Jim Broadbent has ruled out a bid for the ‘Only Fools and Horses’ pocket watch – because he thinks it might be hooky.
The 69-year-old star played crooked cop Roy Slater in the long-running sitcom, but he will not try to purchase the so-called Harrison Lesser Watch, which is going up for auction for £15,000 after making Del and Rodney Trotter (Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst) millionaires in the series, joking it might be "dodgy".
When asked at the ‘King of Thieves’ premiere in London’s Leicester Square on Wednesday night (12.09.18) if he would be putting an offer in for the timepiece, Jim exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "No, I don’t think I’ll be bidding for that. It’ll be dodgy I reckon!"
While Slater only ever appeared in three ‘Only Fools’ episodes, he has become somewhat of a legendary character for fans of the sitcom – and Jim, who has starred in the likes of ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’, is most recognised for the policeman part and ‘Harry Potter’.
Jim – who plays Terry Perkins in ‘King of Thieves’ – added: "Slater and ‘Harry Potter’ those are still the things I end up signing photos for.
"Tonight, I signed quite a few Slaters, I only did three episodes! It still comes around a lot."
Jim’s pocket watch snub comes after it was revealed the timepiece, which was fictionally sold for £6.2 million at Sotheby’s in the sitcom’s famous ‘Time on Our Hands’ Christmas special in 1996, is going up for sale in real life at Aston’s Auctioneers in Dudley on September 20th.
Steve Kennedy, of Aston’s, said: "There is a huge market for anything to do with ‘Only Fools and Horses’. People love the programme and such an iconic item is sure to create a huge buzz.
"We’ve given it an estimate of up to £15,000, but it could get well above that.
"It’s in pristine condition and has been perfectly cared for by a true lover of the show."
Perry Aghajanoff, president of the Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society, has verified the watch – which is one of three which were made – and the special timepiece comes with a certificate of authenticity.
‘Only Fools’ ep ‘Time on Our Hands’ still holds the record for the largest audience for a British sitcom after 24.3 million tuned in to see the market trader Trotters become millionaires.
Jim Broadbent rules out bid for Only Fools pocket watch
