Trivia / Only Fools And Horses S 5 E 07 A Royal Flush

• Christmas Rushed: One of the problems with the episode's Troubled Production (see below) was that it was scheduled to be broadcast on Christmas Day, and therefore had to be ready by then.
• Creator Backlash: It's no secret that John Sullivan hated this episode, to the point where he stated in more than one interview that his biggest regret about Only Fools and Horses was that this episode got made. David Jason didn't like it either, and nor do most of the fans.
• Edited for Syndication: Confusingly, there are two official versions of this episode are in circulation on home media releases.
  • Version One is the 76-minute original Christmas Day broadcast which has no laughter track and was the original VHS release. It can also be found on the DVD that came with issue 13 of the Only Fools and Horses DVD Collection magazine. This version may sometimes be found on certain video streaming websites.
  • Version Two is the 59-minute revised version which has been on most DVD releases since 2004, and is the version usually broadcast by Gold. It has a canned laughter track. The main reason for the revision (including over ten minutes of footage being cut) was John Sullivan's dissatisfaction with the original longer version, as he felt that in retrospect, that it presented Del Boy in an overly negative light. Whereas Del was always seen to be a lovable rogue, in the original version, he just comes across as plain boorish and offensive.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: For a long time, the 59-minute edit was the only one officially available on home video, although it generally wasn't too hard to come across bootlegs of the longer 76-minute edit. The longer edit would eventually get an official release as part of a Blu-Ray box-set of the 1980s Christmas Specials.
• Troubled Production: To the point where it's a wonder they were able to broadcast it on Christmas Day...
  • David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Buster Merryfield left production in Dorset to make an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance, putting the episode behind schedule. Jason then lost his voice and needed three days off to get it back - the only time he ever called in sick on an episode of the show. As soon as he recovered, Lyndhurst came down with the flu, throwing the production into a panic.
  • There was no more time for edits so it couldn't be played before a studio or live audience, leaving the episode with no laughter track and no music. It got so close to the deadline that the final scene was nearly broadcast live on Christmas Day 1986 — a nerve-wracking prospect, what with performing the scene to 19 million viewers, in addition to the fact that it would have wrecked the cast and crew's Christmas plans. Whenever anyone asked questions during the production chaos, the answer they got was "Fuck knows!"
  • It was finished at the very last minute with editing continuing into the early hours of Christmas morning. David Jason likened the process to Santa's elves on amphetamines. In the end, everyone thought it was patchy, but John Sullivan was not surprised by this, just relieved it got made in time.
  • When the episode aired, it got widely negative reactions which would have long-term repercussions for the series. The following year's Christmas Special, "The Frog's Legacy", ended up being written as a potential finale due to concerns that the show was running out of steam, and while the decision was made to carry on, the show subsequently got a major Retool. Most of the cast and crew would go on to consider "A Royal Flush" to be the show's worst episode, with series creator John Sullivan openly admitting in a 2003 interview that writing the episode was his biggest regret about his time on the show.

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