Dates (Only Fools and Horses) while at the "Nag's Head" he is approached by the two police officers still searching for the owner of the yellow van. Believing the female officer to be another stripper hired by Albert, Del rips her blouse off and is arrested. Heartbroken, Raquel leaves for the Middle East just as Del Boy is taken into custody. Dates (Only Fools and Horses) "Dates" is the seventh Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom, "Only Fools and Horses", first broadcast on 25 December 1988. In the episode, Del Boy joins a dating agency and meets Raquel. Rodney also goes on a date,
Raquel Watts hearts broke every time hers did." Lancashire initially had reservations about Raquel's characterisation, and believes that the writers were uncertain how to use her in early episodes. She found her two-dimensional, with an unappealing "acidic side" which could have resulted in Raquel becoming the "street bitch" had it been embellished. She took it upon herself to highlight Raquel's potential, playing against what had been written to make her more comic, evoking the sympathy of the audience. Thereafter, Raquel was often used for comedic purposes, though Lancashire attempted to keep her from becoming simply a figure of fun. During one storyline,