How Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst's relationship deteriorated
Only Fools and Horses fans may be desperate for one more episode of the much-loved comedy but it will sadly never happen.
Sir David Jason, 83, recently admitted he would love to reprise his role as Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter one final time but knows it's not meant to be following the death of the BBC show's creator John Sullivan.
But it's not only John's passing that is putting a stop to Only Fools and Horses gracing our TV screens once again. Sir David and his former co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, 62, aren't exactly the best of friends these days - with the pair no longer speaking despite once having a close bond.
Sir David and Nicholas, both best known for their time playing market trader brothers Del Boy and Rodney Trotter, lost contact after filming together as Trotters for a one-off charity special in 2014 and things have been frosty ever since.
But problems between the two actors possibly began long before 2014, with Sir David previously admitting an on-set "row" between himself and Nicholas left an Only Fools and Horses producer "fuming" back in the 1980s!
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Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst were once close pals (Getty Images)
But the Only Fools and Horses co-stars no longer speak these days (Getty Images)Speaking in 1989, David recalled: "One day, Nick and I were in our very small caravan on location. We were all fed up because nothing was happening so [we] said 'why don't we stage a huge row and you can storm out and say you're leaving and I can shout at you saying don't you ever come back again'."
He continued: "'I never want to work with you'. The whole crew went stiff. Five minutes went by and the producer and director came to see me and they were quaking in their boots. They asked what's going on and I told them to go see Nick. When they got to him, I couldn't contain myself any longer and roared with laughter. They went from white to purple in their faces. I don't think the producer was much impressed."
While their "row" in the late eighties was staged, Sir David and Nicholas' close bond deteriorated over the years - despite the pair previously admitting to being close friends away from the Only Fools and Horses set. Sir David said once in an interview: "You couldn't have had a better co-partner than Nic. We liked and respected each other so much, we were genuinely good friends."
Likewise, Nicholas told Red Carpet News in 2017: "We had a very similar work ethic and ethos - that we wanted to do our best as quickly as possible. You didn't have very long to record an episode [...] We didn't have much time to rehearse it so we had to have each other's back."
However, by 2022 things had clearly changed. Sir David admitted in an interview that he and Nicholas no longer talk, admitting: "He's much more, how can I say, self-contained, perhaps, than he used to be. So, unfortunately, we don't see each other as much as I'd like to. But that's how things work out sometimes."
It's believed that Nicholas has also stayed out of the limelight after his 20-year-old son Archie died suddenly in 2020. Archie tragically died from a brain haemorrhage caused by acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Sir David admitted that he's sad they aren't doing the series together any more. He explained: "I miss it terribly. It wasn't like going to work. It was going to have some fun with your mates. We loved each other."
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