Sir David Jason has said that he regrets “only” being remembered for playing Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter in Only Fools And Horses.
The 84-year-old, who began playing the iconic character in 1981, told BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay on Tuesday (October 8) that, as much as he enjoys seeing the impact of the character, people seem to have “forgotten” about his other career roles.
Kay compared Jason’s positivity to that of Del Boy saying, “That sense of positivity sounds very like a certain Derek Trotter,” leading Jason to reply, “Yeah, I’m afraid it does. That Derek Trotter thing, he’s a bit of a ghost that comes along behind me like A Christmas Carol.”
“That’s interesting that you’re calling Del Boy a bit of a ghost in your life,” Kay said. “Do you feel you’re a bit haunted by him?”
Jason, who was given an OBE in 1993 and a knighthood in 2005, answered, “Haunted is perhaps too … no. He’s with me all the time, whether you call it haunted or not. I do say he’s on my back all the time, because wherever I go people recognise me as the character and you always get people who say ‘Lovely jubbly’ and all of that.”
He explained that it slightly “upsets” him because it seems as though Del Boy is the only character people remember him for. “I’m delighted in one way that it’s reached so many people and they’ve enjoyed what I’ve done with the character,” he continued, “But I’ve done so many other things that everybody seems to have forgotten about. It’s like I’ve only ever played Derek Trotter.
“My real disappointment or regret, if you like, is I always wanted to be a National Theatre player. I always wanted to be on the stage of the national theatre. It was just that romantic image of playing those big productions with all those big, wonderful actors. That never happened.”
Only Fools And Horses is one of the biggest British sitcoms of all time, being named Britain’s Best Sitcom in a 2004 poll and, per a poll from TV channel Gold, having the funniest British sitcom moment ever too (Del Boy falling through the bar, in case you were wondering). Meanwhile, Del Boy was ranked fourth in Channel 4’s list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters in 2001, too.
After the main show ended with the seventh series in 1991, Jason went on to reprise the role in a number of Christmas and charity specials, a message to the England football team during Euro 2020, and earlier this year an appearance in National Geographic’s Car SOS.
But away from Only Fools And Horses, Jason has enjoyed a highly successful career with roles in iconic UK TV shows including A Touch Of Frost, Open All Hours and The Darling Buds Of May. In recent years, he has reprised his role from Open All Hours in Still Open All Hours, and hosted a range of documentaries.
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