Only Fools and Horses: The sad reason David Jason has avoided red carpet events for decades
The iconic actor could never get over the worry he wouldn't be enough for fans
To many Sir David Jason is one of the best comic actors in British TV history, his starring role as Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses making him a hero to legions of loyal viewers and millions at a time tuning in to see the later episodes of the series.
Over the years though, with all his success, the household name actor, 82, has regularly shied away from the trappings of fame, retreating to live in the Buckinghamshire countryside with wife Gill Hinchcliffe, 61.
As part of this attitude David has always distanced himself from red-carpet events (which he nicknames the ‘dread’ carpet), only very rarely making such grand public appearances as himself, and the reason behind his decision is actually a very sad one.
READ MORE: David Jason’s hilarious holiday prank on wife Gill that’s the ‘most romantic thing he’s done’ in 17-year marriage
Speaking to Bucks Free Press back in 2020, the actor explained: “It’s because I can’t quite accept the adulation or the pressure of people being interested in me. My life is spent hiding behind characters. So I find the ‘Dread’ carpet difficult because I have no-one to hide behind.”
This worry that he alone, outside of the Del Boy character, wouldn’t be enough for fans also influenced his decision to not attend the many Only Fools conventions held in the last 20 years, only attending his first one in 2020.
He continued: “Over the years I felt that it was a bit exposing. I never realised how important it was to so many people. I thought it was just a few serious fans who would gather and want to talk about the show.
“I didn’t realise how it had changed so many people’s lives, and once I started to realise that, I thought perhaps I should go and see them and thank them for being such loyal viewers.”
