Only Fools and Horses episode named 'worst ever' by fans over Del Boy's antics

Fans of hit comedy Only Fools and Horses have named which episode they believe is the 'worst' of the entire seven series, with many irritated by Del Boy's actions

Only Fools and Horses remains a firm favourite among comedy fans, with the show never failing to have viewers in stitches.

Despite programme now being decades old, Only Fools and Horses is still regularly repeated on TV and millions are still huge fans of the show.

In total, Only Fools and Horses ran for seven series with 64 episodes airing over the years. However, there's one particular episode which is considered to be "worst" of them all. Viewers took issue with Del Boy's (Sir David Jason) actions in the episode, titled 'A Royal Flush', claiming them to be mean and offensive.

The episode focuses on Rodney Trotter (Nicholas Lyndhurst) as he attempts to win over Vicky on a sophisticated date to the opera. His plans are unfortunately ruined by Del Boy's intrusion.

The episode failed to win over fans and many are certain it is the worst Only Fools and Horses episode to exist. Writing on a Facebook fan page dedicated to the show, one person said: "Del was a plonker in this, really annoys me."

A second agreed, saying: "Del was so unlikeable in this one. Just wasn't the Del we all know and love. The episode has funny moments but Del was horrible." Somebody else said: "Worst episode ever, del was always a rough diamond, in this episode he was a complete k***".

The original cut of A Royal Flush lasted 76 minutes but was eventually trimmed down to 59 minutes for DVD releases. This meant the episode was subjected to significant editing along with the inclusion of 'canned' laughter.

It's not only viewers that aren't fans on the episode either, as writer John Sullivan and actor Dir David also agreed it is thr worst episode. In a 2003 interview, John reportedly expressed regret for creating the episode, and the show's producer allegedly contacted the BBC's Head of Comedy on Boxing Day to request stepping down from the series.

There were plenty of mishaps during filming of the episode too, with difficulties arising for both the cast and production team. Sir David lost his voice for three days. After he recovered, Nicholas was hit with a flu bout, which kept him sidelined for a while.

These setbacks caused concern among the production team as they were nearly forced to broadcast live on Christmas Day in 1986. Due to the lack of time for editing, the episode couldn't be shown to the show's usual studio audience and had to be aired without a laughter track or music. Once the episode was broadcast, it was evident to viewers that it didn't have the same tone as previous episodes.