Only Fools and Horses’ David Jason ‘refused to rehearse iconic Del Boy scene’

When any show has a strong fanbase, such as Only Fools and Horses, simply re-watching episodes is never enough for those who have an unparalleled love and admiration for the characters, the powerful storylines and the series’ creators. Even though Only Fools and Horses may have ended more than a decade ago, some fans will still be on the lookout to find fascinating hidden gems associated with the sitcom.

Recently, Secrets & Scandals Of Only Fools And Horses provided fans with just that. The documentary – which aired on Channel 5 last Friday (July, 22) – revealed a very surprising behind-the-scenes secret from when Sir David Jason, who fronted Only Fools and Horses as Del Boy, was filming for the sitcom.

There are so many iconic scenes in the award-winning programme, but there was one David wanted to ad lib to ‘preserve the surprise’, according to an actor on the show. In the hilarious scene, broadcast in 1989, fans will remember Del talking to Trigger (played by Roger Lloyd Pack) trying to woo “modern Euro-birds” – before falling sideways through the bar.

Spotting two “sorts”, the star tells his hapless friend to: “Play it nice and cool, son, nice and cool – you know what I mean?” before disappearing – much to Trig’s surprise. Speaking about the filming process, Jeff Stevenson, a warm-up and guest actor on the programme, revealed: “The rehearsal was in the afternoon, and I remember David doing it, and I remember Tony coming down and saying, ‘Right can we do that again?’

“I seem to remember David saying ‘No, we’re not going to do it again, we will do it tonight’ because he wanted to keep it fresh!”

Sir David Jason, 82, became a household name with his portraying his character Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter. Del Boy was famed for having high hopes of becoming very wealthy and always making a promise to younger brother Rodney that “this time next year, we’ll be millionaires.”

Last year, to commemorate the show’s 40th anniversary, fans voted the perfect scene the greatest Only Fools and Horses moment of all time after voting through a poll on the Radio Times website. Speaking of the poll’s results, Sir David told RadioTimes.com : “I am thrilled that the falling through the bar scene has given so much pleasure over the years and thank the RadioTimes.com readers for their vote.

“The show seems to go from strength to strength and I feel very fortunate to have been involved with such an iconic show. It started with the great John Sullivan for the fantastic scripts and the chemistry of the cast which brought it all to life. So many laughs over so many years.”