The Yellow Peril

"**The Yellow Peril**" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, *Only Fools and Horses*. It was the fifth episode of series 2, and was first screened on 18 November 1982. In the episode, Del buys a consignment of yellow paint which, unknown to him, is actually luminous, a fact he only discovers when they use it to decorate a Chinese restaurant.

## Synopsis

Del Boy is at a Chinese restaurant called *The Golden Lotus*, and promises the owner Mr. Chin that he will paint his kitchen before the health inspector arrives. But Del can't do it today, because it is the anniversary of the death of his and Rodney's mother Joan.

At the cemetery, as they look at the fibreglass grave of their mother, Del tells Rodney that he remembers the words their mother said to him on her deathbed: "Look after Rodney for me, Del Boy. Share everything you've got with him, try to make him feel normal..." Also, Del asks Rodney to help him paint the kitchen at the Golden Lotus tomorrow. Rodney refuses at first, but Del promises him a box of pornographic magazines in return for the painting.

The next day, the Trotter Brothers and Grandad show up at the Golden Lotus and find unlabeled tins of paint to use. Rodney opens one to see that it is yellow paint. Rodney and Grandad then get to work, while Del disappears for unknown reasons. Before they begin painting, Mr. Chin explains that he received a telephone call from a man who didn't give his name (although unknown to him, the caller is later revealed that the caller was Del) and said that the health-inspector was coming to see him, and he better get his kitchen painted as soon as possible.

A few days later, back at Nelson Mandela House, Trigger arrives with another load of paint for Del, and upon being questioned by Rodney as to where the paint came from, reveals that he and Monkey Harris stole it from a storage shed down in Clapham Junction, and that the paint is used for painting signs inside railway tunnels. Rodney is infuriated that they have been using stolen paint, which leads to an argument between himself and Del about the ethics of doing so. This is interrupted by Grandad, who asks how anyone is supposed to read a painted sign inside a railway tunnel, since the tunnel would be pitch black. Trigger explains that the paint is luminous, much to Del's horror. The telephone rings, with Mr. Chin complaining about his kitchen glowing very brightly from the paint. Del explains that the luminous paint is designed to save money on electricity. With that said, Mr Chin asks them to paint his living room tomorrow. It suddenly dawns on Del about what else he has used the paint for.

The Trotters quickly drive to the cemetery and find out where Del had been for the last couple of days: painting his mother's monument with the luminous paint, so it now looks radioactive. Del says that he will not bow his head to any town hall officials, but shall look them straight in the face and say "I am the man that's responsible - and I'm proud of it." But after looking at the monument for a few moments, Del says that he, Rodney, and Grandad will put the blame on vandals with Del saying, "Let's get out of here before we get our collars felt!" before the credits roll.

## Featured characters

* Del Boy
* Rodney
* Grandad
* Trigger
* Mr. Chin

## Other notes

### Story arc

* Joan Mavis Trotter's date of death is revealed to be March 12, 1964.

### Production goofs

* In the scene where Del and Rodney visit their mother's grave, the bench they're sitting on is one step away from the elaborate gravestone, and also directly behind the bench are other gravestones, whereas in "As One Door Closes" at the scene when they and Uncle Albert visit Joan's gravestone while on the run from Denzil and his brothers, the bench is several footsteps away and the ground directly behind the bench is clear, clearly a different cemetery.

"Go West Young Man" ·
"Cash and Curry" ·
"The Second Time Around" ·
"A Slow Bus To Chingford" ·
"Ashes to Ashes" ·
"A Losing Streak" ·
"No Greater Love" ·
"**The Yellow Peril**" ·
"It Never Rains..." ·
"Healthy Competition" ·
"Friday the 14th" ·
"Yesterday Never Comes" ·
"May the Force Be with You" ·
"Wanted" ·
"Strained Relations ·
"Hole in One" ·
"It's Only Rock and Roll" ·
"Sleeping Dogs Lie" ·
"Watching the Girls Go By" ·
"The Miracle of Peckham" ·
"The Longest Night" ·
"Tea for Three" ·
"Video Nasty" ·
"Danger UXD" ·
"Chain Gang" ·
"The Unlucky Winner Is..." ·
"Sickness and Wealth" ·
"The Chance of a Lunchtime" ·
"Stage Fright" ·
"The Class of '62" ·
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" ·
"Diamonds Are For Heather" (1982) ·
"Thicker than Water" (1983) ·
"Licensed to Drill" (1984) ·
"To Hull and Back" (1985) ·
"A Royal Flush" (1986) ·
"The Frog's Legacy" (1987) ·
"Dates" (1988) ·
"The Jolly Boys' Outing" (1989) ·
"Rodney Come Home" (1990) ·
"Miami Twice" (1991) ·
"Mother Nature's Son" (1992) ·
"Fatal Extraction" (1993) ·
"Heroes and Villains" (1996) ·
"Modern Men" (1996) ·
"Time On Our Hands" (1996) ·
"If They Could See Us Now" (2001) ·
"Strangers on the Shore" (2002) ·
"Sleepless in Peckham" (2003)
"Beckham in Peckham" (2014)