Tessa Peake-Jones: “Re-watching Only Fools and Horses was torture”

The actress opens up on forever being Raquel, reuniting with Sir David Jason and why she still loves working.

By Kate Randall | Published - 7 Apr 2026

It’s been more than 20 years since any new episodes of Only Fools and Horses have been made but it still continues to be voted the nation’s favourite TV comedy. The antics of the Trotter family can still regularly be seen on U&Gold and it’s the programme that everyone who starred in the sitcom will forever be associated with.

And that is definitely the case with Tessa Peake-Jones, who played Del Boy’s partner Raquel from 1988 until the show’s final episodes in 2003. Despite playing numerous other roles since then, she says that the public still always shout, “It’s Raquel” when they spot her. But she feels very privileged to have been in such a beloved show and to have had the chance to work with the likes of Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst.

As she stars in a new play, Invisible Me, Tessa, 68, tells us about getting older, the Only Fools and Horses reunion and why David Jason struggles to watch himself on TV.

The Only Fools and Horses reunion

You recently filmed a reunion show for Only Fools and Horses to celebrate its 45th anniversary. What was it like being back together with the cast?

They’re going to show all this unseen and lost footage and they’ve also filmed all of us together. I filmed one day with Gwyneth [Strong, who played Cassandra] and I filmed one day with David Jason where we sit on a sofa and they play these scenes. A lot of the scenes we don’t even remember doing because you are talking about, in David’s case, 45 years ago.

But it’s also stuff like us getting ready to start in the studio before we knew the cameras were on us. And it’s things going wrong, outtakes. So I think any fan of the programme is going to just love it, partly because it’ll be seeing stuff you’ve never seen.

You can see why in most cases these bits were cut, because they’re not as funny and in some cases they’re quite serious and you think, ‘Oh, that’s probably why.’ And to see all of us as ourselves getting ready to act, I think that could be really interesting for people who love the show.

Do you get to see David that often?

We meet occasionally. It was very nice sitting with him for a day. It was really lovely because we haven’t worked together since we last filmed in 2003 and even though you might meet occasionally, it’s not the same. Sitting down and watching ourselves from 20 to 30 years ago was a very odd experience, but it was very nice. I loved doing it with Gwyneth too, because we’re great chums in real life, so we see a lot of each other.

But to watch David watching himself at his prime was fascinating. At that time, he could do no wrong, he’d had The Darling Buds of May and Frost and this. And it was very interesting watching him watching himself decades ago. He said at one point, “You can’t teach comedy, but you can learn it” which I think is a really incredible thing to say.

Was he critical of himself?

Yes, he was and he found it very nostalgic. At one point, he said, “I’m finding this quite moving,” and I found that quite sad, actually. He was watching himself at his peak and now he’s in his 80s. It’s somebody looking back on themselves and how often in any other career would we have an opportunity to look at our work from decades ago? It doesn’t happen often and it’s a very unnatural thing to do. People don’t expect Del Boy to age and I think he found it interesting but quite tricky.

I hate watching myself. So, it was torture for me watching these unseen footage bits because I just see all the negative moments. It was really awful having to watch me, not only me acting, but me looking in my 30s. It was odd. But as long as the public enjoy it, it’ll be worth it.

Would you say Raquel is your most recognisable role, even now?

Oh yes. She’s the character I still get recognised for and they will shout “Hi Raquel!” at me in the street. Strangely, I’ve been on TV far more for 11 years solidly on Grantchester, but because I look so very different – I’m wearing a wig, wearing period costume and it’s not on all the time – I never get recognised for that. Unless, it’s an American tourist as Grantchester is very big in America – they will come up, because they don’t know anything about Only Fools, and say, “Excuse me, are you Mrs M?”

But if it’s anyone British, it’s Raquel because it’s on all the time and it’s in people’s memories. If John Sullivan, who was the brilliant genius comedy writer of that programme and sadly died at the age of 64, was here now he’d be so thrilled to hear people are still watching it and that it’s a comfort for people. It’s a genius show. It’s funny and heartwarming and the characters are real.

When Raquel gives birth to Damian, that episode has got such a mix of being hilariously funny but also so moving when Del puts the baby up to the window to show it to Mum in heaven. And again, that all came from John’s own experience of having a baby.

The cast of Invisible Me — Harry Elletson

You joined the show late. Were you made to feel welcome?

Everyone was like a family, it was so lovely and we got on terribly well. Myself and Gwyneth Strong both came into it at about the same time, much later than everyone else, when neither of us had ever done anything with an audience in a studio before. We were inexperienced at it, so to be able to learn from people like David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst was like a gift. They were amazing.

Originally, Raquel was only going in for a 75-minute Christmas special and I don’t think John Sullivan had any thoughts of taking her further than that. And I think it was only after it came out and the public enjoyed it that John looked at it and thought, “There could be something in this that would broaden David Jason’s world as Derek”. And that’s when they phoned me and asked me to do a series.

It was quite a surprise because I’d sort of said goodbye to it, thinking “What a lovely job, but it’s over”. So when they phoned asking me to come back, I was thrilled as I did feel there was more to explore with her, that character, and I trusted John’s writing. He was so brilliant. We knew that every script we got was going to be funny and thoughtful and just show his genius.

Tell us about your new play, Invisible Me

It’s about three people, one woman and two men and are all 60 either at the beginning or during the play and they’re all quite isolated. Then each of them has an encounter with somebody during the play, a stranger who just changes slightly the course of their lives or gives them a reason perhaps for stepping outside their comfort zone.

I play Lynn, a cleaner, who is very shy and a little bit agoraphobic. She’s been on her own as her mum died a couple of years ago and she had split from her abusive husband. So, she’s quite timid and really only goes out to go to work part time and comes back again. She meets somebody in a hotel room that she’s cleaning. And I won’t spoil it, but she then goes on a journey and by the end of the play, she’s a slightly different person.

She’s grown in confidence and she does things that you can’t quite imagine this woman at the beginning of the play doing. She just unlocks something in herself, her sexuality, her confidence, her way she is with people.

By the end, each of the three characters have sort of grown and learned how to navigate life. It’s much more joyful at the end and it gives people hope. We need that in the world right now. Hopefully the audience will leave with a smile on their face.

Are you thinking about retirement?

I’ve been so lucky, I’ve loved every job, I’m so thrilled that people even think to employ me. I find it still such a novelty to think, “Oh my God, I do this for a living”.

At drama school, when you’re there at 18, you can only hope that you might be able to sustain an entire career into your 60s, and please God, 70s and 80s. So I’m still so excited every time I get a job, I think it’s brilliant and I love working. I just love it.

I think it’s a completely different world now and on the whole, if given a choice, I don’t think people do want to stop fully, especially if they enjoy their job. There’s the social side of it as well as the financial side of it. I think people might feel it’s more ageing if you suddenly stop and have to start something else.

Whereas if you’re continuing, in some ways you keep that usefulness a bit more because your brain’s being stretched, you’re physically having to go somewhere each day. I completely understand why people are choosing to work on into their 70s and beyond.

Invisible Me is at London’s Southwark Playhouse from 8 April-2 May.

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