The Frog's Legacy
| "The Frog's Legacy" | |
|---|---|
| Only Fools and Horses episode | |
| Episode no. | Episode 6 (Christmas Special) |
| Directed by | Ray Butt |
| Written by | John Sullivan |
| Produced by | Ray Butt |
| Original air date | 25 December 1987 (14.5 million viewers) |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
"The Frog's Legacy" is the sixth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. It was first broadcast on 25 December 1987. In the episode, the Trotters search for the hidden gold legacy of Frederick "Freddie the Frog" Robdal, an old friend of their mother's.
Del Boy, Rodney and Albert attend the wedding of Trigger's niece, Lisa, who appeared in the episode "Tea for Three". Whilst there, Trigger's Aunt Renee (Joan Sims) tells Del about a known local gentleman thief, Freddie "The Frog" Robdal.
It transpires that Del and Rodney's mother met Robdal and "befriended" him (a euphemism for Del's mother having had a brief affair with him, as was revealed she had done many times with a number of men throughout the series' development) before Rodney was born and while she and her husband Reg were having marital troubles. Renee describes Robdal as a very cultured man, into French wine and paintings. Robdal and his gang broke into a bank in London and stole £250,000 in gold bullion; the rest of the gang were apprehended by the Police, but Robdal escaped with the gold and hid it. It is on this information that Del embarks on a mission to find the lost gold, having inherited it from his mother on her death, who in turn, had had it bequeathed to her by Robdal in his will.
Uncle Albert, who knew Robdal vaguely during the war, finishes the tale later in the episode by stating that shortly after stealing the gold, and whilst still on the run from the Police, Robdal and an explosives expert known as "Jelly" Kelly, robbed a Post Office. During the robbery, Robdal inadvertently sat on a detonator, killing them both. Del mentions that he heard that Robdal had an affair with a married woman who lived on the estate and wonders why he left everything to Del and Rodney's mother. He also mentions a rumour that Robdal had an illegitimate child by that woman who would approximately be Rodney's age now. The throwaway remark begins to worry Rodney about the possibility that he may very well be that child, though Albert dismisses it as a rumour.
...
Wikipedia