A Royal Flush

Infobox Only Fools and Horses
episode_name = A Royal Flush


Series = Christmas Special
writer = John Sullivan
director = Ray Butt
producer = Ray Butt
Duration = 80 minutes
Airdate = 25 December 1986
Audience = 18.8 million
Cast =

A Royal Flush is an episode of the BBC sit-com, "Only Fools and Horses", first screened on 25 December 1986. It was the second feature-length edition of the show, and the fifth Christmas special.

ynopsis

As Del Boy sells cutlery to the local market crowd, Rodney spots an attractive woman, and abandons his lookout position to talk to her. At Sid's cafe, she introduces herself as Lady Victoria Marsham Hales of Covington House, Berkshire. Upon further reading, Rodney discovers that she is the daughter of the Duke of Maylebury, a second cousin of the Queen. Sensing a chance to make the Trotter family millionaires, Del decides to assist Rodney's blossoming friendship with Lady Victoria, such as by acquiring tickets for the opera "Carmen".

On the night of the opera, Rodney and Victoria arrive, only to see that Del has also shown up, along with June Snell (last seen in "Happy Returns"), mother of one of Rodney's ex-girlfriends. Del and June ruin the night by noisily eating snacks, talking during the performance and arguing with other members of the audience. Nonetheless, Victoria invites Rodney to stay at Covington House for the weekend. Wanting Rodney to make a good impression, Del insists that he dresses as a country gentleman in a tweed suit. Already nervous during the weekend in Berkshire, Rodney is horrified when Del arrives with Albert in the Reliant Regal. Del takes part in their clay pigeon shoot using a pump-action shotgun borrowed from Iggy 'Iggins, a local bank robber, and quickly begins to irritate Lord Henry, Victoria's father. He also manages to secure an invite to stay for dinner.

At dinner, Del gets drunk and boorish, insulting the guests with lewd comments, touting a marriage between Rodney and Victoria, and embarrassing Rodney by revealing his conviction for possession of cannabis. In a rage, Lord Henry finally demands that the Trotters leave immediately. Victoria and Rodney regretfully agree that they shouldn't see each other again. Back at the flat, a furious Rodney relates to a very hung over Del how he has always ruined his opportunities to make a success of his life by interfering. Del apologises and responds that had Rodney refused to stop seeing Victoria, he would probably have been dealt with by the Special Branch. The brothers reconcile and shake hands.

Episode cast

Trivia

* As revealed in Steve Clark's book, "The Only Fools and Horses Story", John Sullivan was not happy with this episode, feeling that it seemed to show Del Boy in a negative light. Whereas Del was always seen to be a lovable rogue, in this episode, there were some scenes where he came over as boorish and offensive.
* This episode was originally broadcast with no studio laughter. A subsequent repeated version exists with an added laughter track, but was heavily edited for future DVD and TV broadcasts. However, the episode is possibly the least repeated on the BBC, although it is shown fairly regularly on UKTV Gold and has been released by the BBC in DVD format.
* In this episode, Del and June appear to be on a "date" when they accompany Rodney to the opera. However, Del and June parted company under unpleasant circumstances in the episode Happy Returns, when they found out they had cheated on each other as teenagers leading inadvertently to the death of Del's best friend. There is no explanation as to how or why Del and June got back together, nor is June ever seen again after this episode.

Errors

* The Trotters' return to London from Berkshire is implausible as Del and Rodney both had been drinking, Del particularly so, and Albert wouldn't have been able to drive the van because he's not insured, as mentioned in "Danger UXD".

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/onlyfools/christmas/1986.shtml "A Royal Flush" at bbc.co.uk]