If you can judge a sitcom solely on the strength of its catchphrases, Only Fools and Horses is a gem. Three decades on from its heyday, Derek "Del Boy" Trotter's sayings - "lovely jubbly", "you plonker" and "cushty" - are part of our everyday language. We even remember his terrible Franglais - "mange tout, mange tout, as the French say" - by which Del meant "no problem". But Only Fools and Horses also had slapstick - the smashed chandelier and Del Boy falling through the bar - to rival Laurel and Hardy in its set-up and execution; idiocy - Del Boy and Rodney, dressed as Batman and Robin, thwarting muggers; and no little poignancy. The late John Sullivan's sitcom ran for seven series on BBC One from 1981 to 1991, continuing, on and off at Christmas, until 2003. It was absurdly popular - 24.3 million people watched a 1996 special, the biggest audience ever for a UK comedy.
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