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22nd Jan 2025

Only Fools and Horses actor had 30 year relationship with on-screen son

Zoe Hodges

One to remember for the pub quiz!

Only Fools and Horses is a classic British comedy that still entertains fans across the nation to this day, despite it being over 20 years since it last aired.

There were seven season’s of the hit TV show between 1981 and 1991 with several Christmas specials airing after this.

Set in working-class Peckham in South-East London, the show followed the story of ambitious market trader Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter, played by David Jason and his half brother Rodney played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.

Across the series we saw Del Boy fall in love and go the distance with love interest Raquel, played by Tessa Peake-Jones.

The pair went on to have a child together named Damien who was played by six different actors across the years, most notably Ben Smith and Jamie Smith.

However, a nugget of knowledge that not many people know, which could be the winning answer on a pub quiz is that Peake-Jones’ partner actually played an adult Damien in the 1996 Christmas special ‘Heroes and Villains’.

Rodney has a nightmare about a dystopian future in which Damien ruled the Western world and it was Douglas Hodge who played adult Damien.

It was Hodge’s only appearance in the TV series as once Rodney woke, Damien was, of course, a child again.

However, at that time Peake-Jones, 67, and Hodge, 64, were in a relationship having first started dating in 1984.

The pair have two children together, son Charlie and daughter Molly-Rose.

The pair were romantically linked for about 28 years before a statement came in 2013: “I’m able to confirm that Tessa and Douglas separated in the autumn of last year by mutual and amicable agreement and they will continue to raise their two children jointly.”

Though his appearance in Only Fools and Horses was brief, Hodge had a successful career in theatre as well as other film and TV appearances.

He won a Tony and an Olivier Award for his performance in La Cage aux Folles while his film credits include Joker, We Live in Time and G20. Meanwhile, Peake-Jones went on to star in hit TV shows such as Unforgotten and Grantchester.