Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom created and written by
John Sullivan and broadcast on
BBC One. Seven series were broadcast between 1981 and 1991, followed by sporadic Christmas specials until 2003. The show centres on the lives of the Trotters, a working-class family of market traders who live in
Peckham,
London. Headed by
Del Boy, his younger brother
Rodney and their elderly
Grandad (and later their
Uncle Albert), the series shows their highs and lows in life as they strive to become millionaires through a variety of
get-rich-quick schemes. The show achieved consistently high ratings, including a record 24.3 million viewers for the 1996 episode "
Time on Our Hands", and was named
Britain's Best Sitcom in a 2004 BBC poll.
Only Fools and Horses was nominated for, and received, a multitude of awards. It received its first
BAFTA nomination in 1983, but lost out to Hi-de-Hi!. A year later it won its first major award, when it was named Comedy Programme of the Year by the
Television and Radio Industries Club. The show was nominated for eight BAFTAs for best comedy series, winning in 1988, 1990 and 1996. It also won three
British Comedy Awards, a
National Television Award, a
Royal Television Society Award and another TRIC award in 1997. For his portrayal of
Del Boy, David Jason won two BAFTAs (from six nominations), three British Comedy Awards, two National Television Awards and one Royal Television Society Award.
Nicholas Lyndhurst received three BAFTA nominations. In 1997 John Sullivan won the
Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for Best Situation Comedy.