Trivia / Rock & Chips

• Dawson Casting: James Buckley was in his early 20s when he played the teenage Del Boy.
• Died During Production: The death of John Sullivan in 2011 meant that there would be no more episodes. But for this, the show would have likely continued to cover the deaths of Freddy and Joan, and Reg leaving his family — thus setting up the premise of the original show. After his death, John's son Jim considered writing a bridging episode but felt he would not be able to do it justice.
• Hey, It's That Place!: The scene where Joan and Reenie travel on the Tube to the pregnancy testing clinic was filmed in the disused Aldwych station, which is often used for period Underground scenes in films and TV shows.
• Saved from Development Hell: The show was originally conceived by John Sullivan in 1996 and was commissioned by The BBC in 2003, with "Sleepless in Peckham" (the final episode of Only Fools and Horses) setting up the basic premise. However, it subsequently took a back seat to the original show's Spin-Off series The Green Green Grass, and it was only thanks to the relative success of that that Rock & Chips was finally given the go-ahead in 2009, with the first episode being broadcast the following year.
• Underage Casting: Phil Daniels, who plays Ted, is 14 years older than Shaun Dingwall, who plays his son Reg. Who in turn is 17 years older than James Buckley, who plays his son Del.
• What Could Have Been: Following the death of John Sullivan in 2011, his son Jim considered writing a one-off special that would have served as a bridge to Only Fools and Horses — with Freddie and Joan dying, Reg abandoning the family and Del starting up Trotter's Independent Traders. Jim ultimately decided he couldn't do justice to such an episode, but did end up writing the charity special "Beckham in Peckham" in 2014, and subsequently co-writing The Musical with Paul Whitehouse, who played Grandad when it premiered in 2019.
• Working Title: Originally Once Upon a Time in Peckham, and later Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Chips before being shortened to Rock & Chips — the "rock" part referring to rock salmon (a.k.a. dogfish) which can be served as part of a fish and chip supper as a cheaper alternative to cod or haddock.
• You Look Familiar: Nicholas Lyndhurst as Freddie the Frog. Wholly justified, given that he's the biological father of Rodney Trotter.

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