
Scripted series · BBC One
Only Fools and Horses
This time next year, we'll be millionaires!
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Only Fools and Horses actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Only Fools and Horses reads strongest on Humour, Character Depth and Bingeability.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
The story
What it's about
Only Fools and Horses.... Is a British sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally transmitted on BBC One from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until 2003.
In working-class Peckham in south-east London, ambitious market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter and his younger half-brother Rodney, explore their highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich.
Initially not an immediate hit and receiving little promotion early on, it later achieved consistently high ratings, and the 1996 episode "Time on Our Hands" (originally billed as the series finale) holds the record for the biggest UK audience for a sitcom episode, attracting 24.3 million viewers. The series bears a significant influence on British culture, contributing several words and phrases to the English language.
The run
Seasons
7 seasons · 45 episodes.

Season 0 · Complete
Specials
198142 episodes
Best episode · S00E10 The Jolly Boys' Outing

Season 1 · Complete
Series 1
19816 episodes
7.8IMDbBest episode · S01E02 Go West Young Man

Season 2 · Complete
Series 2
19827 episodes
8.5IMDbBest episode · S02E07 A Touch of Glass

Season 3 · Complete
Series 3
19837 episodes
8.7IMDbBest episode · S03E07 Who's a Pretty Boy?

Season 4 · Complete
Series 4
19857 episodes
8.9IMDbBest episode · S04E05 Sleeping Dogs Lie

Season 5 · Complete
Series 5
19866 episodes
8.9IMDbBest episode · S05E04 Tea for Three

Season 6 · Complete
Series 6
19896 episodes
9.2IMDbBest episode · S06E03 Chain Gang

Season 7 · Complete
Series 7
19906 episodes
9.0IMDbBest episode · S07E04 The Class of '62
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

S04E05
Sleeping Dogs Lie
Del's on to a great money making scheme - looking after Boycie and Marlene's new puppy Dukie for a steal at £60 a week. Should be a doddle - a bit of the old Pedigree Chum and they should be away. Then Dukie falls victim to Salmonella poisoning...
- Written by John Sullivan

S06E03
Chain Gang
It's the deal of a lifetime! Faced with the opportunity to buy 250 18 carat gold chains from retired jeweller Arnie, Del can't resist. Hastily a multi-million dollar business consortium is formed - well, Mike from the Nag's Head, Trig, Boycie, Uncle Albert and a reluctant Rodney, anyway. Everything's pretty cushty until Arnie's taken ill just as the deal is about to be sealed, and Del is left feeling that all that glitters...
- Written by John Sullivan

S05E04
Tea for Three
Del's tampered with the sunbed controls and Rodney's seeing red - literally! His face is done to a turn. He'll hardly wow Trigger's niece, Lisa, with his handsome good looks now, which leaves the way pretty clear for Del himself. But revenge should certainly be sweet when Rodders volunteers Del for a spot of hang gliding.
- Written by John Sullivan

S06E02
Danger UXD
Just faking a signature on a delivery note means that Del can take possession of 50 dolls for absolutely nothing. The only problem is that 'Lusty Linda' and 'Erotic Estelle' are not exactly what he had in mind and would seem more appropriate to Dirty Barry's dubious trade than to the local toyshop...
- Written by John Sullivan

S06E04
The Unlucky Winner Is...
Rodney's won a holiday for three in the Mediterranean, courtesy of Del and the Megaflakes drawing competition. The only snag is he's got to pretend he's 14 years old all week. Should be a doddle - all he's got to do is keep his head down. Then the skateboarding and breakdancing competitions begin...
- Written by John Sullivan

S07E04
The Class of '62
A class of '62 reunion in the Nag's Head signals Roy Slater's return to Civvy Street after years in the nick. But why has the crooked ex-copper decided to come back to Peckham when he is universally loathed? Just as Trig, Del, Boycie and Denzil begin to believe that he really has changed for the better, Del discovers the real reason for his return...
- Written by John Sullivan
Recently aired
Latest Episodes

S00E39
Greatest Christmas Moments

S00E36
Secrets & Scandals of Only Fools and Horses

S00E42
Only Fools and Footballs

S00E34
We Love Only Fools and Horses
S00E40
Only Fools and Horses The Musical - Comic Relief 2019

S00E32
Beckham in Peckham - Sport Relief 2014
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Gareth GwenlanProducer
- Bernard ThompsonProducer
- Ray ButtProducer
Writing
- John SullivanWriter
Direction
- Ray ButtDirector
- Susan BelbinDirector
- Martin ShardlowDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Britbox Apple TV Channel Streaming
- BritBox Amazon ChannelStreaming
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Where to go from here
Watch Next
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