As we mentioned on some previous articles, Adrian Pegg is a name that you may of seen on the end credits. He was the Production Manager on several of the series and specials of Only Fools and Horses. He is still working as a Line Producer and Production Manager now, although mostly on entertainment and factual entertainment shows rather than sitcoms. Here are some facts he has sent us from his memories of making Only Fools And Horses.
Some Things You Didn’t Know About Only Fools And Horses by Adrian Pegg.
1. I have never been to Peckham.
2. For the close-ups of Del hang gliding in Tea For Three, we had David dangling from a hang glider which was suspended under a crane.
3. We were filming the locations and exteriors for ‘The Unlucky Winner’ but John Sullivan hadn’t written the airport arrival scene so I couldn’t set up a location. The scene was moved into the studio so it was a big set. I was Floor Managing the studio and as we had a limited number of supporting artists I set up a system where they would come in one door and walk through shot, then rush around the back of the set changing a hat or jacket or something, and come back in again for another go.
4. In ‘Little Problems’ Del has a mobile phone which changes the channels on the pub TV when he presses the buttons. This would be easy to achieve now, but in those days I had to edit the channel changes into a single tape which we would play in to the TV on the night of the studio. The clips were strictly timed to 1 second each, then some white noise, then the next clip. On the night of the studio I was floor managing and I had to crouch down very low to be in David’s eyeline so I could cue him for the button presses – to synchronise with the pre-recorded video. That way it looked like he was changing the channels.
5. In Danger UXD my Assistant Flloor Manager, Kerry (now the Head Of Production of a big Independent TV Company), had to crouch behind the bar in the Trotters lounge for a whole scene so that she could make the dolls pop up on cue.
6. There have been lots of pubs used as exteriors for the Nags Head, they all needed different things. I had to find one in Bristol because of the scene in Dates where Del has to spot the police car in the pub car park through the pub window.
7. The scene where Del meets Raquel under the clock at Waterloo station in Dates was the first thing we shot before travelling down to Bristol for the three week shoot. We were not allowed to change the time on the clock, so whenever you see the clock – that was the actual time.
8. The announcer introducing Tony Angelino, the singing dustman in Stage Fright at the Down By The Riverside Club is Tony Dow, the director
9. In Dates, there is a car chase with Rodney driving the three wheeled van which includes a stunt jump over a hump back bridge. Most of the scene was shot in Bristol, but due to the lack of hump back bridges there I ended up finding one in Ealing just for that shot. The three wheeled van had to be specially reinforced for the jump and it was driven by a stuntman. It took all day to get that one shot.
10. If you analyse each series you may notice that the amount of location filming decreases with every episode as the series goes on. The simple reason for this was that John Sullivan had never finished all the scripts by the time we went away filming. The later episodes had to be mostly studio based, as the studio recordings were much later and it gave him time to finish the scripts.
11. Some careful planning was required for David to fall through the bar safely in Yuppy Love, and I was floor managing that studio. As you’ve seen, the barman walks through the hatch immediately before the fall, leaving the hatch up. This meant that there were only a few seconds for the stage crew (without being seen by the audience) to push the crash mat into position for David to fall on. David’s faith that that would happen was absolute!
12. The three wheeled van had a switch fitted to it by the visual effects team which triggered the exhaust smoke on demand.
Adrian has also given us some more behind the scenes and production photos to enjoy.
I would agree that series 6 is a high point and 7 almost maintains it but the increased focus on relationships and domesticity beyond that are not really to my taste. The following specials are OK but In my opinion, and that’s all it is, the three final episodes are an embarrassment to the legacy of what I believe is at its peak perhaps the best British sitcom of all. They should never have been made.
That’s fair enough if it’s not to your taste but I think the relationship side of things enhanced OFAH’s reputation and became the show it did because of all of the drama that came along with it.
‘an embarrassment’? You might get what the Argies got and a good smack in the eye.
‘an embarrassment’? You might get what the Argies got and a good smack in the eye.
‘an embarrassment’? You might get what the Argies got and a good smack in the eye.
I agree that they are not as good but there are still some great lines, such as Trigger saying that Rodney is listening to the karaoke version. The rehash one where they look back was a bit lacking but uncle Albert and Mike had passed away and they had to work around that. I found Raquel quite annoying in later episodes and I liked it when they went to France as it was just them and the boys again. For the things that are wrong with it there are so many that are right. I like a lot of comedy and it’s mainly what I watch but nothing can compare to ofah in my view. It’s a shame I will never see a new one.
I think you’re right that it has a limited impact due to the show being primarily studio based anyway so no big deal, but equally I wouldn’t say the show necessarily improved with age!
Hello Griff,
I have to disagree. I would say that it definitely improved with age. I am an avid fan of ofah and I have probably been through my boxset over fifty to times, my girlfriend fails to comprehend how I can still find it funny but for me it is the perfect programme. It definitely improved with age though, I would say that series six is the absolute pinnacle with a perfect series. It did tail off after they became millionaires but that was to be expected considering the characters were a lot older. I could name a few episodes that were not so good but they still beat other sitcoms hands down.
Regards.
Hi Graham – I think you meant to address your comments to Rigbsy?
As my original comment was:
Griff says:
April 7, 2015 at 10:11 pm
Ah no, Rigsby. Disagree entirely. Bristol was a great place for filming. In my opinion, the show became stronger with age and this was proved with viewing figures.
Anyhow, there were hardly hundreds of outdoor scenes filmed so one can hardly tell. It’s 90% studio based anyhow.
Reply
My apologies Griff. Note to self, reply to the right person in future.
Cushty.
Opinions are opinions, Sir, but how can you dismiss the later episodes as not showing signs of improvement?
For most, ‘later’ series would be late 80’s onwards. So are you discounting Series 6 which included such amazing classics as ‘Yuppy Love’, ‘Danger UXD’ and Chain Gang? How could we forget ‘Little Problems’? Or maybe ‘Class of ’62’ ‘Stage Fright’from series 7?
Then there are the specials that include ‘Jolly Boys’ Outing’ ‘Miami Twice’ and ‘Mother Nature’s Son.
Totally respect your opinion mate, but for me, as the show went on, it got stronger and stronger. The writing quality went from brilliant to sheer genius and the drama element added a little something to the character development and also allowed for outside characters to show their unique funniness.
The early series had a different feel all together and was definitely focused on the shady deals and snappy one-liners – which I love by the way!
I absolutely loved this article. So interesting. Thanks.
Interesting recollections, although the scene in Dates where Del meets Raquel at the station is filmed at Waterloo, not Kings Cross.
I understand the rationale for filming in Bristol but I think the show lost something as a result and it really doesn’t feel like London anymore.
Ah no, Rigsby. Disagree entirely. Bristol was a great place for filming. In my opinion, the show became stronger with age and this was proved with viewing figures.
Anyhow, there were hardly hundreds of outdoor scenes filmed so one can hardly tell. It’s 90% studio based anyhow.