Kurt at 22:07, 8 February 2023

2023-02-08T22:07:47Z

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	\| name = Trigger		\| name = Trigger
	\| years = 1981–1983, 1985–1993, 1996, 2001–2003<br>''[[Only Fools and Horses]]''<br>'''2010–2011:'''<br>''[[Rock & Chips]]''		\| years = 1981–1983, 1985–1993, 1996, 2001–2003<br>''[[Only Fools and Horses]]''<br>'''2010–2011:'''<br>''[[Rock & Chips]]''
	\| image = ~~File:~~Trigger Only Fools.~~jpg~~		\| image = Trigger (Only Fools and Horses).webp
	\| portrayer = [[Roger Lloyd-Pack]] <small>(1981–2003)</small><br>[[Lewis Osborne]] <small>(2010-2011)</small>		\| portrayer = [[Roger Lloyd-Pack]] <small>(1981–2003)</small><br>[[Lewis Osborne]] <small>(2010-2011)</small>
	\| first = ''[[Big Brother (Only Fools and Horses)\|Big Brother]]''		\| first = ''[[Big Brother (Only Fools and Horses)\|Big Brother]]''

Kurt at 22:06, 8 February 2023

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	~~{{Short description\|Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses}}~~
	{{DISPLAYTITLE:Trigger (''Only Fools and Horses'')}}		{{DISPLAYTITLE:Trigger (''Only Fools and Horses'')}}
	~~{{more citations needed\|date=August 2013}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=August 2021}}~~
	{{Infobox soap character		{{Infobox soap character
	\| series = Only Fools and Horses<br>Rock & Chips		\| series = Only Fools and Horses<br>Rock & Chips

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2023-02-08T17:53:02Z

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en>TAnthony: Fix broken or remove unsupported infobox parameter(s) per maintenance category

2023-02-03T21:44:35Z

Fix broken or remove unsupported infobox parameter(s) per maintenance category

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	\| last = ''[[Sleepless in Peckham]]''		\| last = ''[[Sleepless in Peckham]]''
	\| classification = [[List of Only Fools and Horses characters\|Former; regular]]		\| classification = [[List of Only Fools and Horses characters\|Former; regular]]
	~~\| born = {{Birth date\|1948\|4\|22\|df=yes}}<ref name="peckham uncovered" />~~
	\| creator = [[John Sullivan (writer)\|John Sullivan]]		\| creator = [[John Sullivan (writer)\|John Sullivan]]
	\| ~~Spinoffs~~ = ''[[Rock & Chips]] (2010)''		\| spinoffs = ''[[Rock & Chips]] (2010)''
	\| occupation = [[Road sweeper]]		\| occupation = [[Road sweeper]]
	\| grandfathers = Arthur Ball		\| grandfathers = Arthur Ball

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2023-01-20T16:19:36Z

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2A00:23C8:6FBA:7D01:2D04:7A87:5ADE:4B10 at 22:31, 18 January 2023

2023-01-18T22:31:11Z

New page

{{Short description|Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Trigger (''Only Fools and Horses'')}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox soap character
| series = Only Fools and Horses Rock & Chips
| name = Trigger
| years = 1981–1983, 1985–1993, 1996, 2001–2003 ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' '''2010–2011:''' ''[[Rock & Chips]]''
| image = File:Trigger Only Fools.jpg
| portrayer = [[Roger Lloyd-Pack]] (1981–2003) [[Lewis Osborne]] (2010-2011)
| first = ''[[Big Brother (Only Fools and Horses)|Big Brother]]''
| last = ''[[Sleepless in Peckham]]''
| classification = [[List of Only Fools and Horses characters|Former; regular]]
| born = {{Birth date|1948|4|22|df=yes}}<ref name="peckham uncovered" />
| creator = [[John Sullivan (writer)|John Sullivan]]
| Spinoffs = ''[[Rock & Chips]] (2010)''
| occupation = [[Road sweeper]]
| grandfathers = Arthur Ball
| grandmothers = Alice Ball
| mother = Elsie Ann Ball
| father = Donald Turpin
| sisters = At least one unnamed
| aunts = [[List of Only Fools and Horses characters#Reenie Turpin|Reenie Turpin]]
| nieces = Lisa Williams
| cousins = Cyril Sidney Marilyn Ronnie
}}

'''Colin Ball''', more commonly known as '''Trigger''' (born 22 April 1948),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/onlyfools/uncovered/trigger.shtml|title = Comedy - Only Fools and Horses - Trigger}}</ref> is a fictional character in the [[BBC]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' and its prequel ''[[Rock & Chips]]''.<ref>He Who Dares, Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter, Penguin Random House, 2015, p. 2</ref> He was played by [[Roger Lloyd-Pack]] in ''Only Fools and Horses'' and Lewis Osbourne in ''Rock & Chips''.

