Nicholas Lyndhurst can't watch Only Fools following cast deaths

8 April 2019

Nicholas Lyndhurst can't bear to watch 'Only Fools and Horses' anymore because so many of the cast have died.

Nicholas Lyndhurst

The 57-year-old star - who played Rodney Trotter on the sitcom - says there was such a great "family" atmosphere on the show that he finds it tough to tune in to episodes after a number of the stars passed away, including Roger Lloyd-Pack (Trigger), Ken MacDonald (Mike) and Buster Merryfield (Uncle Albert).

He said: "I can't watch it now. I don't want to see friends who are no longer with us on screen.

"We used to go and surprise them on their birthdays. We used to wind them up. We used to tease each other. It was a family. So yeah, it's sad.

"I remember Lennard Pearce, who played Grandad - bless his heart - saying to me, 'Have you heard about these new VHS video recorder machines? That means we'll now live forever. Did you ever think of that?' I said, 'Christ no, I hadn't.' "

And Nicholas admits it would be "impossible" to make another episode of the classic sitcom because the show's creator and writer John Sullivan, who penned every episode, has also passed away.

He said: "We can't do it. It's impossible without John. And not just that: we've lost Roger, Ken, Buster, Lennard, and Roy [Heather, cafe owner Sid].

"That's a big chunk of the cast, sadly, not with us anymore. Of course, we can't do it without them. Wouldn't dream of it."

While Nicholas is a household name in the UK mainly thanks to his stint as hapless Rodney opposite Sir David Jason - who played his older brother Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter - he is now starring in musical 'Man Of La Mancha' opposite Kelsey Grammer and cannot believe he is acting with the 'Frasier' star.

He added to Event magazine: "I pinch myself every morning because I am going to work with Kelsey Grammer. It's outstanding.

"I've admired him for decades. I've seen everything he's done."

Despite starring in one of Britain's best-ever sitcoms, Nicholas recently admitted he struggled to write his own sitcom.

He said: "I have tried writing, but it was the hardest thing I have ever tried to do. It was just me and a friend throwing some ideas around but it did not work."