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Ada Trotter
Portrayer None (unseen character)
First seen Tea for Three
Last seen Strangers on the Shore (indicated)
Duration 1986, 2002 (indicated only)
Profile
Date of birth 1921 (died circa late 1980's/early 1990's)
Occupation
Family Albert (husband - deceased)
Reg (nephew)
Joan Trotter Sr. (niece - deceased)
Derek (great nephew)
Rodney (step-great nephew)
Ted (brother-in-law - deceased)
Violet (sister-in-law - deceased)
George (brother-in-law)
Jack (brother-in-law)
Raquel Turner (future great niece-in-law, fiancée of Derek)
Cassandra (step-great niece-in-law, wife of Rodney)
Damien (great great nephew)
Joan Trotter Jr. (step-great great niece)

Ada Trotter also referred to as Aunt Ada, is the estranged unseen wife of Albert Trotter. She is Reg Trotter's paternal aunt and the great-aunt of Del Boy and Rodney Trotter.

Mentioned sporadically throughout the course of the series, Ada never appeared once in either Only Fools and Horses or its prequel Rock & Chips. As such, very little is known about her.

Character

Ada was revealed to still be alive in the episode Tea for Three when Albert told both of his nephews that she had been rushed to the hospital. Apparently, she was in a very bad way. It is never stated if she recovered, but the implication is that she did not.

That same episode also reveals how she and Albert got together. One night in their youth, Albert and his older brother Ted (Grandad), met Ada down at the local Palais (dance-hall). The two brothers found her very attractive and were lucky enough to have a few dances with her. By the end of the evening, they had both become smitten with her and wanted to take her home. This mutual attraction led to an argument between the brothers, who ended up fighting in the street over her.

The fight ended when Albert knocked his brother to the ground. He then took Ada home and eventually began a relationship with her. Over time this bloomed into a mutual attraction, culminating in Albert and Ada's wedding.

Despite winning the fight and Ada's affections, Albert paid a heavy price for his relationship. Up until that point, Albert and his brother Ted were noted to have been as thick as thieves. Although he would eventually move on, and found companionship in his wife Violet Trotter, Ted, in Alberts own words, never forgave him for this incident. From that point on Grandad acted as if Albert did not exist, and never spoke to him again for the rest of his life. Albert himself was deeply hurt by the fact he never managed to make up with his brother.

The exact nature of Albert and Ada's marriage is not known. Albert rarely talks about his marriage and indicates that he spent most of his time abroad in the navy. Albert and Ada's were the only the Trotters of their generation not to have any children.

By the time of Albert's debut in Strained Relations, he and Ada had become estranged. Albert would repeatedly mention numerous incidents of infidelity on his part throughout the series. He also says that in his opinion Ada became ugly as she got older. It is not stated if he was referring to her looks or personality. It is never stated whether they divorced, but the evidence suggests that Ada had evicted Albert and took their house. The pair had not spoken to each other for years, and the homeless Albert had stayed with numerous other members of the Trotter family before he finally settled in with Del and Rodney. It is never said why they split up, but Ada had apparently threatened to kill Albert if she ever saw him again. For this reason, her estranged husband decided not to visit her in the hospital. Instead, he opted to sing a tribute to her at the Nags Head.

What ultimately happened to Ada is not known. Albert did not make any reference to her in his will, however, and spent his last few years living with his girlfriend Elsie Partridge. In light of this, it is generally believed that she had most likely pre-deceased him. Since Albert and Ada did not have a family of their own, Albert made Del and Rodney the sole benefactors of his estate, unknowingly saving them from imprisonment. As it turned out, whilst his relationship with Ada was childless, in Strangers on the Shore Del and Rodney discovered that Albert had in fact fathered numerous other children out of wedlock elsewhere.

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