Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses legend David Jason was the fifth choice to be Del Boy behind these actors

The show could have been completely different without David Jason as the leading man

It is hard to imagine any other actor playing the iconic role of Del Boy in the hit series Only Fools and Horses.

When you think of the hilarious show you think of David Jason.

The actor is recognisable to millions today as the brash and loud South London market trader and petty con man, who is one of British TVs most loved and iconic characters.

What some fans might not know is that David wasn’t actually the first choice for the lead character.

According to Jason’s memoir Open All Hours , the actor was actually the fifth choice to play Del Boy after a number of other actors were considered.

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Scottish actor Enn Reitel, who specialises in voice work, was reportedly the first choice to play the iconic character but he was tied up with other projects.

Academy-award winning actor Jim Broadbent was the second choice to play everyone’s favourite wheeler-dealer.

The actor was unable to take on the role due to previous commitments and scheduling conflicts so had to turn it down.

Jim Broadbent discussed how he was offered the leading role in an interview with The Sunday Post.

Jim Broadbent took on a different character in the show (Image: Getty Images)

He said: “Yes, it’s true.

“I didn’t feel that it was quite right for me. I was probably too tall for a start and the Jack the Lad character was not quite my style. As it turned out David Jason was perfect and he played Del Boy far better than I could have done.”

As many fans will know Jim Broadbent did feature in the show eventually, although he instead took on the role of copper Roy Slater, who was first seen 1983 but returned multiple times over the years.https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mylondon.news%2Fnews%2Fcelebs%2Fonly-fools-horses-legend-david-20234513&cre=center&cip=21&view=web

Jim said: “I was happy as Roy Slater. I didn’t really expect to appear more than once, so I was delighted to get the chance to be the villainous copper a number of times.

“Only Fools And Horses was a great series and I was thrilled to be a part of it. Nobody expected that it would take off in the way that it did and in the very early days it did not look as if it would last very long. Once the viewers got interested though, it just went from strength to strength.

“For me it was an honour to have been part of one of the most successful comedy shows in television history and it was a sheer delight to work alongside David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, a fantastic experience and a lot of fun.”

After Broadbent, actors Robin Nedwell and Billy Murray are also said to have been considered for the leading role.

Billy Murray was considered for the part of Del Boy (Image: Getty Images)

In the end producers offered David Jason, who was 40 years old at the time, the iconic character.

Last year on BBC Breakfast David revealed how when he first auditioned the crew thought he was there to read for the role of Grandad.

He said: “When I went into the interview with the director and (writer) John Sullivan, because I’d played so many silly old fart parts, like Blanco in Porridge and the 100 year old gardener in Hark at Barker, they thought I’d come up for the Grandad part.

“When I said no, I wanted to read Del Boy, that’s the part, that is the part that I want, and so they said, well go on see if you can read that, and the rest I suppose is history.”

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