Only Fools and Horses’ star who played yuppie Steven in iconic Jolly Boys episode unrecognisable 33 years later
The actor has dozens of noteworthy credits to his name
Any great TV programme is made more dynamic with the inclusion of strong minor characters. Only Fools and Horses never overlooked their importance, with Steven the Yuppie – played by Daniel Hill – being the perfect example of this.
Jolly Boys’ Outing was one of the most popular Only Fools episodes and boasted more than 20 million viewers. First broadcast on Christmas Day in 1989, this iconic instalment of the BBC sitcom saw Del Boy, Rodney, and Uncle Albert leave Peckham with all their pals for a memorable day out.
Before the regulars set out for the trip, the episode saw the gang at Rodney and Cassandra’s flat enjoying dinner with Cassandra’s parents as well as her boss, Stephen, and his wife, Joanne. Neither Rodney nor Cassandra’s dad, Alan, appeared to like Stephen very much while Del Boy believed they were sort of kindred spirits.
While chatting about Stephen’s baseball passion, Del says: “Nowadays it’s the sort of game that guys like me and Stephen enjoy.” To which Stephen hastily responds: “How d’you mean, “guys like me and Stephen”?”
Del swipes back “Well, you know, yuppies” and although Stephen swiftly denies the claims, Del adds “you are, Stephen, you are! Guaranteed.” Later in the episode, Rodney returns from the Margate trip and finds Cassandra and Steven apparently alone together in his flat. Rodney suspects the worse and punches Steven without releasing Joanne is also there.
The hilarious skit appears to have been just a mark in an illustrious career for Daniel Hill, who both pre and post Jolly Boys had an extensive line of works. The Bristol-born star began acting in the early 1970s with his first on-screen credit is in the series Tom Brown’s Schooldays where he played the part of Harry, according to IMDB.
Most recently Daniel portrayed the recurring role of Tye Vere on the BBC soap Doctors (2019) before returning to the show in 2021. He also played Mr Travis in the Bromley Boys (2018), voiced Chris Parsons in the animated remake of Dr Who: Shada (2017) and has credits in other hit shows such as Holby City (2001-2015), Broadchurch (2015), Casualty (1993-2015) and Silent Witness (2008).
He also had some film success in the form of the Bushy Haired Muttering Wizard in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in 2010. In his personal life, Daniel is married with three children.
