History Trivia / OnlyFoolsAndHorses

* DawsonCasting: Although Cassandra was supposed to be five years younger than Rodney, in real life Gwyneth Strong is actually two years older than Creator/NicholasLyndhurst.

** Creator/DavidJason's favourite was "The Russians are Coming".

* HostilityOnTheSet: Averted as David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst became good friends and the rest of the cast generally got on well, although as a joke on a boring day of filming, Lyndhurst and Jason once decided to fake a huge argument. They also liked to play pranks on Lennard Pearce and Buster Merryfield, like convincing the latter that he would have to shave off his famous beard for a flashback scene.

** A downplayed example; while ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' is still the BBC's best-selling shows of all time on both VHS and DVD, [[ExecutiveMeddling the Corporation's apparent desire]] to [[CanonDiscontinuity eradicate all traces of the original Ronnie Hazlehurst theme tune]] has led to the VHS releases of the first series (which, unlike the DVD, kept the original theme intact) becoming quite sought after by purist fans.

* OneTakeWonder: The famous chandelier gag was done in one take, mainly because they only had one (very expensive) prop. It was initially intended that this would be the final scene in the episode, so after the incident Creator/DavidJason and Creator/NicholasLyndhurst were required to stand and stare at each other in silence for 30 seconds while the camera rolled. Lyndhurst later recalled that Butt threatened him with the sack if he ruined the scene by laughing.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
** The show is firmly rooted in the 1980s. "The Russians are Coming" has the Trotters preparing for a nuclear war by testing a bomb shelter and there was a period where Del became a yuppie having seen ''Film/WallStreet''. Not to mention the clothes, the music, the references to British culture of the time...
** The 2001--2003 trilogy establishes that the Trotters still have their old flat because Del couldn't sell it for its actual value. This dates it to before the 2000s property market explosion in London, which would have seen prospective developers and landlords left, right and centre trying to buy the flat from Del. If anything, he'd likely have had a bidding war on his hands just a few years later.
** A key part of the plot of "Strangers on the Shore" involves Del getting Denzil to drive over to France, buy a vast amount of cheap booze, and then sell it to Sid to stock up the Nag's Head. Following the UK's departure from the European Union, Del's scheme wouldn't even come close to being viable, as Denzil would only be able to buy a fraction of the amount of alcohol he did in the episode before the paperwork and fees involved would cause them to lose money on their scheme. In addition, the end of free movement between the UK and EU would mean that Rodney's drug conviction may have denied him admission to France, depending on how generous the immigration officers at Calais were feeling.

* TroubledProduction: The 1986 ChristmasSpecial "A Royal Flush" had a very troubled production. Creator/DavidJason, Creator/NicholasLyndhurst and Buster Merryfield left production in Dorset to make an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance, putting the episode behind schedule. Jason lost his voice and needed three days off to get it back. This was the only time Jason 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, and would have wrecked the cast'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. Jason likened it to Santa's elves on amphetamines to get the episode finished on time. In the end, he thought it was patchy, but he was not surprised, just relieved it got made.

** The show is firmly rooted in the 1980s. One episode has the Trotters preparing for a nuclear war by testing a bomb shelter and there was a period where Del became a yuppie having seen ''Film/WallStreet''. Not to mention the clothes, the music, the references to British culture of the time...

* WagTheDirector: Creator/DavidJason vetoed ideas that Del should have a perm, thick Elvis sideburns or gold sovereign rings on each finger (just two on each hand instead) because they were parodistic and not the right way to go. Instead of a perm, Del had tidy hair with a bit of grease.

** John Sullivan intended for Chas & Dave to sing the show's theme song due to the success from their "Rockney" style of music (a mixture of rock 'n roll and cockney). However, they were unavailable having just recorded their hit single "Ain't No Pleasing You", so Sullivan sang the song himself after being persuaded by Ray Butt to do so. They did record a song for "The Jolly Boys' Outing".

** Creator/AnthonyHopkins was keen to appear in the show, as he was a big fan. John Sullivan even wrote the part of Danny Driscoll for him, but filming clashed with ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' and he therefore had to pull out.

* YouLookFamiliar: Jumbo Mills, Del's old friend and business partner, is played by Nick Stringer, who also appeared in the Series 1 episode "Go West Young Man" as an Australian to whom Del sells a car with faulty brakes.

** Plans for a new episode in 2011 were ended by John Sullivan passing away.

** After Lennard Pearce's death, John Sullivan considered introducing an elderly female relative who would come to live with the Trotters.

* CastTheRunnerUp: Roger Lloyd-Pack and Creator/JimBroadbent were both early candidates for Del Boy.

