Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an episode of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
sit-com,
Only Fools and HorsesOnly Fools and Horses is a British television sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003.Set in Peckham in south London,...
. It was the final episode of series 5, and was first screened on 5 October 1986. This is also the last episode to be 30 minutes long with all the subsequent episodes lasting 50 minutes or more.
Popping into the
Nag's Head for a drink,
Del BoyDerek Edward Trotter , more commonly known as "Del Boy", is the fictional lead character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses...
is surprised to see his old friend and business partner from the 1960s, Jumbo Mills, back in
PeckhamPeckham is an area of London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, located 3.5 miles south-east of Charing Cross, about one mile east of Camberwell and one mile west of New Cross....
after emigrating to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
in 1967 with Del's last £200.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an episode of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
sit-com,
Only Fools and HorsesOnly Fools and Horses is a British television sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003.Set in Peckham in south London,...
. It was the final episode of series 5, and was first screened on 5 October 1986. This is also the last episode to be 30 minutes long with all the subsequent episodes lasting 50 minutes or more.
Synopsis
Popping into the
Nag's Head for a drink,
Del BoyDerek Edward Trotter , more commonly known as "Del Boy", is the fictional lead character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses...
is surprised to see his old friend and business partner from the 1960s, Jumbo Mills, back in
PeckhamPeckham is an area of London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, located 3.5 miles south-east of Charing Cross, about one mile east of Camberwell and one mile west of New Cross....
after emigrating to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
in 1967 with Del's last £200. As a way of returning the favour, Jumbo offers Del a chance to renew their old partnership by helping to run Jumbo's new car business back in Australia. After Del tells
RodneyRodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.-Date of birth:...
and
AlbertAlbert Gladstone Trotter was a character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. He was played by Buster Merryfield....
about the offer from Jumbo, and that this time next year, they
will be millionaires, everything is set.
But just when things are going well, Albert refuses to go because he's travelled around the world his entire life, and he just wants to end his days in Peckham. Rodney can't go either because of his criminal conviction for possession of
CannabisCannabisalso known as marijuana or marihuana, and ganja , among many other namesrefers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug...
. Regardless of all this, Del still seems keen to go, and he hands ownership of
Trotters Independent Traders over to Rodney. But Rodney does not agree with that, and reminds Del Boy that the real opportunity lies here in Britain, and people who are looking for bargains turn to men like the Trotters, as all the times that Del had denied Rodney golden opportunites for success, such as Rodney wanting to become a window cleaner (which was described by Del as
"hardly end of the rainbow stuff"). But Del, after telling his younger brother that he stood by him when their mother died, says he still wants to go to Australia and live out his dream of becoming a millionaire. Emotionally shattered by his older brother's harsh words, Rodney exits in tears. After hearing the row, Albert is completely disgusted by how Del's golden opportunity has started a family feud between the Trotter brothers similar to the one between the Ewing brothers from
DallasDallas is an American prime-time television soap opera that originally ran from 1978 to 1991. It revolved around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries...
.
Later that night, after receiving advice from Albert that he should go to Australia which means that Rodney will have to learn to grow up, Del phones Jumbo to confirm what time he'll be arriving, but instead, Del turns down Jumbo's offer, reluctantly admitting that he can't leave his family behind. As Albert goes to bed a very happy man, Rodney returns home to apologize to Del for the argument they had earlier, and to tell Del that he has to go to Australia. But Del tells Rodney that he's already turned down the chance, and they talk about how Rodney was right when he said "The real opportunity lies here." Britain is in a bad way, people want a good bargain, and they turn to men like the Trotters. The country is on the eve of a golden age in the black market, and the Trotters will be there, and that this time next year, they'll be millionaires. The Trotter brothers make up, Rodney goes to bed happy, and Del Boy begins to regret his decision already.
Episode cast
| Actor |
Role |
| David Jason Sir David John White, OBE, known by his stage name David Jason is an English actor. He first found fame on the popular sitcom Open All Hours as Granville, Ronnie Barker's corner shop delivery boy...
|
Del Boy |
| Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst is an English actor, Lyndhurst is perhaps best known for his roles as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses and as Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart.-Career:...
|
Rodney |
Buster MerryfieldHarry "Buster" Merryfield was an English actor who became a national institution after joining the hit BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.-Early life:...
|
Uncle Albert |
| John Challis John Challis is an English actor and comedian.He is probably best known for his role as Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running comedy show Only Fools and Horses, and its 2005 spin-off, The Green Green Grass....
|
Boycie |
| Kenneth MacDonald Kenneth MacDonald was an English actor who was best known for the parts of Gunner Nobby Clark in It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Mike Fisher in Only Fools and Horses...
|
Mike |
| Nick Stringer Nick Stringer is an English actor.In a thirty year career, Stringer has appeared in numerous well-known British television shows, including The Bill, Only Fools and Horses, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Coronation Street, Family Affairs, Minder, Johnny Jarvis, Butterflies and My Family...
|
Jumbo Mills |
Nick Stringer had appeared in the earlier episode "
Go West Young ManGo West Young Man is an episode of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses. It was the second episode of series 1, and was first screened on 15 September 1981.-Synopsis:...
", not in the role of Jumbo Mills, but as the man who buys a car from Del with no brakes.
Episode concept/production
This was originally planned to be the final
Only Fools and Horses episode with Del Boy leaving to go to Australia after
David JasonSir David John White, OBE, known by his stage name David Jason is an English actor. He first found fame on the popular sitcom Open All Hours as Granville, Ronnie Barker's corner shop delivery boy...
had stated his intention to leave the show to
John SullivanJohn Sullivan OBE , is the writer of several British sitcoms including the immensely popular Only Fools and Horses as well as Citizen Smith, Dear John, Just Good Friends, Roger Roger, and The Green Green Grass...
at a dinner. This would have resulted in a planned spin-off series called
Hot-Rod with Rodney and Mickey Pearce taking over Trotters Independent Traders, as well as feature all the other regular
Only Fools and Horses cast members. Jason, worried that the show would fall apart without Del, ultimately changed his mind and decided to stay on. However, Sullivan had already written most of the episode, so he just changed the ending so that Del turns down Jumbo's offer.
External links