Harlech Tower – Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses is a hugely popular British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC. Seven series were broadcast between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003.

The show was selected as ‘Britain’s Best Sitcom’ in a 2004 BBC poll.

The programme title is based on an old saying: “Only fools and horses work (for a living)”, a reference to the protagonist’s tax- and work-evading lifestyle. John Sullivan originally wanted to call the show ‘Readies’, but later changed his mind as he thought a longer title grabbed people’s attention. The theme song is written and sung by Sullivan. In the first series a different theme was used: this was changed to help viewers understand the meaning of the programme’s title.

John Sullivan had previously used ‘Only Fools and Horses’ as the title for an episode of his previous hit, Citizen Smith.