David Jason as Del Boy.
David Jason is an English actor who played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in every episode of Only Fools And Horses from 1981 to 2014. He also played Don Ochetti (Miami Twice Part 2) in Miami Twice Part 2 (25th December 1991), the series 1991 Xmas episode, in which Ochetti was Del Boy's doppelgänger.
Pre Only Fools And Horses career
David Jason was born David John White on the 2nd February 1940 in Edmonton, London, England. He was the son of Arthur Robert White and Olwen White nee Jones.
Only Fools And Horses 1981-1993, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2014
David Jason as Del Boy Trotter in 2014.
After watching a repeat of Open All Hours which starred David Jason, Ray Butt, the producer of this new upcoming sitcom suggested David Jason for the key role of Derek Trotter. Originally John Sullivan, the shows creator and writer was not so sure. Another actor chosen for the role was Enn Reitel. Eventually David was given the role and filming begun in spring 1981.
David Jason had to play a character totally different from the buffoon Granville in Open All Hours. Del was a brash, fast talking South Londoner whereas Granville was a bumbling shopkeepers assistant and quite slapstick. Del was the head of the Trotter household which included his naive youger brother Rodney Trotter played by Nicholas Lyndhurst and Grandad Trotter played by Lennard Pearce. While the show was about 2 sibling market traders, and not your typical slapstick comedy, it was still intended as a sitcom with many, many witty one liners and mishaps.
Only Fools And Horses did not set the TV ratings alight in the first series in 1981 and the second series in 1982. A 3rd series seemed unlikely but in the summer of 1983, 2 episodes from the second series were repeated on BBC1 and hit the Top 10. So a 3rd series was commissioned. In late 1984, filming begun for the 4th series when actor Lennard Pearce died of a heart attack. So they bought in Buster Merryfield as Grandad's long lost brother Albert Trotter. Albert was much more active and feisty then his lazy older brother.
Other TV roles
Refs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Jason
Gallery
