The Stage

Del Boy back in Only Fools and Horses prequel

Published Friday 3 July 2009 at 14:17 by Matthew Hemley

Derek Trotter, the character made famous by David Jason in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses, is to return to television screens in a new comedy drama about his teenage years.

Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Chips is being penned by Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan and is set in Peckham at the start of the sixties.

The one-off 90-minute show is a co-production between the BBC’s in-house comedy department and Sullivan’s company Shazam Productions.

The show will be set in 1960 and focus on Derek, best known to TV audiences as Del Boy, and his parents Joan and Reg Trotter. It will also feature the teenage incarnations of some familiar faces including characters from the original series, including Boycie and Trigger.

BBC head of comedy Mark Freeland said: “Nearly 30 years since Only Fools And Horses hit our screens, now we’ll have the chance to see the vivid, bittersweet drama that underpinned the iconic series.”

Sullivan added: “The drama will feature south London at its least glamorous, where money was scarce, the staple diet was rock salmon and chips, and the flicks offer the only hint of glamour. And it will give us a bit of an insight into why Del and Rodney turned out they way they did.”

Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Chips was commissioned by BBC1 controller Jay Hunt and Lucy Lumsden, former controller of comedy commissioning.