Only Fools and Horses' Marlene explains why people scream at her in supermarkets

18 November 2023 , 20:41

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Only Fools and Horses' Marlene explains why people scream at her in supermarkets

Only Fools and Horses star Sue Holderness says she is delighted to still be recognised for her role as Marlene Boyce years after she last played the role.

The 74-year-old actress played the long-suffering wife of Herman Aubrey 'Boycie' Boyce - who was played by late actor John Challis, who died aged 79 in 2021. Sue’s role as Marlene began on Only Fools and Horses which ran on the BBC from 1981 until 2003, and she reprised her role on spin-off show The Green Green Grass which ran from 2005 until 2009.

Despite the original show ending 20 years ago, and the spin-off reaching an end 14 years ago, Sue says she is still regularly recognised for her iconic role. And she says that a new generation of comedy lovers have learned to spot her while she is out and about doing her weekly shop.

Sue - who has also had recurring roles on EastEnders, Still Open All Hours and Cold Feet - says she loves being recognised in public. And she even said she loves it when fans shout her iconic comedy show name at her at the supermarket.

Sue Holderness played Marlene Boyce on Only Fools and Horses alongside John Challis's Herman Aubrey 'Boycie' Boyce (WireImage)

Opening up to the Daily Star, she said: "I'm lucky because Only Fools goes on playing and I have young kids come up to me and say they were watching the show last night because their dad told them to.

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"When it stopped in 1996 the BBC was bombarded with letters asking where the show was at Christmas. That’s what families would do – settle down to watch the show... I hear, 'Marlene' said to me in many a supermarket aisle – I love it. Occasionally I see re-run episodes I had forgotten and they’re brilliantly constructed."

Sue is still acting and currently stars in the Channel 5 crime drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries. And she is not the only Only Fools star to be enjoying time in the spotlight decades after the series came to an end.

Co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst is currently winning praise for his scene-stealing role in the revived American sitcom Frasier. The 62-year-old plays Alan Cornwall, a fellow professor alongside Kelsey Grammer’s iconic Frasier Crane in the new series.

Following his surprise casting in the comedy show, 68-year-old Kelsey claimed he had to warn Hollywood execs about how funny Nicholas is. He explained to the Sunday Times: “Nicholas Lyndhurst is co-lead in [the reboot]. Nick and I fell in love when we were doing Man of La Mancha together.

“I warned them in America. I said, ‘Wait until this guy gets here. You’ll be doing a scene with him and suddenly you realise he’s just run off with it.’ He’s an extraordinary actor, a dear friend. And I am so pleased he’s part of it.”

Mirror.co.uk