Only Fools and Horses’ Raquel actress Tessa Peake-Jones dated co-star for a whopping 29 years

ONLY Fools and Horses’ Raquel actress Tessa Peake-Jones dated her co-star for a whopping 29 years.

The 64-year-old actress played Del Boy’s lover and partner from 1988 until the BBC sitcom ended in 2003.

Tessa had originally only been signed up for one episode – Dates – but her chemistry with David Jason saw bosses decide to bring her back in a permanent role.

Del Boy and Raquel went on to have a son, Damien, together and the character was played by various child actors as he grew up.

However in the classic 1996 Christmas Special, Heroes and Villains, Del’s brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) had a nightmare about a dystopian future where Damien was an adult who ruled the Western world.

In the scene, Damien was played by actor Douglas Hodge, who was actually Tessa’s real life partner at the time.

Tessa and Douglas, 62, were in a relationship for 29 years, having got together in 1984.

They have two children together, Charlie and Mollie Rose, however, they split in 2013.

Following his brief stint in Only Fools and Horses, Douglas went on to star in The Night Manager, Black Mirror and Penny Dreadful.

Meanwhile, Tessa has also continued to act, appearing in Doctors, Holby City and Grantchester.

Earlier this week, Douglas shared the sad news that his mother had passed away from Covid-19.

Sharing a picture of him kissing his late mum on the head, he tweeted on March 28: “My mum passed away tonight from covid. Happy Mother’s Day mumma. Xxxx.”