David Jason shares Only Fools and Horses regret on BBC Breakfast - saying 'it upsets me'
Sir David Jason has revealed his "regret" when it comes to Only Fools and Horses. The legendary actor, 84, played the role of Derek Trotter - aka Del Boy - on the iconic show between 1981 and 2003. And appearing on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday (8 October), he described how the character has left him feeling followed by a "ghost".
Speaking to host Jon Kay, David said: "That Derek Trotter thing, he's a bit of a ghost that comes along behind me like A Christmas Carol." Jon then asked: "That's interesting that you're calling Del Boy a bit of a ghost in your life. Do you feel you're a bit haunted by him?" However, David explained it wasn't as simple as that. "Haunted is perhaps too... no.
"He's with me all the time, whether you call it haunted or not," he said. "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."
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He went on to share his frustration of being tethered to one character, saying: "Which only hangs me back, only upsets me slightly is because that seems to be the only thing that people remember me 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, 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."
The star added: "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."
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When Jon insisted that "it's not too late", David said: "Well you wonder whether the old memory would be quite good enough. I could do it with the autocue things." He then addressed the camera directly and cheekily quipped: "Hey! Yes, National Theatre, I’m available!"
It comes after David admitted that he isn't as close to his Only Fools and Horses co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Rodney Trotter, as he once was. He told The Mirror: “He's much more, how can I say, self-contained, perhaps, than he used to be. So, unfortunately, we don't see each other as much as I'd like to. But that's how things work out sometimes."
