Only Fools and Horses star Tessa Peake-Jones had a 27-year romance with on-screen son

Megan Bull
·2-min read
David Jason and Tessa Peake-Jones on set
(Getty)

Tessa Peake-Jones is sit-com royalty, thanks to her long-running role as Racquel Turner in Only Fools and Horses. Cast as the love interest and future wife of Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter (played by David Jason), Tessa's professional life has been well documented, but what about her life away from the cameras?

For almost three decades, the TV star was in a relationship with Douglas Hodge, who played an adult version of her on-screen son. In a special episode, titled Heroes and Villains, which aired in 1996, Douglas inhabited the role of Damien Trotter. It was his one and only appearance in the series.

Split image of Tessa Peake-Jones and Douglas Hodge
Tessa Peake-Jones was in a relationship with Damien Trotter actor, Douglas Hodge

Their worlds may have collided on the set of Only Fools, but Douglas and Tessa were already in a long-term relationship when he signed onto the show. During their time together, they even welcomed children, becoming proud parents to Charlie (born in 1991) and Mollie Rose (born in 2000).

Tessa Peake-Jones on Loose Women
Tessa is a proud mum of two (Shutterstock)

While it's unknown when exactly Tessa and Douglas got together, they announced their split in 2013. A spokesperson told fans that they had a "mutual and amicable agreement" and would "continue to raise their two children jointly".

Following their split, Douglas went on to marry American wigmaker Amanda Miller, whom he met while working in theatre. Tessa, who is extremely private, has refrained from commenting on her personal life. She is believed to be single.

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Now that Only Fools and Horses has come to an end, Tessa is known for playing Mrs. Maguire in Grantchester. In a new interview with Prima, the 67-year-old spoke about her time on the ITV drama. "This job has been special since our first day 10 years ago. We call each other the Grantchester family," she said.

Douglas Hodge and Amanda Miller on the red carpet
After splitting from Tessa, Douglas married Amanda Miller (Getty)

"Working together for a decade, you get to know one another well and we have respect for one another as actors. Robson Green is a good example of how to treat everyone on set – he treats everyone as equal and knows everyone's names before starting a job."

Kacey Ainsworth as Cathy Keating and Tessa Peake-Jones as Mrs. Chapman
The actress currently stars as Mrs. Chapman in Grantchester (Colin Hutton, Kudos/ITV/Masterpiece)

She also reflected on her Only Fools tenure. Asked about her favourite memories, Tessa replied: "Like Grantchester, it felt like a family and I learned an enormous amount from David [Jason] and Nicholas [Lyndhurst]. I still feel grateful to have the experience of working with such legends, especially the writer John Sullivan who gave us such amazing scripts."

Appearing on Loose Women in January, Tessa noted that fans still approach her to ask about Racquel and wonder if she's just like her characters.

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