Only Fools and Horses: David Jason’s unusual hobby and the stunt he was disappointed he couldn’t do himself

Sir David Jason is one of the most recognisable TV stars in the country thanks to his iconic role as Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses. Fans of the actor have enjoyed his comedic delivery and talent for classic slapstick gags for decades since his big break in the show back in 1981.

But one thing even the most die-hard Only Fools fans might not have expected from their hero is his love for a bit of thrill-seeking. Not least because as a character Del is about as fearless as a mouse.

But that’s exactly what David, 82, is, having been a keen aviator for much of his life, enjoying both flying planes and hang-gliding, even flying from the London Gliding Club for a time. As some of you may already have guessed he thought this skill would come in very handy when Only Fools writer John Sullivan happened to include hang-gliding as a key plot point in the fourth episode of season five, Tea for Three.

In the episode Del and Rodney squabble for the affections of Trigger’s charming niece, each going to extreme lengths to sabotage the other, culminating in Rodney leaving Del with no choice but to pretend he knows how to hang-glide, and the older brother ending up in hospital as a result.

But David, who had wanted to perform his own stunts in the episode, given his prior experience as a hang-glider, was left disappointed when the time came to actually film up on Butser Hill in Hampshire.

For fairly obvious reasons which David admitted made a lot of sense, the producers of the show wouldn’t let him take the risk for insurance purposes. You can’t blame them as an accident putting David out of action even for a short amount of time would have been very costly for the show.

As a result the famous scenes of Del panic-stricken gliding off into the sky were filmed using a professional stuntman after all.