Sir David Jason believes it was a mistake for the Trotters to become millionaires in 'Only Fools and Horses'.
Sir David Jason didn't want Del Boy to be rich
The 84-year-old actor's alter ego Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter and his brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) finally fulfilled their dreams of making it big in the 1996 Christmas special 'Time On Our Hands', and the veteran star believes the plot left the show with nowhere else to go because it had been the family's struggles and desperate quests to make money that had made the show funny.
Speaking at a fan convention, the Daily Mirror newspaper reports he said: “There was nowhere to go after the Trotters became millionaires and it all worked out. It was the end of a journey and the journey was that struggle for survival, the struggle for the family, the way that they behaved, that interaction and all of that stuff that made the Trotters ceased to exist once they had become millionaires, if you like."
Writer John Sullivan revived the programme for three more specials between 2001 and 2003, which saw Del and Rodney return to their Peckham flat after losing all their money, but the episodes failed to hit the heights of the original show.
David reflected: “It wasn't that John had run out of steam so much, but he was so used to working mentally with all of the characters, the style of the cut and thrust of learning to survive on the edge of disaster, as it were.”
Despite ending two decades ago, 'Only Fools and Horses' is rarely off TV screens thanks to repeats and streaming services and David admits it's hard for him to go anywhere without being mobbed by fans desperate for a selfie and a chat.
He previously said: "Del Boy is a character that I can’t avoid. He’s become so ingrained in the public’s mind that where I got, I tend to be recognised and then what happens is that people can’t help but interfere with your private life.
“It’s part of the job. It’s part of giving your time and your life to the Great British public, God bless them.”
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