David Jason has revealed he is suffering a “bit of shock” following John Challis’ death.
The Only Fools and Horses star passed away over the weekend at the age of 79, following a long bout of cancer.
He was best known for playing Boycie in the iconic British sitcom and speaking on This Morning on Monday, Del Boy actor David Jason revealed that he and his fellow co-stars were “suffering a bit of shock” due to John’s passing.
They had thought for a period that John had been “on the road to recovery” before his ‘swift’ death.
Offered sympathies by This Morning presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, David said: “It wasn’t a complete surprise because poor old John hadn’t been well for the last month or two but it seems he went downhill, so fast, very rapidly that one minute, we thought he was on the road to recovery and sadly, it just took him quite swiftly.
“So, yeah. We’re still suffering a bit of shock, I’m afraid.”
Paying tribute to his late co-star, David added: “One of the things I always measure an actor by is the difference between how they are in real life and the parts that they play.
“So it comes as a bit of surprise sometimes to people that John Challis was such a kind and such a ordinary, loveable sort of chap and totally different to the character Boycie that he played.
(Image: ITV)
“A lot of people tend to think that that was John but that just showed the skill he had as an actor to portray Boycie the way that he did because it was totally against his natural nature.”
John’s death was confirmed by his family on Sunday.
They released a statement confirming that John had passed “peacefully in his sleep, after a long battle with cancer”.
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
John became a household name for his amusing portrayal of the notoriously cold second-hand car dealer Terrance Aubrey Boyce in Only Fools and Horses.
He starred in the series for the entirety of its run from 1981 – 2003.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
