David Jason has claimed Del Boy’s famous “Play it nice and cool” fall scene in a bar on Only Fools and Horses forced him to have an op to fit a new hip.
He said it was a contributing factor during a lifetime of comedy stunts that have taken their toll on his body and prompted him to go under the knife.
Sir David, 84, said: “Bits certainly start wearing out. I speak as someone who has had to have a new hip installed. One of the pair that I was originally issued with decided it had had enough and packed up on me.
READ MORE: Sir David Jason ‘upset’ by Only Fools and Horses legacy as he shares one ‘real regret’
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“And I suppose I can’t blame it, really, given the career I had put it through. After all, much of that career was in theatrical entertainments, frequently of a farcical nature, which involved bouncing off beds and sofas and diving through serving hatches and landing offstage on unhelpfully thin crash mats, night after night and matinee after matinee, for years on end.
(Image: BBC)
“Some part of me was bound to complain eventually. Anyway, in response to those complaints, I ultimately sought medical advice and had my left hip replaced with a titanium one. This was in the autumn of 2023.”
In his new book This Time Next Year, Sir David said he has been helping himself through rehab with a home-made exercise set-up that he knocked up using his wife’s old bike.
He added: “I was bruised like a boxer and stitched up like a tapestry. For days afterwards I couldn’t sleep properly because every time I turned over onto that side, or even thought about doing so, the pain in the affected area would set an alarm bell clanging throughout the rest of my body and I’d wake up.
“Still, I gritted my teeth and persevered, dutifully complying with the physio rehab exercises to help my titanium joint get settled into its new home.
“And then, when it was strong enough, I advanced to the next stage of the programme, which involved, among other things, cycling on a static bike.
“Now, gym work has never been my idea of a fun time, and the last time I was on a bicycle was probably while playing Granville in Still Open All Hours, for which, of course, I was paid. But needs must.
(Image: (Image: Getty))
“However, not for me one of those fancy Peloton machines with a computer screen bolted to the handlebars – oh no. Those things are pricey. You could get a decent second-hand car for the money they seem to ask for the posher kind of exercise bike, and actually go somewhere in it.
“So instead I went for the home-made option, rigging up Gill’s old bike on a frame. A fully non-digital exercise apparatus Out I would go to the garage every morning, where I would saddle up and pedal away grimly, going nowhere but getting fitter. And very soon I was restored and back in action.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
