Sir David Jason would love ‘Only Fools and Horses’ to return – but without writer John Sullivan he doesn’t think it can happen.
The 76-year-old actor played cheeky London market trader Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst as his "plonker" brother Rodney Trotter in seven series and 16 specials and he admits he’d don Del’s sheepskin jacket for another episode without hesitation but he doesn’t think anyone can match creator Sullivan – who passed away in 2011 at the age of 64 – when it comes to creating jokes and stories for the Peckham characters.
Speaking at the launch of Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Amaluna’ show at London’s Royal Albert Hall, he said: "It would be good to do ‘Only Fools and Horses’ but we haven’t got a writer, if we had the wonderful writer, the lovely John Sullivan, we would I tell you, but we haven’t got a writer and my partner Nick has gone on to do other things, so you’re stuck with ‘Open All Hours’ now!"
David is teaming up with Nicholas and other cast members for a new documentary ‘The Only Fools and Horses Story’ which looks back on the making of the BBC sitcom and its lasting appeal.
He admits it’s been wonderful to look back on the beloved programme and remember what a wonderful time he and everyone else had making it but once that’s broadcast he thinks that’s it for the Trotters.
He said: "We’re doing ‘The Story of Only Fools…’ the final one and only. When we did it we enjoyed it so much but we didn’t quite know what success we were having; we knew it was good, we had a good time, and we loved it. But it’s still going on, new audiences are enjoying it as much as the original and long may it continue."
Aside from the documentary, David is making a show about his life story as well as returning as Granville for more ‘Still Open All Hours’.
He said: "I’m also filming my life story so hopefully you’ll be watching that and then I’ll be doing more ‘Open All Hours’. They’re keeping me very busy, so I’m sorry Hollywood but you’ve missed your chance this year!"
The last time David and Nicholas appeared as Del Boy and Rodney was in a sketch for ‘Sport Relief’ that aired in March 2014 which was written by John’s sons Jim Sullivan and Dan Sullivan and included previously unused material penned by their father.
David Beckham was part of the special and at the end of the sketch he recreated the famous scene where Del Boy falls though the bar in 1989 episode ‘Yuppy Love’.
David Jason wants Only Fools and Horses to return
