 This was reiterated in the 2010 prequel trilogy "Rock & Chips", in which Freddie (played by Nicholas Lyndhurst) has an affair with Del's mother, who gives birth to Rodney as a result.It was suggested in a BBC interview with writer John Sullivan that the reappearance of Robdal was intended to signal the end of the show, but he decided against it and wrote Robdal into the series as already dead.