Only Fools and Horses: The countries where Only Fools and Horses has been remade around the world
It’s absolutely no exaggeration to say Only Fools and Horses is an internationally famous show, in fact, the original was broadcast dubbed in no less than 13 different countries and languages around the world at the time.
But since Only Fools became a cult hit there have also been several fascinating attempts from around the world to remake the series entirely for new audiences, each achieving differing levels of success.
What makes them so strange is the different parts of the show that needed to be changed, including names and even which character was the main character, one particular attempt making Grandad the central role!
We’ve got the low-down on all the bizarre remakes for you here to marvel at, and we’ll start with the earliest, which was made for Dutch TV.
Netherlands
The Dutch version of the show was renamed Wat schuift’t? which translates as ‘what’s it worth?’. The show aired on the most popular channel RTL4 back in 1995 with the Trotters renamed as the Aarsmans, Del renamed Stef, and Rodney renamed Robbie.
Running for just one series before being cancelled it’s fair to say the show wasn’t a huge hit.
Portugal
The next attempt came from Portugal where the show was called O Fura-Vidas, a Portuguese expression for someone who lives outside of the law.
It was a loose translation of the British original, with all the episodes following the same story and lines, which may explain why it did the best out of all the remakes.
Based on the Fintas family in the Sapadores neighbourhood of Lisbon the show ran for three full seasons from 1999 to 2002.
Del was renamed Quim and Rodney switched to Joca. The Trotter’s iconic Reliant was also swapped for a 1988 Suzuki Super Carry.
The countries where Only Fools and Horses has been remade around the world
Slovenia
A third remake came from Slovenia, this time in co-operation with writer of the original show John Sullivan, sticking to the original episode storylines.
This version was named Brat Bratu meaning ‘Brother to Brother’, featuring Brane (Del) and Bine (Rodney) who move from the city of Maribor to Ljubljana.
Unfortunately it didn’t achieve much success and after 13 episodes from 2008 to 2009 the show was cancelled.
USA
Perhaps most intriguing of all the remakes are the various American attempts though, the first of these hoping to be a hit with star of M*A*S*H Harry Morgan attached to play Grandad as the main character.
Another with the title This Time Next Year was suggested with the Trotter’s renamed the Flannagans, but sadly neither of these two planned shows saw the light of day.
In 2010 The Office star Steve Carell expressed interest in starring in a remake as Del Boy but nothing came of this either.
The final American attempt to recreate the show went the furthest. In 2012 US Network ABC commissioned King of Van Nuys, written by the writers of Scrubs. It was developed before being knocked back and shelved, then developed again before a final rejection.
So it’s safe to say none of the remakes came anywhere close to rivalling the original. You can’t beat Del Boy and Rodders!
