Only Fools and Horses

‘Only supposed to be one’ Only Fools and Horses star wasn’t supposed to be in whole series

ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES star Gwyneth Strong, who played Cassandra Trotter on the BBC sitcom series, claimed her character almost got the boot after a couple of episodes.

Comedy sitcom Only Fools And Horses actors Gwyneth Strong and Tessa Peake Jones, who played Cassandra Trotter and Raquel Trotter respectively, partners of brothers Del Boy (Sir David Jason) and Rodney Trotter (Nicholas Lyndhurst) joined the Loose Women panel to discuss their brand new project, which sees the pair reuniting for the first time since the comedy series concluded. However, actor Gwyneth revealed how Cassandra and Raquel were almost axed from the show after a few episodes.

Speaking about the longevity of the show, which continues to appeal to all audiences regardless of age, the Cassandra actor began: “It seems to have done that thing where it goes across the generations.

“So now we get kids coming and saying I want to get an autograph and my grandad got me into the show.”

Gwyneth went on to say: “And you just think that’s quite special, really.”

Addressing the audience, she confessed: “We never saw that coming at all.”

Host Christine Lampard asked: “I think I’m right in saying that neither of you was fully aware of what the show was before you went to audition for it?”

Shaking her head, Tessa admitted before turning to her co-star Gwyneth: “I’d never seen it no, had you?”

Her castmate replied: “My family were a fan of it, so I did.”

Expressing her shock over the length of time she played Cassandra, the 62-year-old revealed: “But the main thing was when we went into it and we didn’t know we were getting into it for a full series. 

Gwyneth Strong Tessa Peake Jones

Loose Women: The presenters asked about their early years on the sitcom (Image: ITV)

Gwyneth Strong Tessa Peake Jones

Gwyneth Strong: The actor played Cassandra Trotter (Image: BBC)

“We were both booked for an episode (and) it was all a bit last minute.”

She told the ITV panel: “That helped in a way yeah, it was exciting to do one episode and then it went up from there.”

Christine smiled at the stars and gushed: “So completely life-changing in many respects. 

“I mean Tessa, just going on a train or a public transport or walking down the street instantly overnight, life changed.”

Tessa responded: “Yeah, it’s interesting because when I joined it, I’d never seen the programme and Roger Lloyd Paxman said, ‘Oh, you know your life will change, you won’t be able to go on the tube anymore (without getting recognised).”

She jested: “I thought what’s he talking about? Of course, I will.”

The Raquel actor continued: “And of course, it came out on Christmas, the first one I was, and I didn’t know there were 24 million people watching it. 

“Because you can’t comprehend that when you’re doing the programme.”

She asked herself: “And why would you? You’re just acting.”

Elsewhere in the programme, Gwyneth discussed her latest theatre role which she shared with her former Only Fools and Horses co-star. 

Talking about her new role, she told the ITV presenters: “So, this lovely play is called Ladies Of Letter.

“It was originally a radio series that was on for about 13 years [and was] incredibly popular. 

“It has been put into the now but the women are essentially very similar to our characters – quite lively women.”

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