The 1982 Christmas episode, in which Del falls in love. First broadcast 30 December 30 1982.
On the rebound from another failed relationship, Del drinks away his loneliness at The Nag's Head's Spanish Night. There he meets a rather lovely (and seemingly single) lady called Heather. Ever the gentleman, Del entertains her and sees her home safely. At her flat he discovers that she has a young son, to a husband who is unemployed and walked out eighteen months ago.
In no time at all their romance blossoms, and all is running so smoothly that Del decides to propose. However, when he takes her for a candle-lit curry, she refuses his offer. Her husband has contacted her, having got a seasonal job elsewhere, and she wants to give it another go ... leaving Del alone at Christmas.
Tropes:
- Accent Slip-Up:Del: Sing "Old Shep"!
Enrico: [stage-Spanish]: Senor, eet ees no possible to sing-a thee "Old-a Shep" song! Eet ee, er - how-a you say - thee tragic song, si? Eet make-a thee tears fall-a from the eyes!
Del: Go on, sing "Old Shep"!
Enrico: [softly, but in fluent London English]: Look, leave it out will you Del Boy? I've got a living to earn! That's a killer of a song! Once I've sung that, the evening's finished. Look, I'll sing another song for you - any other song - but no way do I sing "Old Shep"! - Christmas Episode: It's set around the Christmas period, as evidenced by decorations and carol singers, and Vic working as a department store Santa.
- Falling-in-Love Montage: For Del and Heather, set to "Zoom" by Fat Larry's Band.
- Foreshadowing: A couple of examples:
- The idea for this episode was to demonstrate Del's love for children, and that he really can be a family man if he puts his mind to it. This is something that would be more fully developed several years later, when he has a child with Raquel.
- When Del proposes, he says he got the ring from Abdul, a jeweller friend who works on Hatton Garden (well known as London's jewellery district). Abdul will appear in "To Hull and Back", when diamonds feature as a major plot point.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title is a play on Diamonds Are Forever.
- Rejected Marriage Proposal: Del decides to propose to Heather but she turns him down, since she wants to have another go with her husband.
- Running Gag: Del's favourite song is "Old Shep", which everyone else finds depressing. He gets the performer at the Nag's Head to sing it (even though he doesn't want to as he knows it will likely drive people away - sure enough, everyone except Del, Rodney, Grandad and Heather leaves the pub during the song), and after being dumped by Heather he pays some carol singers to sing it.
