Del Boy never marries. He has had many girlfriends, a fact that is the subject of numerous sarcastic comments by Rodney. He finally meets his partner Raquel Turner (whom he calls his "significant other") in the 1988 special "Dates". Del's mother Joan dies on 12 March 1964, apparently after a long string of illnesses. His lazy father Reginald leaves three months later (on Del's 16th birthday), taking most of their money and even Del's birthday cake. This leaves the teenage Del as the family's sole breadwinner, looking after his grandfather and Rodney, his half-brother who was born around thirteen years after him
In Which We Meet Mr. Jones the "next chapter" in the story. Pinkner further described the episode as "foundational," as it will set up "a lot of things will be set up which will come to pay off over the next several weeks". The character David Robert Jones is a reference to English musician David Bowie, who was born with that name. "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones" was the first appearance of the character. When actor Jared Harris was first cast for the part, he was told Jones was "possibly a major, important character", as indicated by the episode's title. Whether his character would make