Following the mixed reception given to the first Rock & Chips earlier in the year, the Only Fools and Horses prequel was back for a second hour-long Christmas instalment last night. The leap in tone from John Sullivan's original laugh-a-minute sitcom to this '60s-set comedy-drama remains a little disappointing, but there was still much to enjoy.

Once again, The Inbetweeners' James Buckley was spot-on as the teenage Del Boy, who was now trying to make a not-so-honest living by selling knock-off US rock records in the market. True to form, he was also desperate to have his wicked way with any girl who happened to cross his path - and set about improving his chances by dishing out fake diamond engagement rings to a couple of likely candidates.

Poor Amita (Chandeep Uppal) was overjoyed at becoming Del's fiancée - although her joy turned to anger when she uncovered his plot. Still, she did get a delightful hand-knitted sari from Del's nan, Violet (Paula Wilcox), so it wasn't all bad news. Meanwhile, Del failed to impress another fiancée's parents when he went round for tea. However, the entire scene was stolen by the girl's granny who exclaimed - twice - that her coq au vin tasted like "s***".

I mention the swearing granny only because this marked one of the few occasions when I actually laughed out loud (yes, my sense of humour really is that juvenile). Because while Del's exploits provided welcome comic relief - even if you could see most of the jokes coming a mile off - the real focus of Rock & Chips was on his mum Joan (Kellie Bright) and her on-off affair with mustachioed wheeler-dealer Freddie 'the Frog' (Nicholas Lyndhurst).

Bright's bittersweet portrayal of the proud, put-upon Joan, who wishes she could swap lives with Elizabeth Taylor, was genuinely moving. But all that emotion made it feel more like an episode of Heartbeat at times.