Ah, you’re a proper anorak, aren’t you? Yes, a Christmas special called “Christmas Trees” aired on December 29th, 1981. But the actual series—the one where we first saw the yellow Reliant Regal and heard that iconic theme tune—started with episode one, “Big Brother,” on that September night. So if you want to be pedantic at a pub quiz, you can argue it started twice in the same year. Double trouble, which is exactly the kind of scam Del would pull.
Think about the context. 1981 was the year of the first Space Shuttle flight, the launch of MTV, and—most importantly—a massive recession. Job centres were busier than the Nag’s Head on a Friday night. Into this grim soup stepped three loveable, hopeless chancers from Peckham. It was like someone said, “You know what Britain needs? A bloke in a leather jacket trying to sell a camel-hair coat to a blind pensioner.” And they were right.
By 1983, the show was a phenomenon. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In the beginning, Only Fools and Horses was a bit of a gamble, a Saturday teatime experiment that could have easily sunk like a crate of Peckham Spring water. Instead, it became a national treasure, largely because it never treated its characters as jokes—it treated them as family. A very, very dysfunctional, fly-tipping family.
The Surprising Facts That’ll Make You Spit Out Your Tea
Here’s a doozy: the show was originally going to be called Readies. Yes, Readies. That sounds like a dodgy newspaper for people with reading problems. John Sullivan changed it at the last minute, and thank the lord he did, or every pub landlord in Britain would be shouting, “You plonker, Rodney! … From Readies!” It just doesn’t work.
Only Fools and Horses (Series) - TV Tropes
Also, the colour of the Reliant Regal? That was a happy accident. The producers painted it yellow because it was cheap. They bought a load of leftover traffic-department paint. So every time you see that iconic van, just remember: it was built from the same stuff they use to paint the double yellow lines you’re illegally parked on. Poetic.
And the actor who played Grandad, Lennard Pearce? He was only 65 when the show started. Sixty-five! He looked about ninety because he’d been living off a diet of regret and yesterday’s biscuits. Meanwhile, David Jason, who played Del, was a sprightly 41. He spent the next 22 years acting like a 25-year-old trying to be a 45-year-old businessman. No wonder he needed a holiday after every episode.
The show ran for seven series originally, then came back for Christmas specials that were basically national holidays. But the 1981 start date is the bedrock. That’s the year comedy became genetic—you can’t escape it, it’s in your British DNA. Your dad will quote Del at you during a car boot sale. Your nan will tell you you’re “a plonker” when you forget the washing up.
“Only Fools and Horses” Cast: Where Are They Now?
So, to summarise: 1981. Remember it. If someone tells you it started in the seventies, politely explain they’re talking rubbish and you know your history. Then, just to rub it in, casually mention that “Jolly Boys’ Outing” aired in 1989, which is a full eight years after the show began. Boom. You’re now the pub expert.
And if you still want proof, just look at the the dodgy hairstyles. In 1981, Del’s barnet was a proper, puffed-up monstrosity. By the 1996 specials, it had thinned into a greasy comb-over. The years were right there on his head, my friend. A comb-over timeline. Magnificent.
So go forth, tell your mates. The legacy of Peckham’s finest entrepreneurs began not with a bang, but with the sound of a three-wheeler backfiring in a council estate car park in the autumn of 1981. And for the record: no, they haven’t earned a penny since. But by God, they made us laugh.
Now, who’s buying the next round?
