David Jason feared being eaten by real alligator in iconic Only Fools episode

In an iconic two-part Christmas Only Fools and Horses Christmas peculiar Del and Rodney are chased done the Florida Everglades earlier coming face-to-face with an alligator - lone the carnal connected acceptable was really real

Sir David Jason feared helium was going to beryllium eaten by an alligator erstwhile shooting classical Only Fools and Horses occurrence Miami Twice – due to the fact that nary 1 told him he’d beryllium filming with a unrecorded man-eater.

The 84-year-old histrion and his co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, 63, travelled to Florida to movie the two-part 1991 Christmas peculiar which saw Derek and Rodney get mixed up with a Mafia don who is simply a doppelgänger for Del Boy forcing them to fly to debar Del getting shot.
One celebrated country sees Del and Rodney moving done the Everglades and coming face-to-face with an alligator who walks up down them.

Sir David has present spilled that nary 1 told him and Nicholas that they would beryllium filming with an existent alligator and they some feared for their lives erstwhile they recovered retired an equipped ranger was the lone happening preventing them from getting bitten.

Discussing the celebrated storyline, David said: “What's absorbing astir that is that we didn't realise, erstwhile we work the publication we thought this is astir apt going to beryllium 1 of those dummy things with a bloke who conscionable sits successful it and waves the rima about. But they provided a real, unrecorded alligator.

“The happening was we didn't cognize until we got determination that it was going to beryllium a real, unrecorded alligator and they said beryllium determination and we're going to get the existent 1 successful and beryllium down you. We said, 'Does wellness and information cognize astir this?' They go, 'Don't interest we've got a ranger here, he's successful complaint of the alligator and he's got a loaded handgun.' He had 2 oregon 3 guns. It’s like, 'I'll support him good implicit present and if there's immoderate occupation I tin instantly get my weapon retired of determination here.' By that clip he's bloody swallowed me!”

David’s formed mate Sue Holderness starred arsenic Marlene successful the episodes and antecedently revealed that she narrowly escaped being attacked by the alligator, with the supposedly tame reptile escaping its handler and going to wound her.

She said: “I was astir eaten by that alligator. The alligator was tame and it was a baby, but this happening was 16ft agelong and didn’t look terribly tamed to immoderate of us. I had precocious got a video cam and those aged video cams were huge, I was trying to video this due to the fact that it was a infinitesimal I wasn’t in. So I got the camera unit getting the archetypal instrumentality and past the 2nd instrumentality with this alligator.”

“The chap, helium was called Sean, who was successful complaint of the alligator erstwhile helium said ‘action’ the alligator would spell to a vessel of food, that was the plan. It worked precise good the archetypal clip "Then connected the 3rd instrumentality I was filming distant and abruptly this alligator was not funny successful the nutrient anymore, helium was much funny successful the camera crew.”

“So abruptly the alligator changeable disconnected implicit to america and I mislaid him successful my viewfinder, I couldn’t spot this alligator, I was looking circular and circular and arsenic I looked down the alligator was close by my feet and the chap looking aft him had jumped connected it and grabbed its jaws and taped its jaws up six inches from my feet, it was the astir alarming happening that’s ever happened to maine successful my life.”