12:57pm Monday 8th February 2010
By Andy Carswell
ONE of Britain's best-loved sitcoms, 'Only Fools And Horses' ran for over 20 years, attracted millions of viewers and is still endlessly repeated on TV.
And now two of its characters will be arriving at Chesham's Elgiva Theatre – possibly in a dodgy second-hand Courtina – for an evening of memories and behind-the-scenes gossip.
Boycie and Marlene – aka John Challis and Sue Holderness – went on to star in a spin-off, 'The Green, Green Grass', and are now setting off on a nationwide tour to talk about their characters.
John told Freetime: “It's really the story of how we got to be Boycie and Marlene, from the early days to our adventures since.
“We've done individual tours on cruise ships and done after-dinner speaking here and there but it was all unofficial.
“Someone said, why don't we put something together and give you 50 minutes to speak and you can get a free cruise out of it.”
Both John and Sue admit they never thought the show would go on to be the huge success it became when it first hit our screens in 1981.
Sue said: “People occasionally say, 'Don't you get fed up being typecast?' but we loved the characters and have let them live on.
“It's fun to get the leopardskin and the slap on.”
She said many fans are “disappointed” to hear her usual well-spoken – some might say posh – accent when out of character.
But that hasn't stopped her from adopting her alter ego's personality.
“I get more like her every passing year,” she laughed. “When I'm shopping I veer towards the leopardskin and the high heels – I'm definitely turning into her.”
Marlene's on-screen husband is well known for his trademark laugh – and fans' requests for it have made some money for charity.
“I sometimes ask for a fiver for a laugh, which goes to charity,” said John. “There are always lots of people asking me to do the laugh, rather than wanting me to sign things or have photos taken.”
He added: “We get asked 'Do you get on in real life?' a lot, which we don't. No, of course we do, we've done a lot of work together and have always kept in touch.”
As well as 'The Green, Green Grass' – which John says is “on the back burner at the moment” - there was another recent 'Only Fools' spin-off.
'Rock and Chips' was a series prequel, with John approving of the performance of Stephen Lloyd, who played the young Boycie.
“I was extremely jealous of him – I wanted to be that age again,” he said.
“He did very well – you could see there was a bit of banter between him and Del, and even then there was a bit of rivalry.”
Having run for so long, it's hardly surprising the show has so many fans – even outside of Peckham.
“We were on holiday in north Africa and we were outside restaurants with people trying to get us to eat there. They were saying 'Lovely jubbly' and 'Don't be a plonker' – it's international, which is extraordinary,” said Sue.
“There's something so endearing about the whole Trotter family,” she added. “Although he was a dodgy dealer, Del's got a heart of gold – they are good, big-hearted people.
“Boycie is a true second-hand car dealer – everyone knows someone like him and Marlene.”
'Boycie and Marlene' at Elgiva Theatre, Chesham, on Thursday February 11. Box office 01494 582900.
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