11 Best One-Off Only Fools And Horses Characters

The following year’s Christmas Special, ‘Thicker Than Water,’ remains one of the best episodes of the series. It is the only time Del Boy and Rodney’s father, Reg, is seen in the sitcom, and in true Trotter fashion, he is funny, charming, and devious.

Peter Woodthorpe portrays the cunning estranged father in the episode, and wearing plenty of gold and quality shirts, he quickly becomes a clone of Del Boy. Under the false pretence of a hereditary blood disorder, Reg urges his boys to get blood tests.

Upon their return, it is revealed that Del and Rodney have different blood groups and the question around Del and Rodney’s mother’s faithfulness quickly arises. Due to their vastly different physical attributes, Del and Grandad assume Rodney has a different father. However, Reg reveals that Del is the bastard.

Del stays away from the flat, and Rodney and Grandad quickly become worn down by Reg’s greed and fecklessness. Del returns to reveal that Reg had altered the blood group on the test’s paper in an attempt to get him out of the house. Del and Reg’s relationship remains in tatters. Despite Reg’s abandonment and his degrading act of sabotage amongst the Trotter household, Del peacefully instructs his father to leave and even gives him a parting gift of a handful of notes.

Woodthorpe portrayed the dishonourable Trotter father exceptionally and doesn’t allow the audience to feel any sympathy for him. By remaining calm at the end of the episode, Del shows his empathy, as well as loyalty to those in his family.

Reg’s appearance is the most important, as it spawned the story arc revolving Rodney’s parentage which was present until the series final episode.