Sir David Jason has confessed that his “My only regret” regarding Only Fools and Horses is the lingering presence of his character, Derek Trotter. The comedy legend opened up to BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay on Tuesday (October 8), discussing his illustrious career.
When Jon drew parallels between David’s optimism and that of his character Derek Trotter, it stirred some “haunting” recollections.
Jon noted: “That sense of positivity sounds very like a certain Derek Trotter.”
To which Sir David conceded: “Yeah, I’m afraid it does. That Derek Trotter thing, he’s a bit of a ghost that comes along behind me like A Christmas Carol.” Intrigued, Jon asked: “That’s interesting that you’re calling Del Boy a bit of a ghost in your life. Do you feel you’re a bit haunted by him?”, reports MyLondon.
David’s response was more complex. He clarified: “Haunted is perhaps too… no. He’s with me all the time, whether you call it haunted or not. I do say he’s on my back all the time, because wherever I go people recognise me as the character and you always get people who say, ‘Lovely jubbly!’ and all of that.
“Which only hangs me back, only upsets me slightly is because that seems to be the only thing that people remember me for. I’m delighted in one way that it’s reached so many people and they’ve enjoyed what I’ve done with the character, but I’ve done so many other things that everybody seems to have forgotten about. It’s like I’ve only ever played Derek Trotter.”
Sir David Jason has confessed to having one major career regret – never becoming a National Theatre player. He said: “My real disappointment or regret, if you like, is I always wanted to be a National Theatre player. I always wanted to be on the stage of the national theatre. It was just that romantic image of playing those big productions with all those big, wonderful actors. That never happened.”
(Image: BBC)
Jon reassured him, saying, “It’s not too late!” However, Sir David expressed concerns about his memory, joking that he could use autocue. He then addressed the National Theatre directly, saying, “Hey! Yes, National Theatre, I’m available!”
This comes after Sir David revealed that he and his Only Fools and Horses co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst are no longer as close as they once were. In an interview with The Mirror, he said, “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.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
