Joan Trotter Sr.

**Joan Mavis Trotter (Nee Hollins)** was an unseen character in *Only Fools And Horses*, having died in 1964, 17 years before the series began. She died of an alcohol related illness due to both her sham marriage to Reg Trotter and being hit hard by the death of her secret lover Freddie "The Frog" Robdal. However she was a main character in the *Only Fools And Horses* prequel Rock And Chips. She was the long suffering mother of Derek "Del Boy" Trotter and Rodney Trotter and wife of Reg of course. In *Rock And Chips* Joan was played by Kellie Bright, now playing Linda Carter in fellow London based TV show EastEnders.

## Backstory

**1925-1959**
Joan Mavis Hollins was born in Clapham, London in 10 July 1925. Her parents were Derek Hollins and Mavis Hollins. She was given Mavis as a middle name after her mother's first name. Joan was an only child. Joan moved to Peckham, London, SE15. Joan met local scoundrel Reg Trotter in 1944 and she fell pregnant soon after. In 12 July 1945, she gave birth to a son Derek Edward Trotter and married Reg in 1947.

## 1960-1964

In 1960, Joan Trotter had been married to Reg for 13 years and was going through a tough time. She worked as an ice cream maid at a local theatre and often got pervy looks from Ernie Rayner, her boss. He later promoted her.

In March 1960, she was friendly with Freddie "The Frog" Robdal, a friend of Reg's. Freddie was a gentleman safecracker and a frogman. Joan had a one night stand with Freddie when Reg was on a job in Kent. Joan found she was pregnant and in November 1960, she gave birth to a son Rodney Charlton Trotter at their new flat in Sir Walter Raleigh House, Nyrere Estate, Peckham, London, SE15. Freddie wondered if he was the father, and she one time confirmed it by nodding to him. Joan was friends with Irene "Reenie" Turpin. Joan always knew Freddie was Rodney's biological father.

In June 1962, Joan forced Del to go back to school after his engagement to Barbara Bird ended in disaster. When Del got eight A's (which all stood for "Absent") due to skipping his O-level school exams to flog Tom Jones LP's at the market, Joan was not very happy. Then, Reg called Del a disappointment, and Del beat Reg senseless in front of Joan, Grandad, Violet, and baby Rodney. Joan and Rodney were both crying, while Grandad tried to stop the fight, but Del wouldn't stop, because he was rightfully giving Reg what he deserved for every single one of Joan's tears and every black eye she'd try to hide behind her sunglasses. Reg was sent to hospital for a few days, while Del just vanished. A few days later, Joan got a telephone call from Del, who was in Brighton to clear his head, but eventually returned home to apologise to both his parents for his actions. But at the same time, Joan felt comfortable that Reg would never hit her, Del, or Rodney ever again.

In August 1963, Freddie and a gang stole some gold from the vaults of a bank in the city. Freddie got away but the others got caught. Freddie then hid the gold away. He then left it to Joan in his will. He then died in an accident one month later before he could retrieve the gold. Upon hearing of Freddie's death, Joan started drinking heavily, staying out late, and having more fights with Reg. Joan would do what she wanted, and nobody was going to stop her. After sobering up, Joan became sick soon after and needed nursing, her illness was probably alcohol related. She looked worn out, like the life had been sucked out of her.

## Death in 1964

One morning in January 1964, due to all the drinking taking its toll on her, Joan did not get out of bed. Reg ran off, Grandad took Rodney over to Violet, and Del called Dr. Becker, who came over, took a look at Joan, and called for an ambulance. Joan would go to the hospital, with Del following and spending the night in reception. The next morning, Grandad and Rodney would both show up at the hospital to go with Del to visit Joan, but Reg didn't turn up, probably out gallivanting.

Even though Joan recovered that time, the rest of the Trotter Family knew that she didn't have that long to live. As a result, Del vowed never to leave Joan's side, even when she went into St Mary's Hospice, Peckham, London. Every visit, Del and Joan would talk about everything, and Del would buy his mother presents and surround her bed with daffodils, anything to see that smile from Joan one last time.

