Uncle Albert
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2009) |
| Uncle Albert Trotter | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Only Fools and Horsescharacter | |||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Buster Merryfield | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1985–1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Strained Relations | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Time On Our Hands | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | John Sullivan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Albert Gladstone Trotter,better known asUncle Albert(19 November 1920 – 2001),[1]is a fictional character in the BBC sitcomOnly Fools and Horses,portrayed byBuster Merryfield.He was introduced during the fourth series as a replacement for the character ofGrandad(the character's brother) due to the sudden death ofLennard Pearcein 1984.
Fictional character biography[edit]
Albert was born on 19 November 1920 on Tobacco Road inWapping,London, close to theDocks,where he lived with his brothersEdward,George, and Jack. Albert joined theRoyal Navyin 1937,[2]aged 17, and two years later was called to action following the outbreak of theSecond World War.He spent the rest of his life recounting tales from the war. He was awarded seven medals[3]- although this was largely because he had an extraordinarily unfortunate time. He served on seven ships that were either torpedoed or divebombed over a period of four years, including two duringPeacetime.[4]Albert undertook basic parachute training on the Isle of Wight, which enabled him to fall without injuring himself. He used this to his advantage in the post-war years, staging mock falls down the cellars of pubs in order to receive financial compensation. He staged falls down at least fifteen cellars, gaining the nickname of "The Ferret" in the process. After the war, Albert joined theMerchant Navy.In spite of his past with the Royal and Merchant Navies, Albert cannot swim.[5]He lost contact with his brother Edward because of a fight over Albert's future wife Ada to whom they were both attracted.[6]Despite this, he attended Edward's funeral.
Uncle Albert, as he was known by his two great nephews,Del BoyandRodney,joined the cast in 1985 during the episodeStrained Relationswhen he attended the funeral of his older brother Edward. Shortly after the funeral, Albert was abandoned by his nephew Stan and his wife Jean, with whom he was living in their mobile home.[7]After initial reluctance, Del agreed to let his Uncle stay. Albert was described by Del as "England's greatest sailor sinceNelsonlost the Armada. "
It is revealed by Albert inTea for Three,that Grandad and Albert fell out over Albert's later wife, Ada, whom they both fancied at the time. The fight ended in them both hitting each other and after that, they never spoke again. Ultimately, Albert's marriage to Ada was not an entirely happy one, and the two were estranged by the late 1960s, though never formally divorced. They had no children.
Albert was famed for telling stories that often began with the words "During the war...", which often annoyed Del and Rodney but almost always caught their interest once he started telling them the story. In Albert's final appearance in the series (Time On Our Hands,the third and final chapter of the 1996 Christmas trilogy), a frustrated Del cuts Albert off at "During th..." by threatening to pour a cup of tea over his head should he complete the sentence "During the war...". Albert restarts his anecdote with, "During the 1939-1945 conflict with Germany..."
Albert was less of a help than a hindrance; inTime on Our Hands,Albert ruins a long anticipated dinner with Raquel's parents (whom she had not spoken to for many years). After hours of preparation and worrying about the meal, and the oversized table, everything appears to be going well until Del realises that Albert has confused the jars containing coffee and gravy granules. By this time, however, it is too late; the guests have already poured coffee over their meals. Before eating, Del punishes Albert by pouring the "gravy" all over his meal. The meal is abandoned early, and Raquel goes to fetch the "coffee". In Del Boy's own words: "Not only have you managed to sink every battleship and aircraft carrier that you've ever sailed on, but now you've gone and knackered agravy boat!"
Albert had a female companion called Elsie Partridge, who was first mentioned by Rodney inThe Unlucky Winner Is...,and appeared in the episodeSickness and Wealth.His nephews often teased him about this as well as his ability to sink ships and, with his bald head and big white beard, his resemblance toCaptain Birdseye.
Although Del and Rodney often teased Albert, they showed their care for him when they found out he had died inIf They Could See Us Now,and they both regretted not taking him on holiday with them before he died (although Albert never held a passport). Damien, as a joke, hides Cassandra's birth control pills in Albert's urn.
Originally, the final episode of Only Fools and Horses was meant to beWho Wants to Be a Millionaire,withDel Boyleaving for Australia with new partner Jumbo Mills, Uncle Albert staying in Nelson Mandela House, andRodneyand Mickey Pearce taking over Trotters Independent Traders, butJohn Sullivanfelt that this was not the end of the road for the Trotters. After the decision had been made, Albert was meant to be in until the final episode,Sleepless in Peckham,but, owing to Buster Merryfield's death, the script had to be changed, and Uncle Albert died before the events ofIf They Could See Us Now.
Reportedly, John Sullivan had intended for a younger Uncle Albert to make an appearance in the prequel seriesRock and Chipsin flashbacks taking place before his fallout with Grandad, but Sullivan died after writing the series' third episode,The Frog and the Pussycat.
After Merryfield's death[edit]
Merryfield died on 23 June 1999 from a brain tumour. During the 2001 Christmas special,If They Could See Us Now,Cassandra takes a phone call from Elsie Partridge's son who informs them that Albert has died. Del and Rodney, who had since become millionaires, regretted not having taken him with them, but were consoled by the revelation that theAncient Marinernever actually held a passport and at the same time showing up at the wrong funeral to someone else called Albert. In the 2002 special,Strangers on the Shore,the two scatter Albert's ashes in theEnglish Channel,before visiting the French village where Albert had been stationed for a time during the war only to find an entire town inhabited by bald men with white beards who all bore more than a passing resemblance to their late uncle (implied to all be children of his from his sexual proclivity at the time), they joked it should have been called "Trottersville". In the 2003 special,Sleepless in Peckham,it was revealed that Albert had invested his share of the Trotter fortune in a safer area prior to his death. Coupled with his choice of a simple lifestyle, this meant Albert had around £290,000 at the time of his death, which he left to his two great nephews to invest. This was enough to save them from being evicted from Nelson Mandela House, and allow them to one day become millionaires once more.
Medals[edit]
Although Albert talks about his Naval career, he wore his ribbons in every episode.
- 1939–1945 Star
- Atlantic Star
- Africa Star
- Pacific Star
- Italy Star
- Defence Medal
- War Medal(although he never wore this as all recipients of campaign stars also received the War Medal, it was worn by Delboy inStrangers on the Shore.)
Family tree[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Comedy - Only Fools and Horses - Uncle Albert".
- ^"Comedy - Only Fools and Horses - Uncle Albert".www.bbc.co.uk.Retrieved15 July2022.
- ^"Comedy - Only Fools and Horses - Uncle Albert".www.bbc.co.uk.Retrieved15 July2022.
- ^Hole in One
- ^As One Door Closes
- ^Tea for Three
- ^BBCWorldwide (17 September 2011),Introducing Uncle Albert - Only Fools and Horses - BBC,retrieved13 May2016