Sir David Jason, known for his iconic role as Del Boy in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses has revealed a “mistake” he thinks the show’s creator made.
At a recent fan convention for the BBC series which first aired in 1981, David spoke about why writer John Sullivan’s decision to make Del Boy and Rodney Trotter (Nicholas Lyndhurst) millionaires left Only Fools with “nowhere to go”, according to The Mirror.
The 1996 Christmas special saw the brothers achieve Del’s promise that “this time next year we’ll be millionaires”.
Derek and Rodney discovered a long-lost 18th Century Harrison marine watch in Del’s garage which sold at auction for £6.2 million in the Time on Our Hands festive episode.
The famous Trotter family portrait from 1996 pic.twitter.com/4LYdCCaKcP
— Only Fools and Horses News (@onlyfoolsnews) September 5, 2024
It’s reported the special was watched by 24.3 million viewers.
As reported by The Mirror, David explained: “There was nowhere to go after the Trotters became millionaires and it all worked out.
“It was the end of a journey and the journey was that struggle for survival, the struggle for the family, the way that they behaved, that interaction and all of that stuff that made the Trotters ceased to exist once they had become millionaires, if you like."
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The 84-year-old added: “It wasn't that John had run out of steam so much, but he was so used to working mentally with all of the characters, the style of the cut and thrust of learning to survive on the edge of disaster, as it were.”
In total, 64 episodes of Only Fools and Horses aired across seven series on BBC One.
The BBC hit show also had more than 10 Christmas specials that ran until 2003.
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