== Characteristics ==

A regular at the Nag's Head pub, and old friend of [[Del Boy]], Trigger is a road sweeper, and also engages in trading and petty thefts (though this status as a small-time thief is soon phased out of the character's development). Trigger speaks in a slow, monotone voice, and is very simple-minded, although affable and warm-hearted. Trigger did not know his father, saying "he died a couple of years before I was born", when Rodney asks of his whereabouts in the episode "[[Ashes to Ashes (Only Fools and Horses)|Ashes to Ashes]]". He was brought up by his grandparents, with his grandfather having also been a roadsweeper. When Trigger is pushed by Boycie to say who his mother had written down on the birth certificate as Trigger's father Trigger says, reluctantly, "Some soldiers". The 2015 official 'autobiography' of Del Boy, ''He Who Dares'', states of Trigger: "It was generally agreed though that his dad was Donald Turpin (brother of Mum's best mate, Reenie)... when Elsie started showing, she claimed she'd been 'visited by an angel!', leading the rest of the Ball clan to start making plans for the arrival of a new messiah. But Donald had been heard bragging about how he'd lost his virginity... giving full details of the time and place, and was therefore fingered as a much more likely suspect than the Archangel Gabriel."<ref>He Who Dares, Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter, Penguin Random House, 2015, pp. 3–4</ref> Trigger is not married, but he occasionally mentions past relationships during the series and is seen on a blind date with a woman in the 1988 Christmas special, ''Dates''.

Trigger always calls [[Rodney Trotter]] "Dave". Rodney corrects him in "[[Homesick (Only Fools and Horses)|Homesick]]", and he agrees to stop, but a few seconds later he calls him "Dave" again.<ref>{{Citation|last=BBC Comedy Greats|title=My Name is Rodney! - Only Fools and Horses - BBC|date=29 October 2009|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylgV8OyTIFg|accessdate=9 May 2016|via=YouTube}}</ref> When [[Cassandra Trotter]], Rodney's wife, announced she was pregnant in "[[Modern Men (Only Fools and Horses)|Modern Men]]", everybody raised a toast and said "To Cassandra and Rodney", but Trigger can be heard saying "Dave" after everyone else has spoken. At another point, while discussing Del and Raquel's son, Trigger reports that "if it's a boy, they're naming him Rodney, after Dave".<ref>{{Citation|last=BBC Comedy Greats|title=If it's a boy they're naming him Rodney... - Only Fools and Horses - Series 7|date=17 January 2014|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eucpZjDCat0&list=PLZwyeleffqk5q8gKV3bPr-Ku6nlrJHe86&index=1|accessdate=9 May 2016|via=YouTube}}</ref>

== Appearances ==

Trigger first appeared on ''Only Fools and Horses'' in the first episode and appeared regularly throughout the entire show's run. He is an example of a [[breakout character]] in that he became popular with the show's audience, despite his status as a minor, supporting character.

Trigger appears as a teenager in the ''Only Fools and Horses'' prequel series, ''[[Rock & Chips]]''. He is a relatively minor character in the prequel series, but in "''The Frog and the Pussycat''", Violet Trotter, Del's grandmother, mentions Grandad's affair with Trigger's grandmother, Alice Ball.<ref name="peckham uncovered">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/onlyfools/uncovered/trigger.shtml|title=Peckham Uncovered|publisher=[[BBC Online]]|date=February 2003|accessdate=4 August 2013}}</ref> This is the first time in the ''Only Fools and Horses'' franchise that Trigger's real name is mentioned. At one point in the pilot episode, Reg asks Del and Jumbo if Trigger is mentally OK, since he once spotted Trigger laughing at a television set which was turned off.

Trigger was scripted to appear in [[Sport Relief 2014 Special|the 2014 ''Only Fools and Horses'' sketch for Sport Relief]], but Lloyd-Pack died on 15 January 2014, from [[pancreatic cancer]]. The script was subsequently rewritten to omit his role, although it is mentioned in the sketch that Trigger cannot assist Del and Rodney with their latest business venture because he is working at the market. The sketch was dedicated to the memory of Lloyd-Pack and [[John Sullivan (writer)|John Sullivan]].

== References ==

{{reflist}}

{{Only Fools and Horses}}
{{Rock & Chips}}

[[Category:Only Fools and Horses characters]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1981]]
[[Category:Fictional English people]]
[[Category:Male characters in television]]

Trigger (Only Fools and Horses) - Revision history

Kurt at 22:07, 8 February 2023

Kurt at 22:06, 8 February 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>TAnthony: Fix broken or remove unsupported infobox parameter(s) per maintenance category

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2A00:23C8:6FBA:7D01:2D04:7A87:5ADE:4B10 at 22:31, 18 January 2023