Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan chat about Only Fools and Horses The Musical

As writers of the musical, Paul and Jim have taken John Sullivan’s 64 unforgettable television adventures of Del and Rodney and blended them into one perfect night out.

Paul Whitehouse’s CV more than prepared him to co-write the musical. He has entertained the nation for decades via his arsenal of impeccable character creations which have graced our screens in award winning series such as The Fast Show and Happiness, alongside his frequent comedy collaborations with Harry Enfield.

Joining Paul in the writer hot seat is Jim Sullivan, the son of Only Fools’ creator John, Jim has continued to look after the Trotter’s world both on-screen (via two much-loved spin-off series) and in print (via best-selling books). No one is better placed than Jim to know how an Only Fools tale should be written.

Following its West End opening in 2019, the musical received a host of five star reviews, with The Sun hailing it “One Del of a Show”, while the Daily Mirror declared it “C’est Magnifique! A treat for Trotter fans” and the Daily Mail said it is “a loving homage to a national institution”.

Jim, rumours of a musical based on Only Fools were circulating for years before it opened in the West End. Did you start from scratch when you started your collaboration or is any of the musical based upon earlier developments?

Jim: My Dad had been toying with the possibility of bringing it to the stage but sadly never got to fully commit to it. When we began developing the idea back in 2015, the first thing I did was to search my Dad’s notes. I discovered snippets of thoughts and ideas he’d scribbled down, and I knew from talking with him that he wanted to focus on the Dates episode (his personal favourite), where Del and Raquel first met. I also found a two-page opening scene, which our opening scene is based on. About six months later I was helping my Mum clear out the garage when I came across an old audio cassette tape with the words “This Time Next Year” written on it. We played the tape and there was Chas and Dave (as Del and Rodney) singing “We’re gonna be alright, the good times are on their way!” Mum recalled that back in the late 1990’s Dad had gone to Chas’s studio to work on a song, and this was obviously the result. So we had the beginning of an opening scene and what I felt would make a great and uplifting final song. This was around about the time that Paul came on board and it really took off from there.

Paul, how did you become involved with co-writing the musical?

Paul: I was asked to write and adapt it and had worked with CJ (Caroline Jay Ranger, director) and the production team on the Legends tour with Harry Enfield, and she had enjoyed working with me, and thought I had the wherewithal to do it – I didn’t as I had never written a musical before, so it was a gradual process.

I met Jim and I was very conscious of how precious the legacy was to him and his family, and for me too as someone who loved the series. But the fact that Chas Hodges and John Sullivan had already written a song together for it struck me as a positive element. It was amazing to see the musical so well received during its four years in the West End. Now I’m made up that it is going out on the road and audiences all over the UK will get the chance to see it.

Only Fools and Horses is such a cherished series, was it a little daunting to take characters and events that generations of viewers knew so well? Did you feel that there were some things you could have artistic license with but others not?

Jim: In this case it was an especially tricky challenge. When my Dad wrote the first series back in 1981 he wasn’t sure it would get a second series. When he wrote the second series it looked as though there wouldn’t be a third. When he wrote the final episode in 2003 there were, all told, 64 episodes (approximately 44 hours of viewing material). The story of the Trotters of Peckham spanned over two decades and included births, deaths and marriages. Our job was to boil that down into a single two hour story... with songs! Obviously we couldn’t include everything, and while we have tried to remain faithful to the original scripts, we’ve also used a bit of creative license with the timeline. Ultimately, we are not trying to reinvent the series but rather to pay homage to it. What we’ve ended up with is (hopefully) something that captures and celebrates the heart and spirit of what the series was all about.

Is the decision to set the story at a particular point in the character’s lives key to the plot? Was it ever tempting to go back to the beginning of the series or did you always want the musical to start with all the Trotter’s world firmly established?

Jim: I followed my dad’s cue here. The series and the characters developed over the decades and it was important to include all the key characters at key moments. We were focusing on the Dates episode, by which time a lot was changing in the lives of the Trotters. This timing also helped to inspire other ideas.

