The UK’s most popular comedy ever has a brand new update for fans this Christmas, 20 years on from when the show ended.
Channel 5 will air a behind-the-scenes special all about the iconic BBC sitcom, starring Sir David Jason himself.
The Story Of Only Fools and Horses at Christmas will look back on the show’s 16 festive specials, with appearances from 83 year old Jason (who played wheeler-dealer Del Boy Trotter), Tessa Peake-Jones (who portrayed Del Boy’s wife Raquel) and other cast and crew.
Jason will also reveal his favourite Christmas special, while celebrity fans will gush over the show, which originally ran from 1981 until 1991, and was once voted Britain’s Best Sitcom in an extensive media campaign by the BBC.
Since ’91, the show has returned with a series of Christmas specials, the last of which aired in 2003. The fourth OFAH Christmas special – aired in 1985 and entitled “To Hull And Back” – reportedly contains the most expensive joke in BBC history.
This documentary represents Jason’s first major TV appearance since his hip replacement surgery earlier this year. Speaking to The Sun, a source said that “producers were delighted when David was passed fit to appear following his surgery, so the special will be cushty for fans.”
Jason has previously shared that he would love “revisit” his character of Del Boy if someone would write him a script. Conversely, Nicholas Lyndhurst (who played Del Boy’s younger brother, Rodney) has dismissed the idea of a revival due to the passing of so many key players on the show.
Speaking about the death of creator John Sullivan in 2011, Lyndhurst told The Mirror, “We can’t do Fools and Horses again as the writers are not there. It will never happen. It ended on a high.”
But it’s not all doom and gloom for Only Fools And Horses fans. The hit West-End musical adaptation, which ran from 2019 to earlier this year, could receive a TV version according to star and co-creator, Paul Whitehouse!
Whitehouse told The Sun, “While we can’t compete with the original show, you do get the whole story of Only Fools And Horses... It would be lovely to see our version adapted for television.”
The Story Of Only Fools And Horses At Christmas will air on December 24 on Channel 5.