Alan Parry

**Alan William Parry** was a recurring character in Only Fools And Horses, appearing in several episodes, Little Problems, The Jolly Boys Outing, The Sky's the Limit, The Chance of a Lunchtime and Mother Nature's Son. He was the father of Cassandra Trotter nee Parry and gradfather to Joan Trotter. He was played by Denis Lill.

## Backstory

Alan William Parry was born in 1943 in Peckham, London, SE15. He grew up on a council estate and Derek "Del Boy" Trotter vaguely knew him, and later joked that Alan had "one brown eye, one blue eye, talks with a squint, walks with a stutter". Alan set up a printing firm and became quite successful. He married Pamela in about 1965 and they had a daughter Cassandra Parry in 1967. Cassie was their only child.
Pamela was quite snobbish and she loved living off her husband's fortune. They lived in Blackheath. By the late 1980s, Alan's printing firm was quite successful.

## 1989-1992

By early 1989, Alan Parry had run his business for about 20 years. Alan wanted someone to help run the computer section of his company Parry Printing. As his daughter Cassandra was marrying Rodney Trotter, who was his market trader brother Del's skivvy, who was now doing a diploma, Alan chose Rodney to help run his computer firm. Rodney had not had a proper job since leaving school and for the past 8 years was Del Boy's dogsbody, humping Del's suitcase all over London and being a lookout for coppers. Rodney had failed his diploma but Del bribed the examiner to pass him. Rodney was given the job and even Del admitted Alan could offer Rodney a future more than what he ever could.

Rodney and Cassie married and upon their honeymoon ending, Rodney started work, running the computer section of Parry Printing. By the summer of 1989, Rodney had acquired an assistant and Rodney was soon made the head of the computer section. Cassandra worked at a bank and her boss was Steven The Yuppie. Rodney was jealous as he worried that Steven fancied Cassie. Rodney and his mates went on a beano to Margate and due to a rail strike and their coach blowing up, the gang were stranded in Margate overnight. Rodney worried that Steven would use this to go round to Rodney and Cassie's flat and take advantage of her. Upon Rodney's return to London the next day, he saw Steven there and punched him but Steven's wife emerged from the kitchen. This was the catalyst for Rodney and Cassie's marriage to hit the rocks. Alan Parry did cheap printing for Del Boy. Rodney and Cassandra had many rows as he thought she was always being busy and he did not see her much, and one night in early 1990 he stormed out when she said she was not an old fashioned wife who had his dinner on the table when he came home. Rodney started drinking a lot, then had hangovers and started taking days off work, possibly affecting his good job working for Alan. Rodney then asked a girl out but changed his mind. Cassandra went away to her father Alan's villa. Rodney's drinking problems worried Del, as Del was worried for Rodney's future, but also Del was profiting from his brother's good job as he was doing cheap printing from Alan. Del worried that Alan would sack Rodney due to having time off for hangovers. Boycie even bought a lot of printing, as he thought he'd get in quick before Rodney gets the sack.

While Cassandra was away, Rodney kept on drinking and having hangovers and days off work so Alan arranged to meet Del at The Nags Head to ask what was happening. Del explained that Rodney is drinking too much and pretending he is enjoying it. Del tried to worm his way into having holidays at Alan's Spanish villa.

Rodney and Cassie got back together upon her return from Spain, but she saw him escorting a drunk old flame of Del's to a taxi and threw Rodney out. Rodney returned to live with his brother again, and was worried that Alan would sack him due to betraying Cassandra. That night, Del got a phone call from Alan to pass on a message to Rodney that he wanted to see him in his office first thing tomorrow. Rodney was worried that Alan would give him his cards. Albert told Rodney a story about how an old friend of his during the war was too important to the ship so the captain refused his resignation. Albert was merely telling Rodney to realise his own importance. But Rodney thought Albert was telling him to hand in his resignation from his computer job so that Alan would reject it.

The next day, Rodney handed in his resignation while Alan was out of his office, but on the shop floor Alan wanted to see him about future plans for the company, not to sack him, and Alan was very happy to announce he was moving to a bigger workshop. Alan had not heard that Rodney had yet again split from Cassie. Alan took Rodney around some of the new properties he wanted to move to. Rodney was excited about Alan's plans to expand the company, so much so that he forgot he handed in his resignation. Alan later accepted Rodney's letter of resignation and phoned Rodney, who was devastated.

Rodney realised that he had made a huge mistake and his ploy to prove he was too good for the firm had backfired. Del Boy was very angry at his brother for chucking his first proper and highly paid job away. And Del would lose out on selling cheap printing to his mates. Del wanted to speak to Alan to get him to change his mind but Alan had got Elvis, Rodney's assistant to replace him. Rodney was back to square one again after a brief success of his life. He was soon back working as Del's dogsbody again, a market traders suitcase carrier and lookout.

Rodney and Cassie later got back together. Rodney was given a golden handshakes payout from the firm and Del spent the money for him for a trip to Miami. Rodney had much less to do with his father in law when he left his place of work, however he and Casie would occasionally go to spend time with Alan and Pam at the family villa, sipping sangrias and eating squid.

## Appearances

* Little Problems (12th February 1989)
* The Jolly Boys Outing (25th December 1989)
* Rodney Come Home (25th December 1990)
* The Sky's the Limit (30th December 1990)
* The Chance of a Lunchtime (6th January 1991)
* Miami Twice Part 1 (24th December 1991)
* Miami Twice Part 2 (25th December 1991)
* Mother Nature's Son - (25th December 1992)