While on her deathbed, Joan told her friend Reenie that she had been left some gold by Freddie, but no-one knew where he hid it as he had died recently, or her boys would be set for life. Joan also told Reenie that Freddie Robdal was Rodney's real father. Reenie agreed to take out and burn all photos of Joan with Freddie in them so that Rodney would not suspect anything as he got older.

Joan also told Del to look after Rodney and gave him a lot of advice, something Rodney would later describe as "nothing but rabbiting" on her death bed. Joan died on the 12th March 1964 at St Mary's Hospice after a long illness. She was 38 years old. Del Boy was 18 and Rodney was just 3.

Joan was buried in Peckham Cemetery and a few months after her death, Del ordered a huge fibreglass monument. Four months later, Reg walked out on the family one day when Del was at work.

Unlike Del and Granddad, due to her death while he was at such a young age Rodney grew up with very few memories of his mother.

## Joan's legacy

Joan was never seen in *Only Fools and Horses*, having died of an alcohol related illness in 1964, some 17 years before the first episode "Big Brother". She was nonetheless an important figure in the family, particularly to Del, who was devoted to her memory. He would often regale Rodney with (likely embellished) accounts of her, with stories beginning "Mum said to me on her deathbed...", usually in an attempt to emotionally blackmail Rodney into doing some onerous job. He would also attribute any good fortune the Trotters had to her influence.

Joan's headstone, a large fibreglass monument, was seen in the episodes "The Yellow Peril", "As One Door Closes" and "Sleepless in Peckham". She ostensibly appeared at a seance conducted by Elsie Partridge and urged Del to visit a doctor about his stomach pains, although it
was subsequently revealed that this was a ruse arranged by Elsie and Uncle Albert, as Del would only ever listen to Joan. Her voice was heard in flashback in the final scene of "Time On Our Hands" as Del quietly reminisced in their now-empty flat in Nelson Mandela House.

However, it is apparent that Del has an idealised recollection of Joan, and it is heavily implied that she had a string of affairs with other men. Boycie remembered her "standing in the corner of a pub with two geezers". This was finally confirmed in "Sleepless in Peckham", when it emerged that Rodney's biological father was one Freddie Robdal, with whom Joan had been having an affair.

In 1965, Reenie Turpin moved from London to Portsmouth. Joan's aunt Rose moved to Clacton, Essex but then moved on after that.

Del bought Rodney up after Joan died and Reg absconded. Their grandfather was too useless to help out. As Rodney got older, Del wondered if he and Rodney may only be half-brothers due to Rodney being tall for his age. Del wondered if they had different fathers, as Del knew Joan was going through a hard time when she fell pregnant with Rodney, and was friendly with other men.

When Rodney was an adult, Del was always pointing out to Rodney about how much he did for him. Also Del would use the passive aggressive line of "Mum said to me on her deathbed" whenever Del tried to have power over his brother.

Rodney and Cassandra would name their daughter "Joan" in honour of her.

## Trivia

In Rock And Chips episode 1 of the same title, set in 1960, Joan is filling in the application form for a flat in the newly built Sir Walter Raleigh House, Nyrere Estate, Peckham, London, SE15 and she says her place of birth is Clapham.

Joan's maiden surname was never explicitly stated in the show but in The Second Time Around (29th September 1981), Aunty Rose in Clacton, Essex said Joanie Hollins, and it seems to ring a bell with Del and Rodney, until Rose said she married a Jamaican fella. In The Bible Of Peckham Volume 2, the Who's Who of OFAH characters gives Joan's maiden surname as Hollins. Also the 2016 book The Peckham Archives says her maiden name is Hollins and her parents were Derek Hollins and Mavis Hollins (Nee Stubbs), hence why Del Trotter was named Derek, after his maternal grandfather.

The cause of Joan's death was never stated in the series but hinted at in 3 episodes - in The Miracle of Peckham, Del said she died in the hospice, in The Frog's Legacy, Reenie said she visited Joan in the hospice, and in Yuppy Love, Del said her health let her down. This indicates Joan suffered from a terminal illness. It was very likely alcohol related as according to Del's 2015 autobiography *He Who Dares*, Joan begun drinking heavy when Freddie The Frog died. She may have had cirrhosis of the liver, or alchohol poisoning which caused damage to her liver.