Only Fools And Horses: 10 Times Del Boy Was ALMOST A Millionaire
The Trotters came close to the jackpot a lot more than you first thought...
"This time next year, we'll be millionaires".
Possibly the most famous phrase in the most famous British sitcom of all time, fans watched for over 20 years as Del Boy and Rodney crashed their way through scheme after scheme to try and hit the big time. Their exploits often led to disaster for the Trotter clan - over the course of the show's run, the pair were done up like a couple of kippers more often than not, found themselves lumbered with the dodgiest hooky gear around, and couldn't even go abroad without getting arrested or involved with the local mafia.
Del did get his dream in the end, but the strange thing is, success could have come for him sooner if his wheeling and dealing had been done a little differently. Some of his schemes actually had some merit to them - it's just whether by luck or circumstance they went catastrophically wrong somewhere down the line.
Here's ten times everyone's favourite trader could have got it right.
10. Chandelier Cleaning
The scheme:
In the series two episode 'A Touch Of Glass', Del finds himself in the middle of a business opportunity with nobility after the Trotters assist Lady Ridgemere, who finds herself stranded in the countryside with a broken down vehicle.
Del being Del, doesn't just leave it there, but proceeds to claim to the lord of the manor that the Trotters are experts in the chandelier cleaning business, after he overhears a phone conversation with the actual cleaners. After convincing Lord Ridgemere he can do the work for a heavily discounted price, the trio get to work.
In fairness, it's not a bad venture. Del knows that if the work gets done right, the family could find themselves in a whole new social circle. It's a niche business and with more discounts, the Trotters could have found themselves in high demand among the upper-class.
What went wrong:
They only had two chandeliers to clean and they couldn't get that right.
In one of the funniest OFAH moments ever, Del and Rodney find themselves halfway up a ladder ready to catch one of the pair, while Grandad undoes the bolt from the floor above. It's only when the other chandelier goes hurtling to the ground before their eyes they realise he was working on the wrong one.
Their reactions remain comedy gold to this day.