In 1988 the BBC commissioned a prequel to their Last of the Summer Wine sitcom. It ran for two series and chronicled the early years of the tin-bath-riding octogenarians. They give this sitcom the unimaginative title of First of the Summer Wine. Now 22 years later the BBC have made a prequel to Only Fools and Horses called Rock and Chips, not Only Fools and Ponies like we were hoping. Weirdly both shows were produced by Gareth Gwenlan (what’s wrong with this guy?).

It stars Tombola of Fun favourite Nicholas Lyndhurst (above) as Rodney Trotter‘s father. He’s taking time out of his busy schedule playing Carol McGiffin in ITV1′s lunchtime drama Loose Women (below).

Sitcom prequels are still a rare occurrence. They’re the only two I can think of apart from Seinfeld Babies of course, but I’ve just made that up so I don’t think that counts. If you think of any good ones, real or otherwise, then leave a comment.

Rock & Chips is on BBC1 tomorrow at 9pm.