There’s a certain type of joy when you’re watching television with your family and discover a random piece of knowledge that your know-it-all siblings or parents were unaware of.
Consider the significance of an Easter egg in a movie or a peculiar detail about the star playing the lead role.
And if you’re planning on viewing Only Fools and Horses soon, keep this in mind: one of the performers had a real-life, three-decade connection with their character’s kid.
Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter (David Jason) and his love interest Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) maintained their relationship throughout the TV show’s renowned run of episodes.
She continued to appear on the show until the final episode in 2003.
Over the years, six actors, including Ben Smith and Jamie Smith, portrayed Raquel and Del Boy’s child, Damien.
Peake-Jones’ boyfriend also played an adult Damien in the 1996 Christmas special ‘Heroes and Villains’.
Douglas Hodge plays the adult son of Uncle Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst), who experiences a nightmare about a dystopian future in which Damien rules the Western world.
This was Hodge’s only appearance in the series, since Damien returned to being a child following the episode.
Peake-Jones, now 67, and Hodge, 64, had been dating since 1984, so they were already well acquainted.
They also have two children together: Charlie, a son, and Mollie Rose, a girl.
Before issuing a statement in 2013, the couple had been romantically involved for approximately 28 years: “I’m able to confirm that Tessa and Douglas separated in the autumn of last year by mutual and amicable agreement, and they will continue to raise their two children jointly.”
Hodge may have just made a cameo in Just Fools, but he has a long history in theatre, as well as film and television roles.
His performance in La Cage aux Folles earned him a Tony and an Olivier Award. His cinematic credits include Joker, the recently released We Live in Time, and the forthcoming G20.
Though it seemed odd, Raquel and the dystopian future Damien were together, which is worth remembering.