Only Fools and Horses’ David Jason on why he agreed to do special ‘Thought long and hard’
ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES actor Sir David Jason, who played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sitcom, has shared the reason he agreed to participate in a spin-off series.
Sir David became a household name after landing the role of Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses in the 1980s. While the last episode of the hit BBC One sitcom aired almost two decades ago, its legacy arguably remains unrivalled. The Story of Only Fools and Horses took an in-depth view of the well-loved show in 2017, and Sir David revealed why he decided to take part in the miniseries alongside his co-stars.
The Story of Only Fools and Horses also included Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Rodney Trotter and Tessa Peake-Jones, who portrayed Raquel.
The spin-off, which was released in 2017, reunited cast members and featured rare and previously unseen material.
The first episode of the six-part series explored the relationship between Del Boy and Rodney whose on and off-screen chemistry is behind the success of the long-running sitcom.
This episode also features a rare Christmas sketch the cast performed, which hasn’t been broadcast in more than 30 years.
But Sir David, who was interviewed and involved in the miniseries, admitted he did not agree to sign up straight away.
The 82-year-old actor told Gold: “After many attempts to attract me to doing this series over the years, I thought long and hard about it.
“I finally agreed when I realised just how popular Only Fools and Horses still is to a modern audience.
“They keep producing books and showing repeats because there is still such a demand for it.
The sitcom was turned into a musical in recent years (Image: GETTY)
Only Fools: Nicholas played Rodney Trotter in the sitcom (Image: GETTY)
“So, I thought it would be a good idea to do a once-and-for-all, definitive series about it, and that would be it.”
Other episodes in the series focus on Del Boy’s friends and enemies from around Peckham, including Trigger (Roger Lloyd-Pack), Boycie (John Challis) and his arch-enemy DCI Slater (Jim Broadbent).
There are also episodes focussing on the film set as well as comical behind the scenes clips from over the decades.
Fans are also treated to an instalment about how Del Boy got his market trader aesthetic for the sitcom.
Speaking about being part of the spin-off series, Sir David added: “I really enjoyed remembering the good times – and they were all good times.
“On Only Fools and Horses, we were very much a family. That included everyone from the writer and the director to the props boy.
“We were a family working together to try to make a success of it.
“We wanted to bring John Sullivan’s brilliant writing to a wider public.”
A total of seven series of the sitcom aired, with 64 episodes of the show being released.
Each episode was written by John Sullivan and they were broadcast on BBC One from September 8, 1981, until December 25, 2003.
