"Diamonds Are for Heather" is an episode of the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 sit-com, Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...

. It was the second Christmas special, and was first screened on 30 December, 1982.

Synopsis

On a November evening at the Nag's Head, Del Boy

Del Boy

Derek Edward Trotter, better known as "Del Boy", is the fictional lead character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and one of the main characters of its prequel, Rock & Chips...

 is drowning his sorrows due to his loneliness, and cheers himself up by ordering a mariachi

Mariachi

Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...

 band to sing "Old Shep

Old Shep

"Old Shep" is a song by Red Foley and Arthur Willis about a dog Foley owned as a child . Foley and Willis wrote the song in 1933...

". He also meets a beautiful woman named Heather, who seems to be one friend short of company. Del, ever the gentleman, entertains her and escorts her home safely.

When he brings her back to her flat, Del discovers that Heather has a son named Darren, aged 3 and a half, and a husband named Vic, who seems to have joined a very long queue at the Job Centre 18 months earlier and never came back.

Over the next six weeks, Del and Heather's romance blossoms, Del gets along well with Darren, and all is running so smoothly, that, with Christmas imminent, Del decides to propose to Heather, even if it means moving away from Rodney

Rodney Trotter

Rodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.-Personality:Rodney's personality was based on the experiences of series creator John Sullivan, who also had an older sibling and, like Rodney, claimed to have been a dreamer and...

 and Grandad

Grandad (Only Fools and Horses)

Edward Kitchener "Ted" Trotter better known simply as Grandad, was a character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses from 1981-1984...

.

However, at a candle-lit curry dinner, Heather refuses Del's proposal, because her husband Vic wrote to her one week earlier and is now living in Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

, working as a department store Father Christmas. He also wants to give his marriage with Heather a second chance by asking her and Darren to move in with him. Heather says she never knew Del felt so strongly for her and sees him like a brother. Heather then says goodbye to Del, who manages to cheer himself up by asking some carol singers to sing "Old Shep".

Episode cast

Actor	Role
David Jason David Jason Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...	Del Boy
Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart, and as Adam Parkinson in Carla Lane's series Butterflies...	Rodney
Lennard Pearce Lennard Pearce Lennard Pearce was an English actor who worked mostly in the theatre, but also appeared in a number of British television programmes. He landed his most notable TV role during the final few years of his life, starring as Edward "Grandad" Trotter in the popular sitcom, Only Fools and Horses from...	Grandad
Rosalind Lloyd Rosalind Lloyd Rosalind Lloyd is a British film and television actress.The daughter of film producer Euan Lloyd and actress Jane Hylton, her film credits include:* The Wild Geese* Inseminoid* Who Dares Wins....	Heather
John Moreno John Moreno John Moreno a.k.a. Juan Moreno is a British actor, probably best known for his role as Luigi Ferrara in the 1981 James Bond feature film For Your Eyes Only....	Enrico
Roger Brierley Roger Brierley Roger Brierley was a British chartered accountant-cum-actor.Though never a major star, he appeared in many television productions over a forty year period. He twice appeared in Doctor Who, as Trevor in The Daleks' Master Plan and as the voice of Drathro in The Mysterious Planet...	Brian
Dev Sagoo	Waiter

Episode concept

The idea for the script was to demonstrate Del Boy's love for children, and that he really could be a family man if he put his mind to it.

Music

The song that's playing while Del courts Heather and takes her and her son to various London landmarks is "Zoom

Zoom (Fat Larry's Band song)

"Zoom" is an R&B song by American band Fat Larry's Band released as the fourth single from their fifth studio album, Breakin' Out .The song was a commercial hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at #2 on the UK Singles Chart....

" by Fat Larry's Band

Fat Larry's Band

Fat Larry's Band was an American R&B/funk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who enjoyed some commercial success in the early 1980s.-Career:...

.

External links

• "Diamonds Are For Heather" at bbc.co.uk