That bright yellow Reliant Regal van? It wasn’t chosen for style. It was chosen because it was cheap and hilariously unstable. In real life, the production team bought it for a pittance. On screen, it became a character itself—often breaking down, tipping over, or just looking pathetic next to a lorry.
Here’s a surprising fact: the first episode wasn’t even that popular. Only 9.3 million people watched it—respectable, but not a smash. Compare that to the 1996 Christmas special, which pulled in 24 million. That’s more people than voted for some general elections. Talk about a slow burn.
That First Episode: “Big Brother”
The debut episode, titled “Big Brother,” introduced us to the Peckham flat. Del Boy (David Jason) is trying to flog some Irish crystal—which is actually just cheap glass. Meanwhile, Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) is getting out of prison, where he was framed for stealing a car. The family dynamic was instantly weird: Del as the scheming older brother, Rodney as the gullible dreamer, and Grandad (Lennard Pearce) as the fossil who forgot he had a door.
Here’s the wild part: Nicholas Lyndhurst was only 19 when they filmed the pilot. David Jason was 41. That’s a 22-year age gap—yet they sold it as brothers. How? Jason’s makeup team worked overtime, and Lyndhurst looked perpetually confused, which is basically Rodney’s default expression for seven seasons.
BBC shares never-before-seen pics of Only Fools and Horses' first ever
