The Unlucky Winner Is...

"The Unlucky Winner Is..." is an episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. It was the fourth episode of series 6, and was first screened on 29 January 1989. In the episode, Rodney wins a holiday to Majorca, Spain. The only catch is the organisers think he is 14.

Synopsis

Del Boy has taken an interest in entering competitions, and enters an old painting drawn by Rodney when he was 14 into one, though without Rodney's knowledge. Rodney's work is selected as one of the winners, and he wins a free holiday to the Island of Majorca in Spain, but when informing him of his success, Del declines to tell Rodney that he has won in the under-15's category. When at the airport, Del finally tells Rodney and Cassandra the full details of the prize, namely that the organisers think Rodney is 14. He persuades the two to go along with it, meaning that Rodney has to pretend to be 14 for the week, with Del posing as his father and Cassandra posing as his common law stepmother.

The ploy appears to work, despite strange glances from the organisers, especially after it emerges that Del has modified the birth date on Rodney's passport. However it turns out that the organisers, in order to allow the parents of all the children present (also competition winners) a chance to enjoy the break as well, have set up a club filled with activities for the youngsters to enjoy. As a result, Rodney is basically conscripted into the Cooly Club, a youth activity group, and is forced to undergo a week of misery as he is forced to take part in a variety of children's activities, such as skateboarding, where Rodney comes second in the contest and attending a junior disco, where Rodney advanced to the final of the breakdancing contest. If that was not bad enough, he has to fight off the affections of a thirteen-year-old Bros fan. Both Rodney and Cassandra are soon miserable (since they cannot spend any time together) and are ready to blow the whistle on the lie, but Del, who is having a great time, pretends to each of them (separately) that the other is enjoying it.

Whilst on the trip, Del purchases some Spanish lottery tickets for each of them - to placate Cassandra and Rodney's rage at being duped - and Rodney's numbers win the one million peseta jackpot. The group are then informed by the holiday organisers that they will be unable to claim the prize, since the winning tickets were in Rodney's name and under Spanish law, people under 18 are not allowed to gamble. Knowing their charade is over and desperately wanting to claim the prize, Rodney produces his student's card in to prove that he really is over 18, so the Trotters can then legally claim the prize. However, that has also been modified by Del, meaning the Trotters' windfall cannot be won. Del ruefully suggests "It's only money, bruv..." to calm Rodney down. Rodney chases Del out of the bar as the credits roll.

Story arc

This episode makes the first mention of Elsie Partridge, which foreshadows her appearance in the next episode, "Sickness and Wealth", and the events of this episode are mentioned in "The Jolly Boys' Outing", "Time On Our Hands", and the Sport Relief 2014 Special. These episodes are what Rodney reminisces when Del has mistreated him (and Cassandra in 'the jolly boys outing' because she is involved in this too).

Music

Alison Moyet: That Ole Devil Called Love
Buckwheat Zydeco: Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad
Love And Money: Strange Kind Of Love
Holly Johnson: Love Train
Habit: Lucy
Rick Astley: Hold Me In Your Arms
The Tweets: Birdie Song
Sylvia Vrethammar: Y Viva España

External links

v t e Only Fools and Horses episodes
Series 1 (1981)	"Big Brother" "Go West Young Man" "Cash and Curry" "The Second Time Around" "A Slow Bus to Chingford" "The Russians Are Coming"
Series 2 (1982)	"The Long Legs of the Law" "Ashes to Ashes" "A Losing Streak" "No Greater Love" "The Yellow Peril" "It Never Rains..." "A Touch of Glass"
Series 3 (1983)	"Homesick" "Healthy Competition" "Friday the 14th" "Yesterday Never Comes" "May the Force Be with You" "Wanted" "Who's a Pretty Boy?"
Series 4 (1985)	"Happy Returns" "Strained Relations" "Hole in One" "It's Only Rock and Roll" "Sleeping Dogs Lie" "Watching the Girls Go By" "As One Door Closes"
Series 5 (1986)	"From Prussia with Love" "The Miracle of Peckham" "The Longest Night" "Tea for Three" "Video Nasty" "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
Series 6 (1989)	"Yuppy Love" "Danger UXD" "Chain Gang" "The Unlucky Winner Is..." "Sickness and Wealth" "Little Problems"
Series 7 (1990–91)	"The Sky's the Limit" "The Chance of a Lunchtime" "Stage Fright" "The Class of '62" "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" "Three Men, a Woman and a Baby"
Specials	"Christmas Crackers" (1981) "Diamonds Are for Heather" (1982) "Thicker than Water" (1983) "To Hull and Back" (1985) "A Royal Flush" (1986) "The Frog's Legacy" (1987) "Dates" (1988) "The Jolly Boys' Outing" (1989) "Rodney Come Home" (1990) "Miami Twice" (1991) "Mother Nature's Son" (1992) "Fatal Extraction" (1993) "Heroes and Villains" (1996) "Modern Men" (1996) "Time on Our Hands" (1996) "If They Could See Us Now" (2001) "Strangers on the Shore" (2002) "Sleepless in Peckham" (2003)
Other episodes	The Funny Side of Christmas: "Christmas Trees" (1982) "Licensed to Drill" (1984) "White Mice" (1985) "Royal Variety Show" (1986) "The Robin Flies at Dawn" (1990) "Comic Relief special" (1997) "Beckham in Peckham" (2014)