11 Best One-Off Only Fools And Horses Characters

The 1986 Christmas Special, ‘A Royal Flush,’ is one of the strangest episodes of Only Fools and Horses. It is one of the few episodes shot entirely on film (making it one of the few episodes originally without a laughter track), and it is the only episode where Del shows no redeeming qualities.

Sarah Duncan appears in this episode as Lady Victoria Marsham Hales, a possible love interest for Rodney. She meets Rodney while attempting to sell some of her paintings on the market. They spark up a conversation and decide to eat lunch together. It is revealed there that she is not working-class but loves the ruggedness of the people on the market.

Victoria and Rodney discuss art and culture, becoming friends in the process. It is soon revealed that Victoria is a noblewoman, and seeing an opportunity, Del encourages Rodney to make passes at her. Del then invests in suits, hunting gear, and opera tickets for Rodney and Lady Victoria.

By the show’s climax, Del has embarrassed Rodney by revealing stories of his previous criminal convictions and has angered Lady Victoria’s father, the Duke of Maylebury, by saying how the pair were to be married soon. The Duke offers Rodney £1000 to leave his daughter alone, a sum suggested by Del in private.

Although from an entirely different background, Victoria comes across very well in this episode. While Del is constantly fixated on financial benefit and status, Victoria and Rodney’s friendship seems much more simple and pure. They are drawn to each other by their passion for art, as well as experiencing how the other lives. Unfortunately, their relationship is relentlessly sabotaged by Del, and he never receives his comeuppance