Rodney Come Home

"**Rodney Come Home**" is the ninth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom *Only Fools and Horses*, first screened on 25 December 1990.

Unlike the other Christmas specials, this episode is not a one-off story, but sets up story arcs that run throughout the following series. It was filmed in the recording block for series 7.

## Synopsis

At the Broadwalk Shopping Centre, Del Boy and Uncle Albert sell children's dolls that sing Chinese lullabies.

Meanwhile, at *Parry Print Ltd.*, a starving Rodney discovers that Cassandra made him a very weak sandwich for lunch, and his new secretary refuses to go out and buy him a hamburger during the lunch break because an important client is due to see him. But when he spots Raquel waiting at a bus stop with shopping bags full of delicious food, Rodney invites her into his office, and they have a nice chat about the tour that Raquel had been on between "Dates" and "The Jolly Boys' Outing", and about how Rodney's marriage with Cassandra is holding out. Then, Alan comes in, meets Raquel, and tells Rodney that Del is making money off their printing paper. Raquel leaves, and Rodney is left with only the sandwich he threw in the bin to eat, which he does just as his client is shown in.

That evening, Rodney returns home to his flat, only to find that Cassandra hasn't bothered to prepare anything for him and is instead going out to play badminton. They argue, and Cassandra accuses Rodney of being childish if he expects her to cook for him like a servant from the 1930's (although she is in fact being immature herself). Shocked and hurt by this, Rodney storms out in a huff. Meanwhile, at Nelson Mandela House, Del and Raquel are enjoying quite a romantic dinner, and just as Del is about to ask Raquel something, Rodney bursts in and tells everyone that he and Cassandra are through, then decides to sleep in his old bedroom, but Raquel tells him that she's sleeping there. Del then tells Rodney that he will be sleeping on the sofa for the time being.

A week later, at a nightclub, as Del and Raquel dance, Rodney is getting drunk with his friends Mickey Pearce and Chris, which leaves Del completely concerned. Del decides to talk to Rodney who maintains that Cassandra is at fault and that she should phone him and apologise. When Rodney tells Del that he was annoyed because Cassandra hadn't prepared food after work, he understands the story. But Del explains that she isn't his mother and tells Rodney the error of his ways.

The next evening, back at the flat, Del tells Albert that when Rodney took the Trotter Van down to the Peckham Exhaust Centre earlier that morning to get it fixed, he foolishly arranged a date with an attractive receptionist named Tanya, following Mickey Pearce's advice to make Cassandra jealous. When Rodney tells Del, Raquel, and Albert that he's going to see ***Honey, I Shrunk the Kids*** with Tanya, they then try to talk him out of his date, but Rodney ignores them and heads off. Del goes over to Cassandra's flat and sadly breaks the bad news to her that Rodney taking Tanya to the cinema to try and make her jealous. Cassandra is distraught, and Del tells her that Raquel will phone later and help cheer her up.

Later that night, back at the flat, as Del tries to remove the voiceboxes from the Chinese dolls, he gets a telephone call from Rodney, who took Del's advice, cancelled his date, and has decided to wait at his flat for Cassandra, so they can kiss and make up. Before Del can warn him about what he just did, Rodney just hangs up the phone. Del admits to Raquel and Albert that he told Cassandra, and then quickly drives over to Rodney and Cassandra's flat. Cassandra returns home, only to be greeted by a smiling Rodney, but the reunion is short-lived as Cassandra kicks Rodney out of their flat. Del arrives too late, and Rodney berates him for ruining his night. But however, Rodney has been locked out of his own home, so he has no choice but to go back to Nelson Mandela House with his older brother.

## Featured characters

* Del Boy
* Rodney
* Uncle Albert
* Raquel
* Cassandra
* Alan Parry
* Mickey Pearce
* Chris

## Other notes

### DVD cuts and edits

* A line about "shaking hands with Princess Di" has been cut from the DVD Region 2 version.

"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)