11 Best One-Off Only Fools And Horses Characters

Everybody loves Derek Trotter. His tenacious desire to succeed, as well as his mischievous money-making capers, won the hearts of millions. In the third episode of Series 7, we can see firsthand the effect Del’s antics have on other people.

Assigned as the entertainment manager for the local Starlight Rooms, Del persuades his pregnant girlfriend, Raquel, to perform cabaret. She agrees on one condition: she has another person on stage for backup. In pursuit of local raw talent, Del stumbles across the tacky ‘singing dustman’ Tony Angelino. Convinced that he is onto a winner, Del fails to discover that Tony suffers from a speech impediment.

On the night, Del witnesses his plans of a tasteful spectacular fall to pieces as Tony’s rhotacism becomes apparent. Del Boy runs away, unable to face more farcical renditions in songs such as ‘Please Welease Me,’ ‘Congwatulations,’ and ‘The Gween Gween Gwass of Home.’

Later that night, Tony and Raquel confront the wheeler-dealer. While Del makes feeble claims of being hard done by, Tony, played brilliantly by Philip Pope, make a greater claim. Because of society’s prejudice against rhotacism, he will never be able to become a star.

Tony Angelino’s appearance on the show offers much of the comic relief in the episode, but his speech towards the end of ‘Stage Fright’ makes him more than just a fool.