It Never Rains...
Encyclopedia
"It Never Rains..." is an episode of the BBC
sit-com, Only Fools and Horses
. It was the sixth episode of series 2, and was first screened on 25 November 1982.
At The Nag's Head, Del Boy
bumps into his friend Alex, a down-on-his-luck travel agent. They have a chat about how they can boost their businesses, and Del suggests that Alex offer an 80% discount on a holiday to the next customer, who just happens to be Del.
Back at the flat, Del tells Rodney
and Grandad
that they're going to Benidorm
, Spain
. Rodney is worried that Grandad will cramp their style, but Del just tells him to shrug it off.
When they get to Benidorm, Del and Rodney score themselves a couple of girls, but when they go back to their hotel room, they find Grandad asleep with his false teeth
by his bedside and so the night ends there.
A few days later, on the beach, Rodney and Del wonder about why Grandad has been acting very strangely since they landed. Del tries chatting up a "French" woman but loses out to a burly Englishman. Meanwhile, Rodney discovers that Grandad's been arrested and after telling Del, the Trotter Brothers search for Grandad.
At the police station, Grandad tells his grandsons why he's been arrested: it was way back in 1936, the Trotter Family were very poor, so Grandad and his friend Nobby Clarke hitchiked all the way to Southampton
, got a boat to Tangier
, and became gun-runners during the Spanish Civil War until they were captured, and Nobby was tortured, before the pair got home to Peckham. That's the reason why Grandad thinks the Spanish authorities arrested him. After hearing the story, Del Boy bribes the guard into letting Grandad go, but it soon turns out that Grandad was only arrested for jaywalking
and was free to go with no charge anyway, leaving Del out of pocket.
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 sixth episode of series 2, and was first screened on 25 November 1982.
Synopsis
It has been endlessly raining for four days in Peckham, and the Trotters haven't been able to flog any of their sun-hats.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...
bumps into his friend Alex, a down-on-his-luck travel agent. They have a chat about how they can boost their businesses, and Del suggests that Alex offer an 80% discount on a holiday to the next customer, who just happens to be Del.
Back at the flat, Del tells 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...
that they're going to Benidorm
Benidorm
Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Rodney is worried that Grandad will cramp their style, but Del just tells him to shrug it off.
When they get to Benidorm, Del and Rodney score themselves a couple of girls, but when they go back to their hotel room, they find Grandad asleep with his false teeth
Dentures
Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental...
by his bedside and so the night ends there.
A few days later, on the beach, Rodney and Del wonder about why Grandad has been acting very strangely since they landed. Del tries chatting up a "French" woman but loses out to a burly Englishman. Meanwhile, Rodney discovers that Grandad's been arrested and after telling Del, the Trotter Brothers search for Grandad.
At the police station, Grandad tells his grandsons why he's been arrested: it was way back in 1936, the Trotter Family were very poor, so Grandad and his friend Nobby Clarke hitchiked all the way to 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...
, got a boat to Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
, and became gun-runners during the Spanish Civil War until they were captured, and Nobby was tortured, before the pair got home to Peckham. That's the reason why Grandad thinks the Spanish authorities arrested him. After hearing the story, Del Boy bribes the guard into letting Grandad go, but it soon turns out that Grandad was only arrested for jaywalking
Jaywalking
Jaywalking is an informal term commonly used in North America to refer to illegal or reckless pedestrian crossing of a roadway. Examples include a pedestrian crossing between intersections without yielding to drivers and starting to cross a crosswalk at a signalized intersection without waiting...
and was free to go with no charge anyway, leaving Del out of pocket.
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 |
| Jim McManus | Alex |
| Anne Bruzac | French girl |
| Jillianne Foot | English girl |
| Michael Attwell Michael Attwell Michael John Attwell was an English actor.He is possibly best known for his role as Kenny Beale in the television soap opera EastEnders.... |
English man |
| Anthony Jackson Anthony Jackson (actor) Anthony Thomas Jackson was an English actor, who reached his widest audiences as founder of the eponymous ghost hiring agency in the long-running BBC children's comedy series Rentaghost. Jackson began his career with the Birmingham Repertory. He studied at Rose Bruford College and won the BBC... |
Spanish guard |
Trivia
- Grandad mentions a friend called Nobby Clarke. A character by that name starred in It Ain't Half Hot MumIt Ain't Half Hot MumIt Ain't Half Hot Mum was a British sitcom about the adventures of a Royal Artillery Concert Party, broadcast on the BBC between 1974 and 1981, and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army...
, played by Kenneth MacDonald, who would later star in Only Fools and Horses as Mike. - Although this episode is set in Spain, the scenes in "Spain" were actually filmed in DorsetDorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. Studland Bay, near BournemouthBournemouthBournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
was used for the beach.