10 Best Episodes of ‘Only Fools and Horses’

There is a reason people still quote lines from ‘Only Fools and Horses’ and recall exact scenes years after first watching them. The show followed the Trotter family through deals and detours around Peckham and beyond, building long running stories that paid off in big moments. The best episodes mix sharp plotting with character beats that matter to the wider journey.

This list gathers ten standouts that shaped the series. Each pick notes where it fits in the story, what happens in the episode, and why it became a key part of the show’s legacy. You will find holiday specials that changed everything and half hours that set up relationships and running threads that continued for years.

Time on Our Hands

This Christmas special closed the 1996 trilogy and delivered the long awaited turning point for the Trotters when a rare pocket watch found in their lock up changed their fortunes. The episode tracks the discovery, the authentication, and the build up to the auction that transforms Del and Rodney’s lives. It was written by John Sullivan and designed to serve as a finale at the time.

Its final act shows how a single chance find can wrap up storylines built across earlier years. The sale sequence and the reactions around it became one of the most discussed moments in the show. It also set new circumstances for the family and brought closure to threads that had run since the early seasons of ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

Heroes and Villains

The 1996 Christmas special that opened the same trilogy starts with Del and Rodney heading to a fancy dress event and stumbling into a late night good deed that makes local headlines. The story uses the costume setup to move the family into a new run of events while Cassandra and Rodney try to plan their future.

A council ceremony scene features Trigger’s famous explanation about his street broom and its many new heads and handles, which turned into a widely quoted routine. The episode also lays foundations for the trilogy’s later developments, so it works as a gateway into the final chapter of the Trotters’ original story in ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

The Jolly Boys’ Outing

This 1989 Christmas special follows the regulars from the Nag’s Head on a bank holiday coach trip to the seaside resort of Margate. A faulty radio bought through Trotters Independent Traders leads to a coach explosion that leaves everyone stranded and scrambling for somewhere to sleep.

The story uses real locations around Margate, including the fairground, and puts familiar characters together in unfamiliar beds for a night of mix ups. Rodney has a run in with the police after a misunderstanding, Del crosses paths with faces from his past, and the episode folds those threads back into ongoing relationships in ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

Yuppy Love

This 1989 episode opens series six and shows Del leaning into late eighties style with a mobile phone and sharp suits as he tries to play at city success. A scene in a wine bar gives the show one of its most replayed visual gags when Del attempts a smooth lean and vanishes from view.

In the same episode Rodney meets Cassandra at an evening class and their relationship begins. That meeting becomes central to future plots, from courtship through wedding plans, and it starts here with small choices that ripple through several seasons of ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

A Touch of Glass

First broadcast in 1982, this story sees the Trotters hired to clean chandeliers in a grand country house after Del talks up the family firm’s abilities. The brothers set up scaffolding while Grandad waits beneath, which sets the stage for the infamous drop that sends a priceless chandelier to the floor.

The scene was filmed in one attempt to capture genuine reactions and to protect a one off prop. The episode’s setup explains how the family got the job, how the work was planned, and what went wrong, and it became an early milestone that helped push ‘Only Fools and Horses’ into nationwide popularity.

The Longest Night

A 1986 entry places Del, Rodney, and Albert in a supermarket after hours during a hold up that does not go to plan. They are taken to an upstairs office with store staff and spend the night negotiating with a nervous would be robber while trying to keep everyone calm.

The script uses the single location to explore procedures, security checks, and the pressures on shop workers. As morning approaches, details emerge about the people involved, and the resolution ties back to how the incident began. It works as a bottle episode that still advances character dynamics within ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

Strained Relations

This 1985 episode addresses the passing of Grandad within the world of the show and follows the Trotter family through the funeral and the days that follow. The story then introduces Uncle Albert, who arrives with naval stories and a willingness to help, and the episode explains how he ends up living in the flat.

It marks a major transition for the cast and sets a new trio at the center of the series. The script balances practical matters like wills, family visits, and household routines with the question of how the business will carry on, which shapes the next phase of ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

To Hull and Back

A feature length special from 1985 sends Del and Rodney into a diamond smuggling scheme with Boycie and Abdul while Detective Roy Slater circles nearby. The trip takes them from Peckham to Hull and on to Amsterdam by ferry as the plan grows more complicated with every handoff.

The production was shot on film and presented without a studio audience or laughter track, which gives it a different feel from the regular run. It uses location work across docks, ferries, and city streets and brings back Slater in a role that connects to earlier dealings in ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

Little Problems

This 1989 series finale follows the build up to Rodney and Cassandra’s wedding while Del tries to settle a serious debt that could overshadow the big day. The episode sets out the timetable for the ceremony, the reception plans, and the family negotiations that come with a Trotter event.

It closes a season that began with new ambitions and ends with a major life change for Rodney. A final sequence underlines Del’s commitment to family and quietly resolves the threat from the debt collectors, which in turn affects relationships that continue in later specials of ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

Dates

Broadcast in 1988 as a Christmas special, this story shows Del signing up with a computer dating agency and being matched with Raquel Turner. Their first meetings cover stage work, money worries, and hopes for the future, which sets up a relationship that becomes central from the next run onward.

The episode also follows Rodney on his own search for a partner, which leads to crossed plans and arguments that spill into the Nag’s Head. By the end, the groundwork is in place for Raquel to join the series in a lasting way, which reshapes the home life at Nelson Mandela House in ‘Only Fools and Horses’.

Share your own picks for the best episodes in the comments so everyone can compare notes and keep the conversation going.