Only Fools and Horses: The star who had ‘affair’ with David Bowie before tragic death
After the high profile 'affair' her life ended in tragic circumstances
Although Only Fools and Horses is most frequently associated with laughter and good times, the show has sadly also been met with its fair share of tragedy, with numerous stars dying long before their time.
This started in 1984 with Grandad actor Lennar Pearce’s death age 64 and happened several more times with the deaths of Mike Fisher actor Kenneth MacDonald in 2001 aged just 50, and Uncle Albert actor Buster Merryfield aged 78 in 1999.
One of the less well known Only Fools stars to be taken too young is often overlooked though. Eva Mottley, the talented young actor who played Denzil’s wife Corinne in the episode Who’s a Pretty Boy? only appeared in this one episode but made a great impact.
Corinne was an excellent foil to Del Boy’s antics, seeing straight through his bluster as he is hired by Denzil to redecorate their flat. In one scene she immediately sees that the Trotters have replaced her canary after accidentally killing it, snapping: “When I woke up this morning he was dead!”
Despite her successful turn in Only Fools, and plans to bring her back for more episodes, Corinne had to be written out in 1985 due to Eva’s tragic death aged just 31.
Living a rock and roll lifestyle that included a two year relationship with pop superstar David Bowie, she was heavily involved in drugs and alcohol, and racked up serious debts.
Her body was found on Valentine’s Day in her flat in Maida Vale, West London. John Sullivan never replaced her, instead getting rid of the character by saying that Denzil and Corinne had split up.
Her career is a devastating case of what could have been, her eye-catching performance in Only Fools a sign of the talent she possessed, and at one point she was even hired to star in Steve McQueen’s Widows drama in 1983 – but she ended up walking off the production set prematurely after claims of being racially abused while filming.
