Sir David Jason has opened up on the prospect of an Only Fools and Horses revival, saying ‘let’s go for it’
Only Fools Horses was a huge hit for the BBC(Image: Getty Images)
Television icon Sir David Jason has spoken candidly about a potential revival of Only Fools and Horses – but acknowledges there’s one significant obstacle to resurrecting the beloved sitcom.
The BBC programme ran for seven series and 16 Christmas specials between 1981 and 2003 and is frequently voted the UK’s greatest ever sitcom. Only Fools transformed Sir David and co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, who portrayed wheeler dealer brothers Derek and Rodney Trotter, into household names.
However, while there have been spin-offs in the subsequent 23 years, alongside a successful stage production, there hasn’t been a return to fresh TV episodes.
Sir David, 86, declared “let’s go for it” – but only if they “get a good script”. The actor believes this might prove somewhat problematic as the programme’s creator, John Sullivan, passed away in 2011. The Only Fools star described the scriptwriter as “a genius”.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “But the problem (with a TV revival) is that the man who created it is no longer with us. He wrote every episode and just happened to be a genius.
“I’m not so sure that we have a writer clever enough to take on his mantle. No one could write characters like he could. Providing we have a good script, let’s go for it!” reports the Express.
The Only Fools creator died in April 2011, six weeks after contracting viral pneumonia. Only Fools and Horses The Musical, penned by Paul Whitehouse and John Sullivan’s son Jim Sullivan, enjoyed a West End run spanning more than four years before concluding in April 2023. The programme centred on the Trotter brothers, market traders from working-class Peckham in south-east London, chronicling their schemes to strike it rich fast.
Sir David also shared his thoughts on cancel culture, as Only Fools and Horses repeats now feature trigger warnings. He revealed no one has criticised the programme to him directly.
The actor continued: “Not one person has ever complained about any show that I have done. No one has said they didn’t believe in it or didn’t enjoy it.”
Meanwhile, Sir David delivered a heartbreaking eight-word response after viewing a lost Only Fools scene.
The actor reunited with Tessa Peake-Jones, who portrayed his on-screen partner Raquel Turner. The duo filmed a new docuseries, Only Fools and Horses: The Lost Archive. The two-part programme featured the show’s stars watching previously unseen material from more than 10 classic episodes.
Grantchester actress Tessa has revealed that David made an emotional remark about the cast being “so young and so successful” while revisiting footage of himself and his co-stars.
Speaking on Lorraine, she shared: “David Jason was very, very poignant about it. There was one bit where he was like, ‘We were so young and so successful then.’ It’s quite depressing.”