BBC greenlights Only Fools prequel

The BBC has finally given the green light to the long-awaited Only Fools And Horses prequel.

The 90-minute show, Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Chips, is set in Peckham in the Sixties, when Del Boy was a teenager.

Original creator John Sullivan has written the script, which revolves around Del’s mum, Joan, and workshy dad Reg and features appearances from the teenage Boycie, Trigger, Denzil and Jumbo Mills.

Sullivan said: ‘Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Chips will be set in the real Sixties, before The Beatles and Mary Quant made London the coolest place on the planet.

‘The drama will feature South London at its least glamorous, where money was scarce, the staple diet was rock salmon and chips, and the flicks offer the only hint of glamour. And it will give us a bit of an insight into why Del and Rodney turned out they way they did.’

The BBC’s head of comedy, Mark Freeland, said: ‘Nearly 30 years since Only Fools And Horses hit our screens, now we'll have the chance to see the vivid, bittersweet drama that underpinned the iconic series.’

Another key character in the prequel will be safe-cracker Freddie Robdal, believed to be the father of Rodney.

Filming starts in London next month for transmission next year, although the casting has not yet been announced.

The one-off show is a co-production between the BBC’s in-house comedy department and Sullivan’s on company Shazam Productions.

Published: 3 Jul 2009