Rachel "Raquel" Turner (formerly Slater; born 4 June 1957See ) is a fictional character from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'', in which she is

Del Boy Derek Edward Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' and one of the main characters of its spinoff series, '' Rock & Chips''. He was played by David Jason in the original ...

's long-term partner. She is portrayed by Tessa Peake-Jones.

Character creation

With ''Only Fools and Horses'' moving into its sixth series, writer John Sullivan wanted Del Boy to start looking for more mature women, rather than continually chasing 20-year-olds, and to have a long-term relationship, so he came up with the character Raquel for the 1988

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared Christmas in literature, in literature and Christmas music, in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth o ...

episode, " Dates".

Biography

During the episode, she was introduced to Del via a

dating agency A dating agency, also known as a marriage bureau, marriage agency, matrimonial bureau or matrimonial agency, is a business that provides matchmaking services to potential couples, with a view toward romance and/or marriage between them. Variati ...

and at first the two got on well. She told Del that she was a trained actress, with ambitions to have a full-time career in the profession, although her only experiences of the business had been an unsuccessful pop duo with a friend, ''Double Cream''. She made various low-key stage appearances, (including one headlining at the Talk of the Town, Reading, in which she fluffed her lines so badly that the crowd cheered when last orders was announced) and a one-line part in a ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' episode. She also mentioned that, owing to her career choice, she had long been estranged from her parents, not having seen or spoken to them for years. However, she supplemented her income with a part-time job as a stripagram, a fact Del only discovered when he unwittingly booked her for Uncle Albert's birthday party at the Nag's Head pub. Humiliated in front of all his friends, Del told her he no longer wanted to see her. However, she then told Del that if he wanted her to stay, she would refuse the job she had been offered in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and remain with him. Del changed his mind but an untimely misunderstanding with the police (when he mistook a female officer for another stripper) resulted in him being arrested and unable to meet her. Heartbroken, she left London to work in the Middle East and later the United States. It was initially intended for that to be Raquel's only appearance in the show. However, a year later, Sullivan wrote her into the series again, for the 1989 Christmas special, "

The Jolly Boys' Outing "The Jolly Boys' Outing" is the eighth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', first screened on 25 December 1989. Despite being aired as a Christmas special, it is set on a summer bank holiday weekend and sees Del ...

". During the episode, Del and a group of friends were on their annual day trip to

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

and, by chance, were stranded there for the night when their coach blew up. They went to a night club that evening, where Raquel was working as a magician's stage assistant. She and Del spoke again, and this time agreed to stay in touch. Shortly afterwards, Raquel moved back to

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

with Del and, from series seven onwards, she became a permanent character. Thereafter, Raquel tried on several occasions to resurrect her show-business career, such as auditioning for

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

plays (she won a role in a production, only to turn it down after discovering that she was pregnant) and appearing on stage alongside the singing dustman with a speech impediment, Tony Angelino, in "

Stage Fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

". Following the birth of her and Del's son, Damien, she became a housewife, taking over the cooking and cleaning roles from Uncle Albert. In a plot twist in " The Class of '62", it was revealed that she had previously been married to Roy Slater, corrupt police officer and nemesis of Del, for four years. Raquel was reunited with her parents in " Time On Our Hands", when she invited them to dinner at the flat. A kind-hearted and parental figure, she met a man with a similar nature in Del. Their relationship suffered several problems, and she briefly left Del in " Fatal Extraction" due to his gambling and heavy drinking. They were ultimately reconciled, though never married, despite hints of Del's desire to marry her. Her character also changed as the show went on, moving from an ambitious woman lacking in confidence, to a tougher sarcastic one unafraid to stand up to Del's scheming and fast-talking nature.

Character creation

Biography

Family tree

Notes

Further reading