Set in Peckham, south-east London, this classic sitcom was created and written by John Sullivan. Originally shown on BBC One between 1981 and 1996, it was not an immediate success. A "slow burn", it eventually achieved consistently high ratings. A 1996 Christmas special, Time On Our Hands, drew 24.35 million viewers, the highest UK audience for a sitcom episode.
The show follows the lives of "dodgy" cockney market traders Derek "Delboy" Trotter (David Jason) and his brother "Plonker" Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst), who live in a tower-block flat with their grandad (Lennard Pearce), later replaced (after Pearce's death) by Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield). Forever trying to make ends meet, the Trotters' ultimate goal is to make their millions.
Originally intended to to be about three bachelors of different generations, eventually Rodney marries Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong), while Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) moves in with Del Boy.
The series continued - with sporadic Christmas specials - up until 2003. A year later, it was voted Britain's Best Sitcom in a BBC poll.
In 2005, two Only Fools' characters - Boycie (John Challis) and his wife Marlene (Sue Holderness) - were spun-out by Sullivan into their own sitcom, The Green Green Grass.