Producer: Gareth Gwenlan.
Director: Tony Dow
Writer: John Sullivan
Stars: David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Buster Merryfield and Tessa Peake-Jones.

This episode is the 7th Christmas special, although only the fourth feature length episode, and the final special before series 6. This was first aired on the BBC on Christmas day 1988, and released onto DVD in 2002, being 80 minutes long.

** BRIEF PLOT…

It all go at Nelson Mandela House with Uncle Albert’s, (Buster Merryfield), 68th Birthday approaching, so Del, (Jason David), decides to have a little fun with a rather unnerving surprise for the old man with the white beard, but Uncle Albert swears revenge.
Meanwhile, Rodney, (Nicholas Lyndhurst), is happy to be taking the Barmaid from the Nags Head on a date, but his methods of impressing her go totally wrong, especially when he takes the advice from his so called friends, leading him into a fast paced date, causing more trouble than he wants.

Also, Trigger, (Roger Lloyd Pack), joins the local dating agency and is soon going on his first blind date, so it is not long until Del decides to follow suit, only with Del you know things aren’t quite so straightforward.
So when he meets Raquel Turner, (Tessa Peake-Jones), his blind date, things soon take a few twists and turns, especially when he discovers what she does to earn money to pay for her acting class, much to the amusement of all those in the Nags Head.

So when all three scenarios somehow merge together their can be only fireworks, leaving Del with a tough decision to make, only the decision is taken out of his hands due to a case of mistaken identity.

**IN CONCLUSION…

For all those who know and love Del Trotter and his scheming ways then you’ll soon realise that this is your typical only fools and horses, showing how a simple plan goes downhill faster than a greased covered sledge on a snow covered grassy slope, and this simple idea of Del going on a blind date really does turn into such a comical farce you will soon feel sorry for the lovable rogue.
But for those who have never heard of Trotters Independent Traders then you’re in for one hell of a treat as ‘the unlucky in everything he does’ Del goes in search of love whilst Rodney seems to want to drive away from his relationship even before it has begun.

Sullivan has done it again, writing another cracker of a Christmas special, this time introducing a little bit of romance into Del’s life, whilst keeping the usual chaos in the Trotter clan. His ability to combine separate life stories into one ending is shear genius, as in this episode we see the Trotter brothers going on separate dates which somehow finds the results merging together to create some fantastically hilarious results.

The all round acting is simply brilliant, as usual, with Jason as ‘Delboy’, the flat capped, camel skin coat wearing, cheap cigar smoking, ducking and diving little man who tries anything if there’s something in it for him.
And in this episode, Lyndhurst really does come into form, especially when he’s on his racy date with the barmaid from the Nags Head, his facial expressions are so hilarious you’ll be crying with laughter, even though Rodney’s shaking with fear as he takes the little yellow three wheeled van on one hell of a test drive.

I do have to say something about the genius that is Lloyd Pack, who really does continue to bring out the brilliance of the ever so dim witted Trigger, showing a slight different side in his blue suit on his way to a blind date, totally confusing the regulars if the Nags head when he pops in for a bit of Dutch courage, will have you rolling in the aisle.

This is the first ‘proper’ appearance from Tesse Peake-Jones as the rather pleasant Raquel Turner, who is a slight breeze in the Trotter saga, with her likable manner and the way she manages to handle Del. The way she portrays herself as Raquel is certainly a credit to her acting skills.

In all, It is another of them episodes which will have you giggling throughout, although maybe making you feel sorry for Del when the horrible truth about his love life is unearthed. But I guarantee you’ll still laugh at the little mans horrified expression as he realise what his happening.

If you are interested in getting a copy of this 1987 Christmas special then you can get it from www.amazon.co.uk for under £7.00, and for this you get 70 minutes of great entertainment, although no extras are on the DVD, but hey, it is still value for money in my books.

AN INTERESTING FACT : (or maybe not that interesting..?)

As I said earlier, this is the first ‘proper’ appearance by Tesse Peake-Jones as Raquel Turner, but she has appeared in the show before, in the pilot episode, ‘Big Brother’, when she made a brief appearance in the first opening Nags Head scene, she and Del acknowledge each other as he and Rodney enter the pub.