Only Fools and Horses: The real life reunion John Sullivan had that inspired a classic episode
Surely John's can't have been as chaotic as the one in the show
One of the many strengths of Only Fools and Horses, and what in many episodes made it so iconic were the real life experiences which John Sullivan and the actors put into it.
Even the idea for the show in the first place came from John and producer Ray Butt’s own lives and family members.
But you may not have realised where the inspiration for one iconic episode in particular came from.
Season seven episode Class of ’62 sees Del Boy meet up with all of his old classmates from the Martin Luther King Comprehensive 1962 graduation class in The Nag’s Head.
It also sees the return of crooked ex-copper Roy Slater, played by Jim Broadbent, who returns after last being seen in season 4 when he got caught in a diamond scam.
Boycie, Del, Trigger, Denzil, and (for some reason despite being 13 years younger) Rodney all wait to find out who organised the reunion when it turns out to be Slater, now claiming to be a born again Christian.
But Slater turns out to be just as dodgy as before and Raquel’s ex-husband on top of that, using this fact to blackmail Del, but after digging up some dirt on him Del manages to strike a deal and force Slater out of Peckham forever.
The reunion in the episode is certainly chaotic with no-one even knowing who organised it, but John Sullivan actually based the idea on a reunion he had with an old football team.
You have to assume that his real life reunion wasn’t quite as wild though!
