Modern Men and Heroes and Villains were watched by 21.3 million viewers while Time on our Hands was watched by 24.3 million viewers, a record for a British sitcom. David Jason said that was "a staggering number. It made me dizzy to think about it. You simply couldn't get it into your head how popular this show had grown to be".
David Jason filmed this and the other two Christmas Specials before and after it concurrently with episodes of A Touch of Frost (1992).
Following Fatal Extraction, many people assumed that was the end of Only Fools and Horses (1981) because of a three-year gap until the next episode, but John Sullivan was keen on tying up the loose ends by making the Trotters millionaires.
Modern Men, Heroes and Villains and Time on Our Hands were screened consecutively across Christmas, 1996.