complete series three
To begin Series Three, Grandad's dodgy legs mean the Trotters' may have to leave Mandela House for good, but as usual, things don't go to plan. Rodney leaves the firm, a fishing trip turns nasty, Del tries his hand at antiques, and Rodney gets a reputation - the series ends with a dead canary.
Homesick
Transmitted: 10.11.1983
Duration: 30 minutes
Viewing Figures: 9.4 million
The wear and tear of climbing twelve floors in Mandela House takes its toll as Grandad's legs finally give way. And after a visit to the Doctors' it is recommended that they seek some different housing for the Trotter family - on the ground floor!
Rodney has just been elected Chairman of the Housing Committee, and with a little pressure from Del, he persuades housing and welfare co-ordinator Miss Mackenzie to move the Trotters into a three-bedroom bungalow in Herrington Road.
All seems hunky dory, until Miss Mackenzie catches Del and Grandad sharing a celebratory dance and cancels the deal. An ashamed Rodney agrees to resign as Chairman of the Committee immediately.
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Healthy Competition
Transmitted: 17.11.1983
Duration: 30 minutes
Viewing Figures: 9.7 million
Rodney is taking stock of his life, and at the age of 24 he is disappointed to find he has only risen to become Del's look-out while they're on the make with dodgy goods.
After a bit of soul-searching - during which Del narrowly escapes the Old Bill while Rodders was lost in thought - Rodney breaks some big news to Del that he's set up a rival business with Mickey Pearce.
Shocked and hurt by this, Del warns him that if he wants to stand on his own two feet, then the price is total independence from the TITCO cash flow; including beer money.
Later at an auction, Del warns his Little Bruv not to buy Lot 37, but Rodney doubts his brother's generosity - thinking that he wants the lot for himself - and he buys Lot 37 unseen.
It turns out that Lot 37 is a bunch of broken lawnmower engines that Del had sold in the first place, and after Mickey Pearce uses their meagre profits for a trip to Benidorm, Rodders is soon back as a partner in Trotters Independent Traders.
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Friday the 14th
Transmitted: 24.11.1983
Duration: 30 minutes
Viewing Figures: 9.7 million
The Trotters take a trip down to Cornwall to make use of Boycie's country cottage for a spot of salmon poaching.
The fishing trip should be a nice little earner with £10 a salmon being paid for by Mario's fish restaurant. Del thinks that Rodney, Grandad and he will catch the fish and split the profits 50-50 with Boycie for providing the accommodation - they just didn't bank on an escapee from the mental institute.
On the rainy journey down to the cottage, a policeman stops their Robin Reliant and warns the tourists that a patient has escaped from the institute for the criminally insane - precisely a decade after he killed a party of weekend fishermen with an axe.
Never one to let a psychotic killer get in the way of a nifty bargain, Del ignores the objections of Rodders and Grandad, and they settle down for their first night in the cottage.
As the storm worsens, Rodney thinks he hears noises outside, and when a face appears at the window, he's convinced it's the killer. There's a knock at the door, and the Trotters' find the institute's Chief of Security is there to reassure them - it's only later that it becomes clear that he is, in fact, the fugitive axe murderer.
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Yesterday Never Comes
Transmitted: 1.12.1983
Duration: 30 minutes
Viewing Figures: 10.6 million
Del Boy enters the world of fine art when he attempts to pull the wool over 'posh tart' antique dealer Miranda Davenport. He unsuccessfully tries to tell her a rickety old cabinet is in fact a 'Queen Anne' original, but wise to the ruse, she coolly declines.
Her attitude towards Del does warm when she responds to an advertisement placed by the Trotters in the local paper. When a painting Del has in stock catches her eye, Miranda soon worms her way into Del's affections and in no time at all, he has given her the painting as a gift.
Keen to see her again, Del pays a visit to her shop, and is informed that she's at the local auction house. Arriving at the auction, Miranda seems quite surprised to see him there, but not as half as surprised as Del Boy when Lot 24 is announced.
The Lot turns out to be Del's painting - a valuable work by 19th century painter Joshua Blythe that Miranda is hoping to make a huge profit on. It seems like Miranda has stung Del good and proper, but as usual, he has the last laugh when he informs her that she's actually selling stolen property.
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May The Force Be With You
Transmitted: 8.12.1983
Duration: 30 minutes
Viewing Figures: 10.7 million
Del Boy's arch-enemy from school turns up in Peckham, but this time he's known as Detective Inspector Slater from the Met Police. Having known Del and his wily ways since they were at school together, Slater knows exactly who to watch when he's on the trail of some stolen microwaves.
Hapless Rodney has no idea who Slater is when he gets chatting to him in The Nags Head. It's only when he sees the horror on Del's face, after bringing Slater back to the flat for a reunion meal, that Rodney realises something is wrong
Despite Rodney's best efforts, the game appears to be up - one of the microwaves in question is sitting on the sideboard in full view of everybody. Slater immediately begins to question Del, and after threatening Rodney with fictitious drug charges, he forces Del to turn snitch.
Much against his better judgement, Del decides to protect his little brother and spills the beans, but only after bartering for immunity for the whole Trotter family.
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Wanted
Transmitted: 15.12.1983
Duration: 30 minutes
Viewing Figures: 11.2 million
When Rodney helps a drunken woman on the street, he is stunned when she looks petrified, accuses him of man-handling her, and promptly cries "rape!" Without thinking straight, and fearing the consequences, Rodders decides to leg it.
Del hears about the escapade and realises his naïve Little Bruv must have encountered Blossom, a psychologically unhinged woman who is allowed out in public on weekend breaks.
Not wanting to prey on Rodney's nervous disposition, Del naturally does the humane thing and concocts a story about the police conducting a search for 'The Peckham Pouncer'.
It's not long before Rodney disappears, believing he's a fugitive wanted for the worst of reasons. Regretting what he's done, Del Boy goes in search of his brother, and it's not long before the scent of 'funny fags' from the air vents of Mandela House leads him to Rodney's hiding place - in the water tank room of the same building.
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Who's a Pretty Boy?
Transmitted: 22.12.1983
Duration: 30 minutes
Viewing Figures: 11.9 million
Del concocts a plan to get revenge on Brendan O'Shaughnessy for supplying him with apple white paint that was actually battleship grey.
Having learnt that the Irishman is painting Denzil's flat for £200, Del begins to lie about Brendan's reputation for drunken debauchery, and persuades Denzil that he and Rodney can do the job for a lot cheaper. Unsure about Del's motives, but keen on the saving, Denzil agrees, despite the suspicion on his wife Corrine, who is wise to Del from the very start.
The Trotters' begin the job the next day, but problems arise when Rodney leaves a kettle on the boil and steams the whole apartment. As well as forking out for a new kettle, the Trotter's realise that Corrine's pet canary is dead - seemingly killed by the fumes from the paint.
Grandad is despatched to find a replacement canary, and having forked out £45 for a substitute bird, he seems to have found the ideal candidate. It's only when Corrine returns home that their scam is revealed - when she left that morning the canary was dead.
The Trotters are promptly out on their ears, so they reconvene in The Nags Head, where they drown there sorrows whilst Brendan gloats over them about winning the job back. Little does he know that Del has one last trick left up his
