Del Boy tops Christmas special poll

Only Fools and Horses has been voted the most popular Christmas TV show of all time in a poll published today.

The misadventures of Del Boy and Rodney Trotter took the top two places in a survey of the nation’s festive favourites.

And the top 10 boasts a total of four seasonal episodes of the hit BBC comedy which first graced screens more than two decades ago.

The top-ranked Only Fools and Horses episode was the 1996 special Heroes And Villains, in which Del and Rodney, dressed up as Batman and Robin for a fancy dress party, become accidental crime-fighters.

Next was 1991’s Miami Twice which sees Del mistaken for a Mafia godfather during a holiday to Florida.

The memorable episode of EastEnders in which Dirty Den served wife Angie with divorce papers in the Queen Vic back in 1986 makes third place, followed by the 1997 Morecambe and Wise special featuring the pair’s lampooning of conductor Andre Previn.

The poll of 4,000 people was carried out in Woolworths stores across the country.

Other Christmas specials to make the top 10 were One Foot In The Grave, in which Victor Meldrew goes on holiday to Portugal, the final episodes of Men Behaving Badly, and Hilda Ogden’s final farewell in Coronation Street.

The 1997 “annus horribilis” Queen’s Speech, which followed the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was voted in sixth place.

But the list is dominated by Del Boy, with Only Fools and Horses appearing again in seventh and ninth place.

Those episodes which have remained among the nation’s favourites are The Jolly Boys’ Outing in 1989, when Rodders gets arrested on a trip to Margate, and To Hull And Back, which follows the brothers’ disastrous journey to Amsterdam to collect some diamonds in 1985.

Woolworths spokeswoman Nicole Lander said: “Christmas Day has traditionally been a time for eating, drinking and watching telly, so it’s no surprise that genuinely classic telly moments should become some of our most overriding memories of the festive season.

“Only Fools And Horses has always been regarded as a great show, but for it to clinch four out of the top ten slots in this poll is a truly remarkable achievement.”

The Trotters are set for a welcome return this Christmas in Strangers On The Shore, a special which sees them head off for France to buy booze only to return with some unexpected cargo.

Top Ten Christmas TV Specials:

1 Only Fools And Horses – Heroes And Villains (1996)

2 Only Fools And Horses – Miami Twice (1991)

3 EastEnders Christmas special (1986)

4 Morecambe and Wise special (1977)

5 One Foot In The Algarve (1993)

6 HM Queen’s Christmas Speech (1997)

7 Only Fools And Horses – The Jolly Boys’ Outing (1989)

8 Coronation Street Christmas special (1987)

9 Only Fools And Horses – To Hull And Back (1985)

10 Men Behaving Badly – Last Orders (1998)