One Only Fools And Horses fan has said it “bugs them” after they noticed something about the classic sitcom.
Before long, their concern sparked a debate, with fans of the iconic show soon sharing their own thoughts, with one even admitting: “I have a big problem with it.” It turns out, people don’t enjoy seeing the same actor play different roles in the same show.
On the Only Fools And Horses Reddit community, one now-deleted user wrote: “The fella that buys the old banger from Del and Rodney in episode two Go West Young Man comes back in the last episode of series five as Del’s old business partner, Jumbo.
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“It bugs me when the same actor is used for different characters in the same programme. Does this bother anyone else?”
(Image: BBC)
The user was certainly not alone in their grievances, though. Responding, u/upyourstories admitted: “I have a big problem with it. Other series may use it for minor/extra/unnoticeable characters but Jumbo and car customer were major characters. Using the same actor for both was plain daft and lazy.”
However, others pointed out a major difference in television back then which would make it less of a problem. “To be fair today it may seem lazy etc but back in the 80s you couldn’t binge shows the way you could today,” wrote u/SuellaForPM.
(Image: BBC)
Another use, u/kh250b1, pointed out it’s quite common, saying: “Coronation Street has done this throughout its history. Some actors three times.”
Funnily enough, Nick Stringer, the actor who played Jumbo and the earlier character also had two different roles in Corrie. He played Jump Jackson in 1984 and Frank Harvey in 1997, appearing in a total of 17 episodes.
Someone else, u/Rickipedia, presented a different argument. “A lot of sitcoms have no qualms about retconning their first few episodes, as that’s when the show is finding its feet and gauging audience reactions,” they wrote.
(Image: BBC)
“An example within the show is Trigger’s character who was initially made out to be a petty criminal who barely knew Rodney.” They added: “The bigger mystery for me is that the actor for both characters – Nick Stringer – isn’t even Australian.
“They brought in an English actor twice to play a different Australian character each time. For fans of the show who consider series one perfectly canon (which there’s no reason to think it isn’t), that sure is confusing…”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
