The Jolly Boys' Outing

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Only Fools and Horses episode
"The Jolly Boys' Outing"
Series	Christmas Special
Writer	John Sullivan
Director	Tony Dow
Producer	Gareth Gwenlan
Duration	85 minutes
Airdate	25 December 1989
Audience	20.1 million

The Jolly Boys' Outing is the eighth Christmas special episode of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1989.

1 Synopsis
2 Quotes
3 Story Arc
4 Trivia
5 Errors
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Many months have passed since Rodney married his sweetheart Cassandra. He is now working for her father's printing firm, while Uncle Albert has to help Del Boy flog car radios as "recommended by Nigel Mansell" down at the market. Cassandra and Marlene, with her newborn son named Tyler, pop by and chat with Del, who talks about how he, Rodney, Albert, Boycie, and numerous Nag's Head regulars are going off on their annual "Beano" (day-trip) called the Jolly Boys' Outing to the seaside resort of Margate on Saturday.

A few nights later, at Rodney and Cassandra's flat, the Trotters enjoy a nice dinner with Cassandra's parents, as well as her boss, Stephen (who is much hated by Rodney), and his wife, Joanne. They then play Trivial Pursuit, as Del also points out that Cassandra's father Alan is also going on the Jolly Boys' Outing, much to his wife Pam's chagrin, but Alan promises her that he won't eat or drink anything and just have a good time.

On Saturday, the Jolly Boys are riding down the highway in their coach (equipped with one of Del's car radios), singing along to Help!, and they had to leave early without breakfast, because it's a bank holiday weekend, and the trains are on strike. Del goes to get his uncle some sandwiches from Denzil, only to find that he's got an ear infection, and a doctor told him to take those medical pills. For a laugh, Mike hands Denzil the brass bell he calls time with in the pub, which means Del told everybody on the coach.

The coach arrives at a halfway house, where the Jolly Boys have a couple of drinks. While finding Del in the gents' toilets, Mike runs into his old rival, Eddie Chambers, who says that he now runs a night club called the Mardi Gras in Margate. Del buys tickets off him, then finds out from Mike that Harry, the coach driver, has gotten himself drunk.

Outside, Rodney, Mickey Pearce, Jevon, and Denzil play a bit of football, as the other Jolly Boys exit the halfway house with a paralytic Harry, who is helped onto the coach by Mike and Trigger. Albert suggests that Denzil should drive the coach. Denzil refuses at first, but eventually gives in and agrees to drive the coach if Harry drives it home. As all the Jolly Boys prepare to leave, Rodney gets arrested for accidentally throwing a football at a policeman. Del and Alan bail Rodney out, and they head for Margate.

The Jolly Boys arrive in Margate and enjoy themselves, such as playing on the beach, and going on the rides at the funfair. At one point, Alan tries to eat some jellied eels, but Mike quickly stops him.

6:00pm in the evening, and Del and Rodney sit down together at a jetty and talk about how Cassandra reminds them of their late mother Joan. Lookin out to the sea, Del also brings up the time when he and his friend Jumbo Mills set up a seafood stall called "Eels on Wheels" outside the Nag's Head, and how television killed off the franchise. Once the chat is over, the Trotter brothers proceed back to the coach.

In the coach park, Rodney phones Cassandra, and they talk about how every time Del is always around him, something goes wrong and Rodney gets the blame for it.

Meanwhile, inside the coach, Denzil notices smoke coming out of the radio and calls Del in to take a look. Mike suggests switching the radio off since the main petrol line runs underneath it. Del does so, and flames suddenly shoot up out of the radio! All the Jolly Boys evacuate the coach.

As Rodney tells Cassandra that it's not fair to say that everything Del touches goes wrong, the coach explodes, leaving the Jolly Boys stranded.

That night, the Jolly Boys arrive at Margate railway station, only to discover that the trains are still on strike, and the last bus has left because it's a bank holiday! All the Jolly Boys start yelling at each other, until Alan raises his voice, tells everyone to calm down, then points out that the coach company has promised to send down a replacement vehicle at 9:00am tomorrow morning, meaning that the Jolly Boys will have to spend the night in Margate.

After getting tipped off by a quaint little B&B guest house, the Trotters end up staying at the creepy Villa Bella hotel, where they were scared senseless by the even creepier landlady, Mrs. Creswell.

Two hours later, Rodney worries about how Cassandra may be spending a little quality time with her boss Stephen. He then decides to go down to the Mardi Gras with Del.