** Creator/JimBroadbent was John Sullivan's original choice for the role of Del. While Broadbent turned down the role, he did later make three guest appearances in the show as DCI Roy Slater. Had Broadbent been cast, not only would we have had a completely different Del Boy, but he has stated in interviews that he would only have made one or two series before moving on, and thus the show would never have become the major hit it did later.

** Enn Reitel, Robin Nedwell, and Billy Murray were also considered possible candidates for the role of Del, before it went to Creator/DavidJason. Roger Lloyd-Pack was also considered, before being cast as Trigger.
** John Sullivan intended for Chas & Dave to sing the show's theme song due to the success from their "Rockney" style of music (a mixture of rock 'n roll and cockney). However, they were unavailable having just recorded their hit single "Ain't No Pleasing You", so Sullivan sang the song himself after being persuaded by Ray Butt to do so.

** Creator/AnthonyHopkins, a big ''Only Fools and Horses'' fan, was keen to appear in the show. John Sullivan even wrote the part of Danny Driscoll for him, but filming clashed with ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' and he therefore had to pull out.

* CastingGag: Douglas Hodge, the then-husband of Tessa Peake-Jones, who plays Raquel, was cast as the grown-up Damien in Rodney's dream in "Heroes and Villains".

** Averted when Kennetth [=MacDonald=] (Mike the landlord) died of a heart attack in 2001. Out of sensitivity to his family Mike was not killed off, so it was explained that he was in prison.

** Averted when Kennetth [=MacDonald=] (Mike the landlord) died of a heart attack in 2001. He didn't want Mike to be killed off, so it was explained that he was in prison.

** To a lesser extent, Sullivan also wasn't happy with the first Christmas specials, "Christmas Crackers", feeling it to be both rather listless and a re-treads of "Go West, Young Man". While the second Christmas special, "Diamonds are For Heather", did show that Del can be a family man if he put his mind to it, it wasn't until the third Christmas special, "Thicker than Water" that Sullivan tried writing a more significant episode than usual, and then the fourth special, "To Hull and Back" cemented the feature-length format of the Christmas episodes.

** To a lesser extent, Sullivan also wasn't happy with the first two Christmas specials, "Christmas Crackers" and "Diamonds are For Heather", feeling them to be both rather listless and re-treads of episodes earlier in their seasons ("Go West, Young Man" and "No Greater Love" respectively). It wasn't until the third Christmas special, "Thicker than Water" that Sullivan tried writing a more significant episode than usual, and then the fourth special, "To Hull and Back" cemented the feature-length format of the Christmas episodes.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The show is firmly rooted in the 1980s. One episode has the Trotters preparing for a nuclear war by testing a bomb shelter and there was a period where Del became a yuppie having seen ''Film/WallStreet''. Not to mention the clothes, the music, the references to British culture of the time...

* TechnologyMarchesOn: A lot of the stuff Del flogs is extremely quaint now, such as huge camcorders, VCRs, old computers, etc.

* YouLookFamiliar: Jumbo Mills, Del's old friend and business partner, is played by Nick Stringer, who also appeared in the Series 1 episode "Go West Young Man" as an Australian to whom Del sells a car with faulty brakes.

* OldShame: Nearly everyone involved with the show regards "A Royal Flush" to have been a huge misfire, to the point where John Sullivan admitted in an interview on the day that the show's GrandFinale was broadcast that he wished he had never written it.

** The poor reception of 1986's Christmas special, "A Royal Flush" caused outgoing producer-director Ray Butt to tell John Sullivan that the show had run out of steam, and to let it end with the following year's Christmas special, "The Frog's Legacy." Sullivan did consider doing this, but ultimately decided against it after "The Frog's Legacy" got a much better reception, though he did give the show a major {{retool}} afterwards.

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: John Challis, who plays Boycie, is the most personable when it comes to the fans.

* ActorAllusion: In a Comic Relief episode Uncle Albert mentions how nice it would be to walk through a door into the 1940s, which Rodney dismisses as stupid. Raquel then goes to bed and Del says "[[Series/GoodnightSweetheart Goodnight Sweetheart.]]". Del then remarks that he is not [[Series/ATouchOfFrost a chief inspector.]]
** This was also done the other way around--in ''Series/GoodnightSweetheart'' Gary (played by Creator/NicholasLyndhurst) is about to lean back and fall through an open bar door like Del Boy famously did, but notices in time and gives an AsideGlance wink to the audience--accompanied by uproarious laughter that must seem inexplicable and random to anyone unfamiliar with the ''Only Fools'' scene in question.

** Creator/ElizabethHurley auditioned for the role of Cassandra.

** Surprisingly averted early on. When ''Only Fools and Horses'' first aired both John Sullivan and David Jason felt the show was decidedly unloved at the BBC, and complained that it wasn't receiving the same publicity and support as other programmes. It was only after it became a [[MoneyDearBoy guaranteed ratings winner and cash cow for the BBC that attitudes changed.]]