Paul: I thought that we shouldn’t just revisit Only Fools and Horses. It might sound a bit pretentious, but I thought one of the unsung stars of the show was London itself. I came up with the idea for a song called ‘Where Have All The Cockney’s Gone?’, a phrase I’d heard around and it struck me as something that Grandad could empathise with and give voice to. The late 80’s was a time when London was developing and the gentrification of the yuppies was beginning, and I wanted to make a point about how much has changed.

I also had the idea that Trigger could look into the future in his Granny’s crystal ball and he sees the London we live in now. Seeing artisan bakers and vintage clothiers, as a section it will hit home with people how much has changed. Obviously with musical theatre you can do some very creative things like that, and the audience goes with it. And you can make a point in song. It has been a lovely exercise, even if it had resulted in a few sleepless nights.

So those two things in a weird way are nothing to do with the TV series but are to do with London and Peckham – almost made me think, right I could bring something to it, rather than just re- imagining the TV series. It’s using nostalgia as social commentary, having a little look at London, and Only Fools gives you the opportunity.

The television series of course features a very rich array of secondary characters, how much of a challenge was it to find enough stage time to do them all justice in the musical?

Jim: That was another big challenge. Again, we couldn’t include everyone, but we have tried to give all the main characters a fair shout.

Paul, do you think that any of your previous work was ever inspired by Only Fools? There seems to be a bit of a gentle Lennard Pearce/Grandad quality to The Fast Show’s Archie the pub bore and Unlucky Alf for example.

Paul: This is something that has never ever crossed my mind, but I think certainly in the look and demeanour of Unlucky Alf there are similarities aren’t there? The voice of Archie is slimier, but he was actually based on a guy from my fishing club called Archie! Looking back, you could say that Loadsamoney was not far off Del Boy, that whole larger than life, in your face character, although he was a lot more boorish than Del, but that kind of celebration of cash in hand “Friday nights a little bit dodgy” lifestyle.

Jim, as a writer experienced with creating comedy for the screen, did you find it a little restrictive not having the luxury of writing exterior VT scenes (as often seen in the series) to expand the canvas of the story?

Jim: Yes and no. This whole experience has been a big learning curve for me. To begin with you’re thinking like a television camera, which can pick up small and subtle things, something that theatre doesn’t afford you. The upside to that is that it forces you to rethink and be more imaginative.

Paul, back in the 90s, you would have been filming at Television Centre at the same time as Only Fools, did your paths ever cross with John, David, Nick and the gang?

Paul: I never did meet John, but I met David and Nick at a couple of BBC do’s and they were both lovely. Because The Fast Show was really at its height when I met them and they really liked it, they were doing my characters back to me!

As far as casting the two main characters, was it a case of auditioning Sam and Tom together to see if they had the right kind of chemistry? Was there ever the fear that you wouldn’t find someone to carry-off the multifaceted role of Del?

Jim: They are both demanding roles to play, notwithstanding the fact that they have already been played so well before. We had many auditions and it wasn’t easy, but Sam and Tom were, and are, fantastic! All the cast have been amazing and it’s been a genuine privilege to work with them.

Was it tricky to weave the songs into the traditional Only Fools scripted sequences?

Jim: To begin with, yes. But it has all been very organic. We focused on the beats of the story first and the songs came out of that.

What was the process like of writing songs for the musical with the late Chas Hodges?

Paul: I’d never met Chas before, but weirdly I got on really well with him. Because of his work he was one of those blokes you felt you’d known for ages. I knew he was a fan of my stuff and we both had fishing in common, and, along with Dave Peacock, we were both from the same area, so we had a strong connection.

Finally, can we expect to see the old man of the sea and ancient mariner himself Uncle Albert make an appearance in the musical?!

Paul: Well, you never know, Uncle Albert might pop up in the show when things get tricky!

Only Fools and Horses The Musical heads to the Regent Theatre from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 December. Tickets can be bought online at atgtickets.com/stoke.