A series of Only Fools and Horses items made an eye-watering sum when they sold at auction.
Memorabilia from the set – along with items from Boycie star John Challis’ estate – were sold off by East Bristol Auctions back in 2022, and some of the closing bids were enough to put a hefty dent in anyone’s wallet. Among the items listed was a signed door from the legendary Trotters’ Independent Trading van, which included autographs from Sir David Jason and co-stars.
The door – which is one of the rarer items in the collection just for Jason’s autograph – was a life-sized replica of the original van, and made an incredible £2,300 at auction. It beat its low estimate of just £1,800.
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But even more shocking was a Heroes and Villains script from the iconic 1996 Batman and Robin episode, signed by cast members including David Jason, Kenneth MacDonald and John Challis. The script originally belonged to Ken MacDonald, and came with a letter of provenance from the Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society.
(Image: East Bristol Auctions)
The script alone sold for £5,000 at auction, but that wasn’t the most expensive piece in the lot. That honour went to Del Boy’s cigar jar, which was the original piece used on screen. Autographed by Sir David Jason, director Tony Dow and writer John Sullivan, the ceramic jar appeared in every series of Only Fools.
Incredibly it fetched £11,000 when it was auctioned off. Coming in a close second was the original prop Peckham Spring water bottle used in the 1992 Christmas special, which was originally handed out to a live audience member once filming wrapped.
(Image: East Bristol Auctions)
The bottle alone fetched £6,000 at auction, while Trigger’s dolphin from the Jolly Boys Outing episode made £3,000.
The cult comedy produced three Christmas specials in 2001, 2002 and 2003 after the series finally wrapped, for which Sir David received a huge pay packet. The BBC is thought to have shelled out £1million for each episode, double the average sitcom rates at the time.
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Jason was paid £100,000 per episode, which accounting for inflation, would be around £169,000 today. Nicholas Lyndhurst is believed to have earned a similar pay packet for his work on the specials. And he wouldn’t be opposed to reprising his role as Del Boy, confessing in 2021: “As a show it’s very important we don’t forget about it, it has a huge following, it fills in that need for an awful lot of people.
“It’s funny, amusing and an identity for most people who watch it, who are working class and come from where I come from, and identify with the idiots who are the Trotters. They’re just like the rest of us, a family who have ups and downs.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
