A Touch of Glass

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Only Fools and Horses episode
"A Touch of Glass"
Series 2
Writer John Sullivan
Director Ray Butt
Producer Ray Butt
Duration 30 minutes
Airdate 2 December 1982
Audience 10.2 million

A Touch of Glass is an episode of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 2 December 1982 as the final episode of series 2. It was the first episode of the show to attract over 10 million viewers.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

During a trip out to the countryside to buy a consignment of musical china cats which play the song How much is that doggie in the window?, Del Boy, Rodney and Grandad stop to assist a woman whose car has broken down. The woman turns out to be a member of the aristocracy, Lady Ridgemere. They tow her home and are grudgingly invited in by Lord Ridgemere.

The Trotters quickly outstay their welcome at the mansion. Whilst there. Del overhears Lord Ridgemere haggling with someone on the telephone about the cost of cleaning their two priceless Louis XIV chandeliers. Del then persuades the Lord that chandeliers are the Trotter's family business and agrees to carry out the necessary work cheaply.

The Trotters return to the mansion a week later to clean the chandeliers, though the Lord and Lady are nowhere to be seen. Grandad goes upstairs to undo the holding bolt for one of the chandeliers while Del and Rodney climb up on step ladders with a blanket ready to catch it. However, unknown to Del and Rodney (and the audience), Grandad is actually loosening the bolt for the adjacent chandelier. He hits the bolt out and as Del and Rodney are waiting to catch their chandelier, the other one falls down and smashes. The three quickly run out of the mansion and speedily drive away in their van.

[edit] Episode concept/production

John Sullivan's father was the inspiration for the smashed chandelier storyline. Working as a plumber in the 1930s, he and several others were fitting a new heating system into a stately home, and had to move some chandeliers. As with the Trotters, there was a mix up and the wrong one was undone and smashed. David Jason and Ray Butt agreed that the storyline ought to be used, meaning Sullivan had to write the script backwards, starting with just the end point and then working out how the Trotters would come to be in a mansion.[1]

The smashed chandelier was made by props company Trading Post.[2] Despite being a fake, it was still worth about £6,000 and only one was made, meaning the scene could only be filmed once. It was initially intended that this would be the final scene in the episode, so after the incident Jason and Lyndhurst were required to stand and stare at each other in silence for 30 seconds while the camera rolled. Lyndhurst later recalled that Butt threatened him with the sack if he ruined the scene by laughing. Many of the cast and crew struggled to contain their laughter in the aftermath of the shot; Butt himself stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth and left the room.[1]

Given the task of finding a suitable "Ridgemere Hall", production manager Janet Bone eventually settled on Clayesmore school, a boarding school in Iwerne Minster, Dorset. The auction house seen at the beginning of the episode is the village hall of Sutton Waldron, Dorset.[3]

[edit] Reception

"A Touch of Glass" was the first episode of Only Fools and Horses to attract a UK television audience of over 10 million. Owing to the chandelier scene, it is one of the show's best known episodes. In December 2006, the scene came second in a UKTV Gold poll to find the Top 40 Only Fools Moments, second only to Del Boy falling through an open bar flap in the episode "Yuppy Love".[4] It was also voted the best British comedy moment in a 2000 poll.[5]

[edit] Episode cast

Actor Role
David Jason Del Boy
Nicholas Lyndhurst Rodney
Lennard Pearce Grandad
Elizabeth Benson Lady Ridgemere
Geoffrey Toone Lord Ridgemere
Donald Bisset Butler

[edit] Quotes

  • (The chandelier has just fallen down and smashed. Grandad walks downstairs)
Grandad: Alright, Del Boy.
Del: Alright? Look at it!
Grandad: Did you drop it Del?
Rodney: How could we drop it? We never even had hold of it. We were working on that one.
Grandad: Well I wish you'd said something 'cos I was working on this one.

[edit] Errors

  • The Trotter van's registration number is APL 911 H in both this episode and "The Russians Are Coming", whereas in "Modern Men", the van's registration number is DHV 938 D.
  • The Trotter van has a dark red interior, whereas in "Healthy Competition", the van is shown to be yellow inside the backdoor as well as outside.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Clark, Steve (1998). The Only Fools and Horses Story. BBC Books, p. 91. ISBN 0-563-38445-X. 
  2. ^ Webber, Richard (2003). The Complete A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. Orion, p. 206. ISBN 0-7528-6025-9. 
  3. ^ Webber, Richard (2003). The Complete A-Z of Only Fools and Horses. Orion, pp. 121-22. ISBN 0-7528-6025-9. 
  4. ^ Top 10 Only Fools Moments. UK Gold (21 December 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-21.
  5. ^ "Comedy greats", BBC, 2000-08-13. Retrieved on 2007-08-02. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
It Never Rains...		 Only Fools and Horses
2 December 1982		 Succeeded by
Christmas Trees