The episode in which Rodney dates a girl who Del thinks is his daughter. First broadcast 21 February 1985
Del and Rodney stop a young boy, Jason, from running into the road, and strike up a friendship with the lad. It's not long before Del discovers that Jason's mother, June, is an ex-fiancee of his who he last saw around nineteen years ago.
While Del and June rekindle their romance, Rodney is dating a pretty young lady called Debbie who works in the newsagents –- which presents a problem as that's the newsagent where he usually buys pornographic magazines. It soon transpires that Debbie is June's daughter, and it is almost her 19th birthday. Del puts two and two together, and decide that Debbie may well be his daughter — meaning that the girl Rodney's fallen for could be his niece.
Everything comes to a head when Del finally confronts June to find out whether Debbie is his daughter or not. It turns out that Debbie was actually fathered by his friend Albie Littlewood, who died while crossing the train tracks in order to go and see June behind Del's back. Del is somewhat relieved, as he has always felt guilty about Albie's death as he thought he'd been crossing the train tracks to meet him in the Nag's Head ... but he wasn't there, as he was cheating on June with Albie's girlfriend.
Tropes:
- Accidental Pervert: Del almost falls into this category when he agrees to buy a porno mag on Rodney's behalf because the latter is embarrassed about doing this in front of Debbie, who's on the counter at the newsagents. Naturally, he tries to drop Rodders in it, but it later transpires that Debbie didn't spot this, and so thinks that Del's the one who "came in the paper shop this morning for a dirty magazine".
- Black Belt in Origami: Inverted:Mickey Pearce: I've just come back from evening school. I'm learning aikido.Del: Really? Go on then, say something.
- High-Voltage Death: Strongly implied to have been the fate of Del 's long-dead friend Albie Littlewood, who died when he took a shortcut across the railway tracks and his bicycle fell onto the live rail.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Del meets up with an old flame, June, who he last saw nineteen years ago — and she has a daughter, Debbie, who's about to turn nineteen. He therefore thinks he may be Debbie's father, but when he confronts June about this, she tells him he isn't.
- Mistaken for Incest: Del thinks that Rodney's latest girlfriend could be his daughter (she's not, but this is not made clear until the end of the episode). He therefore cock-blocks his brother in short order and takes him home to explain things...Rodney: Del I've just met the first girl in my life who really means something to me, and it turns out to be my bloody niece!Del: Alright, Rodney. Come on, that's why I had to tell you, you see, 'cos this sort of thing ain't allowed. It's, well, it's incense! Say you had got married to her -– you can see what sort of confusion that would have led to. I would have been your father-in-law!Rodney: Bloody hell!Del: Your mother-in-law would have been your aunt, your wife would have been your second cousin. God knows what that would have made Grandad. The fairy godmother, I should think.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Lennard Pearce (Grandad) died shortly after they started filming the fourth series. The episode he'd been filming, "Hole in One", was meant to have been the series opener. This episode was written to replace it, with Grandad's absence being explained by his being ill in hospital, as evidenced by a character asking after his health.
- Running Gag: June is yet another woman who Del used to be engaged to.
- Too Dumb to Live: Albie Littlewood, given that he died as a result of taking a shortcut across the railway tracks with his bicycle, which fell on the live rail, killing him.
- Written-In Absence: During the filming of Series 4, Lennard Pearce (Grandad) was suddenly taken into hospital, which was explained by having a character ask after the missing Grandad's health. Pearce then died; in the next episode, Grandad's funeral is held, and he is replaced by his brother, Uncle Albert.
