Only Fools and Horses Cuts – Part 3 – Updated Video below
Last week we looked at Series Two Three and Four of Only Fools and Horses. Particularly the way episodes have lost original scenes when released on DVD in the UK.
Today we turn our attention to Series 5 where one episode (my favorite episode in the series) gets dissected
Series Five
Tea for Three
UPDATE 2020 – We can now show you the video of the missing scenes
Tea For Three Only Fools and Horses Cuts
In series five, the episode “Tea for Three” has been cut in various places. The first cut occurs in the bar with Del and Rodney at the beginning of the episode. This cut is due to the music track “I have nothing” by Joan Baxter. After Del and Rodney fight to sit down with Lisa, Uncle Albert’s singing has been cut. The cut occurs after the line “Why don’t we all have tea together, then we can all talk about old times”. After this line, the DVD cuts straight to the flat. The following lines have been lost:
Lisa: “Isn’t that your uncle?”
Del: “What’s that soppy old duffer up to?”
Albert: “I’d like to sing a very special song for a very special song for a very special lady who unfortunately ain’t with me tonight. I like to think this song was named after my dear sick wife. It is that beautiful ballad, “Ada”.”
Del: “Ada”?
Lisa: “Is there a song called “Ada”?”
Rodney: “Well there must be, he’s about to sing it.”
Albert: “Ada, you with the stars in your eyes, love never made a fool of you.”
Two lines are cut in the flat scene with Uncle Albert after his singing. The reason for this is unknown.
This line is lost after Albert says: “I’m going down the Legion.”
Del:”Well, just make sure that you put on a pair of trousers first. There’s a lot of stray dogs on this estate!”
Another cut then takes place in the conversation between Rodney and Uncle Albert, This line is cut after Uncle Albert says “I don’t want to see that happen to you and Del.”
Uncle Albert: “I know this may come as a surprise to you Rodney…”
Another cut to take place in this episode is in the scene showing Lisa in the Trotters flat. In the original version, we see Rodney offer her some cheese after the line “Only when I smile”. In the DVD version the following lines are lost:
Del: “It’s amazing how nature compensates”
Lisa “What you mean?”
Del: “Well with a face like that his got nothing to smile about as he”.
Rodney: “Here you are Lisa, We have a selection of cheeses, We got cheddar, that’s double gossiper and that one’s cracker barrel”
Del: “Shhhh”
Rodney: “Well, The P**i didn’t have a lot of choice, did he?, This aint really Lambswell territory.”
Lisa: “Oh I’m sorry Rodney I really couldn’t eat another thing, it was a lovely meal, thank you both.”
Del: “Oh that’s alright.”
The DVD version then starts here again with the line “Rodney, I wouldn’t stand about in that suit too long”. The DVD is then cut again after the line “Swan Vesta!”. The following lines are lost:
Del: “You’ve only got yourself to blame, haven’t you?”
Rodney: “I didn’t think the timer on that thing was faulty.”
Del: “yeah. Oh, yeah…”
Rodney: “I only wanted a 30-minute tone-up, Two and a half hours I was under there.”
Del: “It’ll al be right, be alright, Don’t worry about it Rodney, because in a couple days’ time it goes all flaky and scabby, then it falls off, and it’ll be gone, see?”
The DVD then starts here with the line “How’s your mum these days, Lisa?”
Next week we will look at Only Fools and Horses Cuts for Series Six
There’s no such cheese as double gossiper, you plonker. Rodney says it’s Double GLOUCESTER. 🤦♂️
In miracle of Peckham there is a audio edit, the original music when the priest and del see the statue crying has been replaced on the dvd.
Just checked the american DVD region 1 and these edits plus a couple not mentioned here (in the nags head scene at the start – 2 further cuts are in the UK DVD) are all intact in the US DVD
TEA FOR THREE FULLY UNCUT!! Full episode on Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/170956093
Calvin, do you have an email mate?
Yeah sure mate, it’s calvinhall38@gmail.com
I’ve managed to get my hand on a few uncut episodes.
These are:
Healthy Competition
Tea for Three (shown already)
A Royal Flush
I shall also be getting my hands on a few more uncut episodes or maybe the whole complete collection fully uncut soon, here’s hoping!
There is a cut in ep2, The Miracle of Peckham which I have never understood. I watched it when first broadcast, and recorded the re-run in 1987 which I still have on VHS. The lines cut are when Del announces he is going to church:
Del: I’m going to church
Rodney: No, come on where you going?
Del: I’m going to church
Rodney: Why?
Was cut to:
Del: I’m going to church
Rodney: Why?
Not massively key to the plot but it has confused me for years, but if as others suggest it was to trim it down from 35 to 30 minutes that would explain it
Do you still have the uncut version of The Miracle of Peckham?
There is also another cut in ‘a miracle of Peckham’ – when Rodney has all that slop fall on him, he’s picks up Albert’s kipper and sniffs it and yells: ‘ALBERT!’
the kipper sniffing scene is cut.
Do you have the uncut version Rob??
Just been watching Tea for Three on Gold On Demand on My Sky box and I’m so happy to say that it is completely uncut and I think all the OFAH episodes are on there and I think they are all uncut, I am checking them right now but if you have Sky TV with Internet on the box, search only fools and horses and they should all show up, but they are running out around New Years unfortunately.
I watched the same episode yesterday and it has minor cut just after Rodney says the names of the cheeses to Lisa for obvious reasons
Its fully uncut on iTunes
Can you send me a copy of Miracle Of Peckham, Koolio.
Is the quality excellent?
That scene was on youtube fairly recently, thats where i got mine from.
I am personally a bit disappointed that P–i was considered appropriate, same with all the other derogatory irish references. Ofah, although a cracking series was flagging somewhat after miami twice. It has since watching this gone down a notch or two in my estimation.
Tonight (10/09/2011) GOLD showed “Tea For Three” with all the shown sequences in tact.
can anyone confirm if there is an american box set with no cuts as i have heard this
The american set is the same as the UK one, apart from the lines removed for offense, these lines are not deleted on the american one. I tunes one is uncut.
What scenes are cut for offense in the UK versions then, Ronnie?
I think the cheese Rodney mentioned was Lymeswold
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymeswold_cheese
It was a brand new cheese released around the time.
Thanks for the article! I sold all my VHS and was dissapointed that some scenes are cut from Royal Flush, where Del is in the opera!
As far as I know episodes were not broadcast once lasting 35 minutes and then cut for rebroadcast. But I never saw the originals. There are a lot of episodes which were cut before broadcast, no one except the BBC has these copy’s. Its possible John Sullivan might have them but I doubt it. Some say the unused scenes were destroyed.
I found this on Youtube..
It contains the Missing/cuts
It’s great..check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqdzuoFNzAE
Yep it’s such a shame to cut the eps
TEA FOR THREE is my fav and a fantastic ep.
I remember the original where Albert sings..I need to get hold of a copy of that again…
Not forgetting that all the episodes of S5 ran to 35 minutes each and have never been shown in their original versions since 1985! So the cuts you refer to are the cuts of already cut episodes! I’m so glad I recorded S5 on it’s original broadcast and have the 35 minute versions to watch!!
Hi Dave. Please drop me a line at jeffsjoint@aol.com. I’ve got something that may interest you. Thanks. Jeff
Someone has set up a facebook group about DVD cuts. Not sure how to link to it, should come up in a search.
love it mate – brilliant article