The Only Fools and Horses episode based on writer John Sullivan’s disastrous holiday that was temporarily banned after 9/11

The best TV writers will draw on their personal experiences to inspire their writing, and John Sullivan was no exception. The late, great Only Fools and Horses writer managed to weave some of his most memorable personal experiences into the plotlines of a number of episodes of the BBC sitcom, most of which were a roaring success.

However, John Sullivan would never have predicted that one such episode he’d written would end up being temporarily suspended from repeat TV viewings due to one scene near the end. When it originally aired the scene wouldn’t have been viewed as particularly harrowing – it was only after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the twin towers that it suddenly had the potential to unsettle viewers.

In the 1990 episode ‘The Sky’s the Limit’ Boycie has mysteriously lost his satellite dish, while Delboy has come into possession of one. Meanwhile, Rodney has popped off to meet Cassandra at Gatwick Airport, only to find that her plane has actually been diverted to Manchester. Viewers are left wondering how the three things could possibly be connected.

The moment of realisation comes in a typically Only Fools scene featuring David Jason, aka Del Boy, on the phone to Bronco about the satellite (which Del can’t pronounce, repeatedly calling it a “statellite”), asking him: “Where did you get it from?” Upon hearing the answer, Del exclaims: “Oh hells bloody bells!”

The penny drops, as Del Boy, Rodney, Raquel and Uncle Albert realise where the satellite has come from (Image: BBC)

At this point the family gather round the television, as a news anchor reports: “The radar transmitter dish, similar to the one shown here, was stolen from the end of Gatwick Airport’s main runway during the early hours of yesterday morning. The theft brought Gatwick Airport to a standstill, has caused chaos throughout Europe, and left thousands of returning holidaymakers stranded.”

The chaotic final scene of the episode sees a plane flying dangerously low over the Trotters’ tower block, hours after Boycie declared the thugs on Del Boy’s estate would “have the wheels off a jumbo if it flew low enough”. And this scene was the reason the episode was actually suspended from TV for a period of time after the 9/11 attacks.

According to IMDb, the original idea for the script came to John Sullivan after he had turned up at the airport for a holiday to Portugal – only to discover he wasn’t actually booked on the plane. Only Fools actor John Challis, aka south London second-hand car dealer and Nag’s Head regular Boycie, has previously revealed this episode became his favourite. You can find out all the Only Fools and Horses episodes which John Sullivan based on his own experiences here.