We’ve all had a day where everything goes wrong. You spill coffee. You miss the bus. You blame the moon. The Trotters just take it to max. They literally blame the calendar. It’s comforting to know that even fictional market traders have terrible days.
The true genius? John Sullivan, the writer, loved messing with time. He once said he wanted to “make a joke about superstition.” He did. He made a whole episode about the wrong day. It’s silly, but it sticks in your brain. You’ll never look at a 14th the same way again.
40 years ago today the Only Fools episode "Friday The 14th" first aired
Quirky Facts You Can Drop at Parties
Here’s a fun one: The episode was originally called “A Touch of the Superstitious.” Boring, right? They changed it to “Friday the 14th” because it sounded punchier. And it worked—even though the date is never actually named in the episode. It’s just implied.
Also, the fortune teller was played by Ann Davies. She had a real crystal ball on set. One time, the ball rolled off the table and nearly hit David Jason (Del Boy). He ad-libbed a scream. That actual take is in the final episode. Chaos meets comedy gold.
And get this: The episode was filmed in one continuous block of takes. The cast was exhausted by the end. But their exhaustion made the comedy better. You can see Del sweating. It’s real. They were genuinely having a terrible day—on purpose.
