rodney, who successfully invites her to the Nag's Head party. Now completely confident that he's gonna win the bet, Rodney tells Del that he scored a date.
On Saturday night, Del runs all the way back into the flat in a state of panic. Albert follows and reminds him that Rodney is coming up the stairs to kill Del. Rodney bursts in and complains to his older brother that Yvonne started stripping after a few drinks because she has a drinking problem. Del reminds his younger brother that he did win his bet. Just as Del hopes that he's going to have £50 in his hands, Rodney hands him a 50p coin, which the bet was really for. Albert comments that he can't wait to tell his friends that Del paid £5 for a 50p bet and Rodney went on a date with a stripper, and in response, Del and Rodney quickly wind Albert up by telling him that Yvonne's snake is the hood of his duffel coat.
Episode cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| David Jason David Jason Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack... |
Del Boy |
| Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart, and as Adam Parkinson in Carla Lane's series Butterflies... |
Rodney |
| Buster Merryfield Buster Merryfield Harry "Buster" Merryfield was an English actor best known for starring in the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.-Early life:... |
Uncle Albert |
| John Challis John Challis John Challis is an English actor.-Career:He is probably best known for his role as Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long running comedy show Only Fools and Horses, and its 2005 spin-off, The Green Green Grass.... |
Boycie |
| Roger Lloyd Pack Roger Lloyd Pack Roger Lloyd-Pack is an English actor known for his roles in the TV shows The Vicar of Dibley, Only Fools and Horses and The Old Guys.-Career:... |
Trigger |
| Kenneth MacDonald | Mike |
| Nula Conwell Nula Conwell Nula Conwell is a British-born character actress with strong Irish family ties. She appeared in David Lynch's 1980 Oscar nominated film The Elephant Man and is well known for playing Police Officer W.D.C. Viv Martella in the long-running crime UK series The Bill from 1984 to 1993, until her... |
Maureen |
| Patrick Murray | Mickey Pearce |
| Carolyn Allen | Yvonne |