Only Fools and Horses’ Damien Trotter star Ben Smith looks unrecognisable in forgotten EastEnders role
The actor starred in the soap in 2008
Only Fools and Horses fans will remember Damien Trotter, the son of the ambitious market trader Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter and his wife Raquel. The character was played by five different actors, including North London-born Ben Smith.
Ben was the last actor to play the role, starring in the show from 2001 to 2003. But did you know he also appeared in another much-loved programme?
Yes, Ben made the trek from Peckham to Walford just a few years after the sitcom ended. Ben appeared in just four episodes of EastEnders fifteen years ago as ‘Tegs’ Teague.
‘Tegs’ was the ringleader of a rebel gang called E20, terrorising the streets of Walford back in 2008. Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) joined the gang briefly, before realising where his true loyalties lie.
Ben’s character and his cronies harassed one of the show’s favourites, Dot Cotton (June Brown), and nearly forced Jay to throw a brick through her window. However, after appearing in just four episodes over a decade ago, Jay refused to join E20 which resulted in Tegs stabbing Jay in the leg and leaving him to bleed out.
His mum Tina, played by Kerryann White, tried to push Jay into dropping the charges against Tegs. However, Ben’s character was handed his comeuppance and was sent to a young offender’s home.
Since his stint on Only Fools and Horses, he’s appeared in shows like Doctor Who, Silent Witness, Accused, Scott & Bailey, Holby City. In Accused he played the central character, Frankie, a young soldier who seeks revenge on an army corporal after his friend commits suicide due to the corporal’s actions.
Back in 2019, he appeared as Lennox, a British journalist who was sympathetic to Irish republicanism, in Netflix/RTE’s Irish war of Independence drama Resistance, set during the time of Bloody Sunday in 1920. The series was a sequel to the 2016 show Rebellion, which followed the event of 1916 Easter Rising.
