Sir David Jason has discovered a passion for stunt car driving.
The 79-year-old actor spent a month travelling from Seattle to Los Angeles for his series ‘Trains, Planes & Automobiles’, which looks at the heritage of American transport, and though he "didn’t realise" he’d be asked to get behind the wheel of one of the vehicles, he jumped at the challenge.
He said: "One of the things I learned was that I really enjoyed stunt-car driving.
"I didn’t realise they would ask me to do it.
"The producers told me we were going to see this stunt driver on a skid pan, and I thought, ‘That’s interesting.’
"The next thing, they were saying to me, ‘We want you to do it.’ But I coped because I understand vehicles and I like driving."
The ‘Only Fools and Horses’ legend also had an "exhilarating" experience in a helicopter during filming.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I also loved flying in a helicopter over the Mount St Helens volcano, which is still active. That was scary, but exhilarating."
But David didn’t find everything easy.
He explained: "Driving a Model T Ford was extremely difficult. The pedals are reversed from the way they are now.
"It’s so crude, but that was the motorcar that started it all. It’s an incredible part of history."
When it came to getting a work permit to film the show, David had no problems – because officials recognised him as the voice of animated superhero Danger Mouse.
He said: "When I went to the embassy, what speeded up the process was the fact that two or three people who were processing me learned I had done the voice for Danger Mouse.
"That was very funny."
Sir David Jason enjoyed stunt driving
