Denzil Tulser (born 8 August 1948), is a character in the popular BBC sitcom ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

'' played by Paul Barber. Denzil is a long-distance lorry driver originating from

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, a good friend of

Derek Trotter Derek Edward Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' and one of the main characters of its spinoff series, '' Rock & Chips''. He was played by David Jason in the original s ...

and one of Del's frequent victims when it comes to dubious antics. In the 1983 episode "Who's A Pretty Boy?", Denzil's wife Corinne saw through Del and stated that whenever Denzil and Del got together, Denzil ended up drunk or out of pocket, to which Denzil protests; "Yeah I know, but he's a mate." Del earned Corinne's hatred by ruining her wedding day food after his fridge broke down, leaving the guests eating pie and chips and Corinne and Denzil cutting a jam sponge instead of their wedding cake. The final straw came when Denzil hired Del, Rodney and Grandad to paint the living room. They burnt a hole through the bottom of the kettle, ruining the kitchen with the steam, and thought they had killed Corinne's canary. Desperate, they sent Grandad to buy a replacement bird, hoping to trick Corinne. The plan however backfired, as Corinne came home and told them she had found the bird dead earlier that morning before she left for work. Eva Mottley, who played Corrine, committed suicide in 1985, having appeared in only one episode. Following this, Corrine was written out and it was revealed that she and Denzil later divorced, with Denzil's trade as a long-distance lorry driver contributed to the divorce. In the 1985 Christmas special "To Hull and Back", while driving to

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, he began to hear Del's voice. Del had been locked into the back of the lorry, after using it for a secret meeting with Boycie and Abdul. Arriving at Hull, Denzil headed into a café to get breakfast. When eating, he saw a reflection of Del's

Reliant Regal The Reliant Regal is a small three-wheeled car and van that was manufactured from 1952 to 1973 by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England, replacing the earlier Reliant Regent three-wheeled cyclecar van which had its origins in a desig ...

van driving past. He then saw Del when stopped at a crossroads. Thinking he was hallucinating, Denzil headed to the cliffs to relax. However he then saw Del on a fishing trawler heading out to sea. Although Denzil did not actually imagine any of these things, he ran off shouting hysterically "I'm sick!". During a police investigation into diamond smuggling later in the episode, it was revealed Denzil had had a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

. Denzil, who has five brothers, moved to Peckham from Liverpool aged 13. He attended Dockside Secondary Modern and managed to make his way into the gang of Del, Trigger and Boycie. When in detention in the science labs, Denzil had his eyebrows burnt off after Del and Trigger blew the lab up with homemade fireworks. In "

The Jolly Boys' Outing "The Jolly Boys' Outing" is the eighth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', first screened on 25 December 1989. Despite being aired as a Christmas special, it is set on an August bank holiday weekend, and sees De ...

", it was revealed that Denzil used to work as a bus driver with Sid, which meant he drove the coach to and from

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

after Harry the bus driver was overcome with fumes and incapacitated. Denzil made his last appearance in the first episode of the spinoff show ''

The Green Green Grass ''The Green Green Grass'' is a BBC television sitcom, created and initially written by John Sullivan, produced by Shazam Productions for the BBC. It is a sequel/spin-off of the long-running sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' and stars John Chall ...

'', when he informed Boycie that the Driscoll Brothers were being paroled. He was also seen in the episode "

I Done It My Way "I Done It My Way" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, ''The Green Green Grass''. It aired on 19 February 2009, as the seventh episode of the fourth series. This episode acted as a 'clip show' for both ''Only Fools and Horses'' and ''The Green Gree ...

" in 2009, where he appeared in a flashback episode of ''

''. Denzil also appeared in '' Rock & Chips'' in 2010, portrayed by Ashley Jerlach, who imitated Barber's distinctive Liverpool accent for the role.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulser, Denzil Fictional truck drivers Only Fools and Horses characters Fictional people from Liverpool Television characters introduced in 1983 Fictional Black British people Male characters in television