Dates is the seventh Christmas special episode of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1988. Only Fools and Horses was a long-running British television sit-com, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC. Seven series were broadcast between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003. ... For other men with this name, see John Sullivan (disambiguation). ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining for the year. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Christmas is a Christian holiday held on December 25 which celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest public broadcasting corporation in the world. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Only Fools and Horses was a long-running British television sit-com, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC. Seven series were broadcast between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003. ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining for the year. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Overview

The Trotters have been earning a lot of money recently, and Albert's 68th birthday is coming up, though Del and Rodney pretend to have forgotten. Meanwhile, after being impressed by a girl Trigger had met through a local dating agency, Del himself decides to sign up for it. Calling himself Derek Duvall, managing director of a successful import and export business, he meets an aspiring actress named Raquel. The two get on well and agree to meet again. Del asks Raquel to join him at Albert's upcoming birthday party, but she declines, citing an acting class she has to attend. Rodney Charlton Trotter (b. ... Colin Ball (DOB: 22nd April 1948), better known as Trigger (because he looks like a horse), is a character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. ... A dating agency is a business which acts as a service for matchmaking. ... Derek Edward Trotter, or Del Boy, as he is more commonly known, is the lead character in the hugely popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. ... Managing director is the term used for the chief executive of many limited companies in the United Kingdom and some other English speaking countries. ... Rachel Raquel Turner (born 4 June 1957)[1] is a fictional character from the BBC television sit-com Only Fools and Horses, in which she was Del Boys long-term girlfriend. ...

Rodney also arranges a date, with Nag's Head barmaid, Nervous Nerys, but whilst driving they are pursued by a gang of punks, which leads to a high-speed chase. They race past a policeman and woman, who vow to apprehend the driver of the yellow, three-wheeled van. A bartender is the person behind a bar in a pub, tavern, inn, bar, or restaurant that serves alcoholic beverages. ...

For the entertainment at Albert's party, it emerges that Del has hired a stripper, who turns out to be Raquel. The two recognise each other, and, humiliated, Del storms out of the pub and tells Raquel he doesn't want to see her again before changing his mind again. Raquel tells him that she plans to go and work in the Middle East, and that if he is still interested in her, he should visit her before the flight leaves. Del plans to go, but by rotten luck, is the first person to be asked by the two policemen if his name is Trotter. Mistaking the policewoman to be a stripper, Del rips her shirt off, and is arrested solely for owning the yellow van. A striptease dancer performing. ... For notes on some individual UK pubs, see Notable United Kingdom public houses. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

Heartbroken, Raquel leaves for the Middle East just as Del is taken into custody.

Trivia

• This episode won a BAFTA "Best Comedy" Award in March 1989.

1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Dates at bbc.co.uk