Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst admitted he refused to push the iconic Reliant Regal car to its limits on the show.
Speaking in documentary The Story of Only Fools and Horses, the actor – who played Rodney Trotter in the legendary sitcom – admitted he said a flat-out no to driving the car any faster than 35 miles per hour.
Scriptwriter John Sullivan opened up on his introduction of the car, explaining: “I ended up with this dysfunctional family, no mother, no father.
“That’s why I brought the three wheeled van in. I thought, something’s missing in every aspect of their lives, even their van’s got three wheels.”
Nicholas added: “Well, it has to be said that the Reliant Robin – yeah, it was an absolutely perfect car for the Trotters to drive around in, but, what’s the kindest way of putting this?
(Image: BBC)
“It’s not the most forgiving car to drive.”
The star added: “I said that, ‘No, I’m not driving that thing anything beyond 35 miles an hour, thank you very much’.”
The car played a huge role in the TV sitcom, serving as the main mode of transport for the Trotters.
(Image: BBC)
It was never explained how Del Boy originally got hold of the van – but it was only big enough to seat two people comfortably, and only included two seats.
It was used throughout the show to store stock for the Trotters Independent Traders, with a top speed of 55mph.
But it looks like it was never pushed to its limit.
Earlier this year, one of the original six vehicles from the show went up for auction.
(Image: BBC)
One of the cars reached a tidy sum, being bought for £36,000 at the Warwickshire-based Silverstone Auctions in March.
A spokesperson for the auction said at the time: “The package includes the roof rack complete with the market suitcase, fluffy dice, ‘Tax in the Post’ sign in the screen and dare we mention it, an inflatable doll in the rear paying homage to one of the most popular episodes ‘Danger UXD’.”
They added: “The van is accompanied by some BBC headed paper along with a BBC key tag suggesting that this one of the original vehicles built for the show (there were a number used over the 22-year lifespan of the production), and on offer from the private collection of John Mansfield (BBC), we have no reason to disbelieve this.
“Only Fools’ memorabilia is certainly good news and this van is no exception and is surely a great opportunity to own a slice of British Comedy History.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
