John Sullivan (I)

In fact, it is difficult to think of a less appealing episode. Perhaps "If They Could See Us Now" will ultimately live longest in the memory as the least funny Only Fools and Horses of all time (although let's not forget that the series did go seriously off the boil before its triumphant finale of five years a go).

John Sullivan: The spirit of Christmas present

The pious folk of Dickensian England would be reassured to know that one man still looms large over the nation's Christmas, but mystified to find that his name is not Jesus, but Jason. On Christmas Day, the return of Only Fools and Horses, starring David Jason, is all but guaranteed to deliver BBC1 its highest viewing figures of the holiday period. On Boxing Day, Micawber, starring David Jason, should do the same for ITV.

Heartburn Hotel did not seem to endear itself to many as it did to me. The BBC's own continuity announcer still calls it Heartbreak Hotel. It is, however, co-written by John Sullivan, who also wrote Only Fools and Horses, so it is an egg worth incubating.

ITV creates a Dickens of a problem for the BBC

There was a chilly welcome on the shores of Lake Geneva for the BBC at the Golden Rose of Montreux TV Comedy Festival yesterday when ITV announced it had captured two of the corporation's prime assets. David Jason, the star of Only Fools and Horses, is to play Mr Micawber in a four-part comedy-drama series scripted by John Sullivan, who wrote Only Fools and Horses.

Dickens writer in row with BBC sells script to ITV

As the crisis in television comedy deepens, one leading screenwriter has turned to Dickens for inspiration - and delivered an embarrassing snub to the BBC in the process. The creator of Only Fools and Horses, one of the most successful comedies in British television history, is to recreate the David Copperfield character, Mr Micawber, for ITV.

ITV recruits Jason for Dickens drama

ITV has signed up David Jason to star in Micawber, Yorkshire Television's forthcoming drama based on the character from Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. David Jason, star of The Darling Buds of May and A Touch of Frost, will play the title role in the 4 x 60-minute drama. It is understood to have a budget of £800,000 to£1 million per episode.

I shall miss Heartburn Hotel (BBC1) very much. [...] I tell you, slip it on at the National Theatre and it would pass as Samuel Beckett.

First Basil Fawlty. Then that frightening woman at the Adelphi, who charged you for sleeping on the floor. Now the darkly funny Heartburn Hotel (BBC1) or, more properly, The Olympic, named in the belief that Birmingham would host the Olympics. An appropriate home for no-hopers. [...] It's like looking down a plug hole and seeing small, bright eyes looking back.

But since Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Mr Healy himself will always command attention, and I liked Harry's tetchy insistence that his family have always been involved in public service - which turned out to mean that his grandfather was a hangman. Heartburn Hotel looks very promising.

Over Here (BBC1) is about the British and American fliers on the same air-base. And, before you say you've heard that one, you haven't heard John Sullivan, who wrote Only Fools And Horses, tell it. It's funny with black flashes.