Only Fools And Horses: Ranking All The Main Characters From Worst To Best

4. Uncle Albert

It is constantly up for debate, who is better: Grandad or Uncle Albert. While Albert was the third main character for the show’s peak during the late 80s and is associated with many of the best episodes, he was also present during a great shift in the formula of the sitcom.

First appearing in Grandad’s funeral episode, ‘Strained Relations,’ Albert was a natural fit in the Trotter household. He was sarcastic, self-centred, and loveable. He added more energy than Grandad and was able to be involved in storylines that took place outside of Nelson Mandela House.

However, with the repetition of his ever quoted, ‘during the war,’ it shifted the writing in a direction towards catchphrases and caricature. For example, before Albert entered, Del Boy was quite astute and only got things wrong when he was trying to impress people (usually trying to speak French). However, after Albert’s introduction, Del would become more idiotic and the jokes were more on him.

Buster Merryfield’s finest moment came around during the entirety of the Series 7 episode, ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Uncle.’ After getting beaten up and not feeling confident in looking after the flat, Albert runs away. Rodney and Del Boy search the entirety of London for their Uncle and reunite with him at his childhood home. The final minutes of the episode conclude with the brothers telling their uncle how much they care about him.