11 Best One-Off Only Fools And Horses Characters

In the episode ‘It’s Only Rock and Roll,’ Rodney is in a band. Instantly seeing an avenue for exploitation, Del Boy books A Bunch of Wallys as a St Patrick’s Day act at the Shamrock Club. The gig doesn’t go to plan thanks to Del’s untruthful promise of the band’s experience, and also because of the violent tendencies of the band’s frontman, ‘Mental’ Mickey.

The hard man is seen throughout the episode yelling about accusations of him being an inpatient of Rampton Secure Hospital, threatening Rodney for counting in the songs, and going back into the brawl happening at the Shamrock Club. In his portrayal of ‘Mental’ Mickey, Daniel Peacock does an excellent job, his yelling of ‘I do the one, two, three, fours!’ as well as his look of sloppy denim adorned in dog chains encapsulate the stereotypical punk of the era.

Like many other one-off characters, Mickey serves another purpose in the wider story of Only Fools and Horses. Mickey’s desire to become a pop star is exploited by Del to make some easy money. Only focusing on the short term gain, Del tosses the band aside after their disastrous gig. The band accuse Del of using them, and Rodney quits in protest.

Later, Rodney notices A Bunch of Wally’s on Top of the Pops, seeing his own dreams of success thwarted in the process. This plays on the primary flaw in Derek’s character: he doesn’t want to see other people succeed. Rodney has forgiven Del by the next episode, but it does show that while being the sitcom’s primary good guy, Del is often the antagonist for other characters.