‘Never saw it coming’ Only Fools and Horses’ Cassandra star on ‘special’ legacy of sitcom
ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES star Cassandra Trotter, played by Gwyneth Strong, has opened up about a "special" part of the sitcom's legacy she "didn't see coming".
Comedy sitcom Only Fools And Horses actors Gwyneth Strong and Tessa Peake Jones, who played Cassandra Trotter and Raquel Trotter respectively, joined the Loose Women panel to discuss their new project together. While recalling their time on the nation’s favourite sitcom, Gwyneth shared why the programme touched the hearts of so many and revealed how she “never saw” it appealing to younger audiences which in turn was quite the contrary.
Starring David Jason as Derek “Del Boy” Trotter and Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother Rodney, John Sullivan’s sitcom first aired in 1981.
Speaking about the longevity of the show, Gwyneth, aka Rodney’s wife Cassandra, began: “It seems to have done that thing where it goes across the generations.
“So now we get kids coming and saying I want to get an autograph and my grandad got me into the show.”
The TV actor went on to say: “And you just think that’s quite special, really.”
Only Fools and Horses: Gwyneth Strong appeared alongside her co-star on Loose Women (Image: BBC / ITV)
Only Fools and Horses: The pair discussed their time on the beloved BBC sitcom (Image: ITV)
Addressing the audience, she confessed: “We never saw that coming at all.”
Host Christine Lampard asked: “I think I’m right in saying that neither of you was fully aware of what the show was before you went to audition for it?”
Shaking her head, Tessa admitted before turning to her co-star Gwyneth: “I’d never seen it no, had you?”
Her long-running cast mate replied: “My family were a fan of it, so I did.”
Only Fools and Horses: The Christmas special continues to be a festive favourite amongst fans (Image: BBC)
Only Fools and Horses: The show has been passed down generations (Image: BBC)
The naughty antics of Del Boy and plonker Rodney made Only Fools and Horses the most-watched TV show of the noughties.
The festive special episode titled Heroes and Villains, which saw the opportunist brothers dressed as Batman and Robin was seen by 21.3 million people on Christmas Day in 2001.
Despite playing a huge part in the beloved sitcom, actors Gwyneth and Tessa revealed how they had never filmed a single scene together, which wasn’t in a group setting, while on the BBC show.
Speaking in a later interview on Good Morning Britain, Tessa said: “Do you know what is lovely?
“In that programme, we didn’t ever have a scene together.”
“Oh really?” host Adil Ray asked as the actress added: “That’s why this feels so strange.
“Everyone says, ‘It’s so lovely to be acting together again,’ we didn’t really because we’re with our respective partners.
“We’d do big group scenes but we didn’t really have anything together.”
“I think we need a spin-off, don’t we? Come on,” Adil pleaded.
The acting duo first appeared in the comedy in 1988 and stayed on the show until the very last episode.
The show’s finale, titled Sleepless in Peckham, aired in 2003 and saw the Trotters face being evicted from their Nelson Mandela House after losing their fortune.
However, in a surprise twist, the family land on their feet when an investment from late Uncle Albert saved the day.
