The Green Green Grass - Regular Characters

Regular Characters

Boycie (John Challis) – A shady ex-used car salesman turned gentleman farmer. He is a frightful snob and looks down at most of the people in Oakham. Boycie made sporadic appearances in Only Fools and Horses before becoming the central character in The Green Green Grass. Boycie used to be a Freemason. He is very self-centred and likes to boast about his social status back in Peckham and his money. He used to be teased by Del Boy due to his low sperm count. This is a joke that has continued into the spin-off series, along with the ongoing joke referring to an unseen affair between Marlene and Del. He was forced to leave Peckham due to an incident involving the Driscoll Brothers and illegal immigrants, which led to Boycie grassing on the brothers and getting them sent to prison.

Marlene (Sue Holderness) – Marlene was initially just an unseen character in Only Fools and Horses. She is a cheerful, slightly daft, optimistic person who is speculated to have had an ongoing affair with Del which resulted in the birth Tyler. The ongoing joke continued into The Green Green Grass, as Jack Doolan, who plays Tyler, has looks similar to David Jason. The character has been expanded massively for the spin-off series but is still the same loving wife who Boycie married in 1968.

Tyler (Jack Doolan) –The character of Tyler made several appearances in Only Fools and Horses, although he was portrayed by different actors. His similarity in looks to Del Boy has led to a continuation of a running gag dating back to the late eighties. It has been speculated in both Only Fools and Horses and The Green Green Grass that Tyler might be the outcome of a fling between Marlene and Del. One of his appearances in Only Fools and Horses was in the episode "The Jolly Boys’ Outing", in which Uncle Albert told him one of his many war stories. Tyler made other appearances in the show (the last having been as a toddler in the 1991 'Miami Twice' double-bill), but didn’t really feature much until the beginning of The Green Green Grass. His introduction in the spin-off hyped the speculation that Tyler might have been a result of something between Marlene and Del.

Elgin (David Ross) – Elgin Sparrowhawk is the farm manager of Winterdown Farm. He is a rather strange man, who likes to appear a bit thick to ensure his workload remains light, but likes to show people that he is capable of outsmarting Boycie any day. He always carries his briefcase with a string shoulder strap around with him, to help remind people that he is still farm manager, even though it looks empty on occasions. Elgin is married to his unseen wife, who apparently has a glass eye. He has said on occasions that she doesn’t really like him, and at one point he started to have his mail redirected to Boycie’s house just to ensure that she doesn’t find out that he is still living there. He has shown deep affection towards his wife on many occasions, although he obviously fancies Marlene. Whenever she has her back turned, he is copping an eyeful; on one occasion he went as far as to dive across to kitchen floor in an attempt to woo an unsuspecting Marlene.

Bryan (Ivan Kaye) – Bryan is the farm’s herdsman. He again likes to appear a bit thick so that he can take advantage of Boycie’s ignorance. He has, on occasions, reduced his workload by bluffing to an out-of-his-depth Boycie. Bryan can be a little over the top on occasions, especially when thinking about his ex-girlfriend Myrtle. In one particular episode, he states that she chucked him seven times, and every time he found exactly the same wedding ring in a second-hand shop. It is sometimes hard to believe that Bryan’s stupidity is a put-up job. Little else is known about the character besides the fact that he lives alone in a caravan on the edge of Winterdown Farm.

Jed (Peter Heppelthwaite) – Jed is the farm’s ploughman. He again likes to think he’s appearing a bit thick, but, in reality, viewers are led to believe that Jed is genetically thick. He is renowned for having a family of five children. He is often the brunt of a joke, whereby he and his wife are ‘too lazy’ to use contraception. Jed’s workload has also been known to expand from ploughman to various other areas of expertise, such as in the episode "Home Brew" when he gets involved in Ye Potato Cyder business. He is also known for attempting to escape his wife, such as when he turns up unexpectedly in one particular episode, in the middle of the night, at Bryan’s caravan after having a blazing row with his wife. Bryan just accepts this as a usual occurrence and lets him in.

Mrs Cakeworthy (Ella Kenion) – Mrs Cakeworthy is The Grange’s housecleaner. Various jokes have been made to her expense, referring to her non-cleaning and biscuit-eating habits. She has even on occasions been asked to lift her legs whilst Marlene does the hoovering. Boycie sacks her in the episode "Bothered and Bewildered" after he catches her sitting around doing nothing. However, after some strange experiences he re-hires her. Mrs Cakeworthy has a husband who has been seen on occasions, most notably in the 2006 Christmas special "From Here to Paternity". She has also been seen to hold seances within the house. Mrs Cakeworthy is also said to have a dust intolerance.

Llewellyn (Alan David) - Llewellyn is Boycie’s next-door neighbour. Boycie continually refers to him as a mad Welshman. He has been known to look after himself and puts his thoughts before others. In one episode, he grassed Boycie up for using Artificial Fertiliser on his Organic Farm. This could have put Boycie in prison for up to five years. Llewellyn has a daughter called Rhian, who is Tyler’s English teacher. Rhian has appeared in two episodes.

Beth (Lisa Diveney) – Beth is Tyler’s girlfriend until the end of the third series. She is clever, attractive and vegetarian. Over the three years she spent as Tyler’s girlfriend, she had her patience put to the test. First, Tyler showed no interest in supporting her horse racing protests, then he put meat before her, and, to top things off, she peers through the window to see Boycie completely naked, thanks to Earl, in Mother Earth.

Sara (Samantha Sutherland) – Sara is Tyler’s latest girlfriend. She is slightly weird in the sense that she is a fan of Tyler’s band, Puddle of Agony. Tyler eventually asked her out in the episode "Your Cheating Art", after some help from his mum and Dora. Tyler even managed to get her to strip naked for a piece of artwork.

Ray (Nigel Harrison) – Ray is Beth’s father and landlord of the local pub. Ray doesn’t particularly like Tyler, as he believes that his daughter could have done better. He first appeared in the episode "Testing Times" and appeared in another ten episodes since. He is known to lash out in extreme circumstances, such as the misunderstanding in "From Here to Paternity" in which he punches Boycie.

The Driscoll Brothers (Roy Marsden & Christopher Ryan) – First seen in Little Problems in Only Fools and Horses, the brothers cause Boycie to make a rushed dash to the countryside in an attempt to escape from them. They appeared in the 2005 Christmas Special, One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock but they did not manage to catch him. They made their third ever appearance in Brothers and Sisters when they finally caught up with Boycie and made him a deal.

Dora (June Whitfield) – Dora is Marlene’s mother. She is hated, as always in classic comedy, by Boycie, her son-in-law. She is reluctant to let him in her house and is always making uncalled for comments towards him. He became more tolerant of her as the series progressed. In an Only Fools and Horses episode, Dora wouldn’t allow Boycie to stay with her when his gas effect log fire gases them out thus he has to stay with Del Boy.