At the Mardi Gras, Del and Rodney chat about Cassandra while eating scampi. Mike, Boycie, and Trigger show up as well, as a magic act called "The Great Ramindo and Raquel" begins. Trigger is the first to notice who the magician's lovely assistant, and Mike and Boycie point out that it's Raquel, an old Del Boy girlfriend last seen in "Dates". Del doesn't believe it at first, but is instantly convinced when he sees her on the stage. Del loudly calls out to Raquel, who is overjoyed to see him again.

A few minutes later, Del and Raquel are seated at the bar, as they talk about what they've been doing lately. After suggesting that she come back to Peckham with Del as well as receiving his address, Raquel is ordered by the magician called the Great Ramondo to get back up on stage with him.

Del and Rodney return to the Villa Bella, only to discover that they've been locked out. They try to call Albert to open the door, but he can't hear them. Rodney suggests throwing something up at the window, and Del throws a bit of pavement stone at the window, shattering it.

The Trotter brothers retreat to Raquel's flat to sleep for the night, only to find out that she shares it with the Great Ramondo. Blinded with rage, Del attacks Ramondo and chucks his suitcase out the window. Raquel furiously explains that Ramondo is gay, and they sleep in seperate rooms. Del realizes his mistake, apologizes to everyone, and gets a kiss on the head from Raquel.

Upon returning home, Rodney finds Cassandra and her boss Stephen, seemingly alone together. Rodney punches him only to find that Stephen's wife Joanne is also there, and is promptly thrown out by Cassandra.

Back at Nelson Mandela House, as Del makes up with Raquel over the telephone, Rodney walks in with all his things, and Del asks if he sorted everything out.

As the credits roll, a recap of the Jolly Boys' Outing in Margate is shown along to the song Down to Margate by Chas and Dave.

[edit] Quotes

(Del, Rodney, Uncle Albert, Cassandra, her parents and her boss, Stephen, are playing Trivial Pursuit.)

Question to Del: What is a female swan called?

(Albert hints that it's a three-letter word; Rodney rattles a Biro in his mouth)

Del: Got it. It's a bic.

Sid: I run a cafe, so why didn't you ask me to make the sandwiches?

Del: The explanation is simple. We intend to eat them.

(The Jolly Boys' coach has blown up due to Del's faulty radio. Rodney is watching the explosion from inside a telephone booth.)

Rodney: Cass? You still there? Our coach has just blown up!

Jevon: You've got to give it to Del Boy, he did all the catering by himself.

Mickey: Leave off Jevon, can you imagine Del Boy standing in the kitchen cutting up all them loaves? He probably got some idiot to do it for him.

Trigger: No, I made them for him.

(The Jolly Boys find out that the last bus has left and the trains are on strike.)

Albert: I remember once just after the war.

Rodney: Oh don't start, Unc!

Mickey: We've had enough of your stupid stories for one day. Albert!

Del: Oi, oi, oi! Watch it! He's a war hero, he's got a right to speak!

Albert: I fought for free speech!

Del: (to Albert venomously) Shuddup!

[edit] Story Arc

The events of this episode are mentioned in "Sleepless in Peckham", implying that the Jolly Boys' Outing was a regular event from the 1960s before Del blew the coach up.

[edit] Trivia

John Sullivan's sister-in-law Penny was the inspiration behind the script, as she told him of an event her father used to go on each year, called The Jolly Boys' Outing.
Widely considered to be the best Only Fools and Horses episode.^{[citation needed]}
On 21st December 2006, this episode was voted number 5 in the UKTV Gold Top 40 Greatest Only Fools Moments.^[1]
The song Help! is featured, but the version used was recorded by new wave band Banarama, instead of the original version by The Beatles.
This special was edited on R2 DVD for contractual reasons. The scene where Del and Rodney are eating scampi at the club was cut due to the track sung by the singer in the background. This was Just The Way You Are but the BBC refused to pay the rights for it to be used on distribution. Approximately 7 minutes were taken out of the DVD release.
The boy who stands next to Uncle Albert and laughs at his attempt to drive a motorised boat game in Margate is the son of Patrick Murray, who plays Mickey Pearce.
This episode is the favourite episode of Italian footballer Gianfranco Zola who was introduced to Only Fools and Horses by Dennis Wise during their time together playing for Chelsea FC.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Errors

When Del and Rodney discuss Del's fish stall business with Jumbo Mills, Del mentions Man from Atlantis which came out long after Jumbo emigrated to Australia.
Raquel tells Del that she has no family left, but in "Heroes and Villains", Raquel visits her mother and father whom she hadn't seen for years.