Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools And Horses: The surprising number of times the opening title sequence was changed in 22 years

Despite being on TV from 1981 to 2003 the title sequence changed very few times

Only Fools and Horses is one of the most recognisable shows ever seen on British television and is famous worldwide.

A large part of this recognisability is the way the show managed to keep so many things the same, from the main cast and support characters to the Trotters trusty Reliant.

Fans of the sitcom will also know that the famous opening credits sequence was also barely changed over the entire run of the show.

But it was changed three times and we’ve got all of those changes here for you to read about:

The theme tune

It’s no secret that the show had a different theme tune in its first season back in 1981.

This theme was instead played on a saxophone by Ronnie Hazzlehurst.

The theme was replaced for the second season by a new song, sung by none other than John Sullivan himself, although it’s often mistakenly thought to be Nicholas Lyndhurst singing.

John wrote the theme himself, instantly recognisable with the opening line “stick a pony in my pocket”.

He’d initially wanted cockney duo Chaz and Dave to sing the tune but producer Ray Butt convinced him to do it himself.

The opening credits visuals

The iconic opening theme of the show was majorly changed just 3 times
The iconic opening theme of the show was majorly changed just 3 times (Image: BBC)

The opening credits in the form of peeling labels were designed by graphic designer Peter Clayton and animated by Brian Stephens.

Both men had tried to capture the essence of the Trotters’ lives with money coming in one hand and swiftly going out the other.

The second change to these came in the Christmas special episode for season one, Christmas Crackers as some festive flourishes were added to the theme.

Finally, for season 4 the credits had to be updated with Lennard Pearce’s tragic passing by replacing his image as Grandad in the sequence with Buster Merryfield’s Uncle Albert.

Incredibly aside from these changes, the entire theme remained unchanged for the show’s entire run.

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