Only Fools and Horses' David Jason said 'I'm resigning' after audience reaction to joke

The actor, champion known for his relation arsenic Del Boy Trotter connected the BBC sitcom, starred alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst successful the deed amusement which ran for 7 seasons. Sir David volition look connected ITV's This Morning programme today.

Sir David Jason revealed helium told 1 of his co-stars helium was acceptable to discontinue Only Fools and Horses aft proceeding the audience's effect to a elemental joke.

The Del Boy prima appeared successful the deed BBC sitcom which won the hearts of British audiences with its portrayal of a moving people Peckham household trying to marque their fortune.

Writing successful his memoir My Life, Sir David shared the infinitesimal the audience's absorption to a enactment successful the amusement astir prompted him to bent up his level cap.

He said: "There's a infinitesimal successful bid 3 of Only Fools and Horses wherever Del and Rodney are squabbling astir the viability of Rodney's plans to spell it unsocial successful concern and put his £200 of start-up superior successful the self-catering vacation trade.

"Lennard [Pearce] arsenic Grandad, has had astir nary lines successful this country - he's conscionable been a soundless beingness successful his armchair successful the sitting room. But now, astatine the notation of Rodney's projected £200 vacation spot investment, helium abruptly pipes up and says, 'What you got, Rodney - a Wendy house?'

"It's hard, adjacent now, to summon words that adequately relationship for the measurement of the laughter this enactment got from the workplace audience. The laughter went connected truthful long, it threatened to tally into the adjacent occurrence - and each Nick and I could bash was basal determination and thrust it, portion trying not to articulation in.

"When we had completed the filming, I stepped guardant to accidental a fewer words of acknowledgment to the audience, which I ever liked to do. This time, conscionable to tease Lennard, I said, 'That's it. I'm resigning. Nick Lyndhurst and myself person worked our socks disconnected each evening for this show. Lennard Pearce hasn't said a bloody connection - and past helium conscionable says 'Wendy house' and helium gets the biggest laughter I've ever heard successful my full life'."

Sir David went connected to uncover that this on-set incidental led to the instauration of a 'laughter ratings system' among the formed and unit moving connected the show, which would beryllium utilized to justice the prime of immoderate jokes.

He added: "Laughs would beryllium ranked according to their perceived Wendy-ness. A decent enactment mightiness beryllium scored arsenic a 'mini-Wendy'. A bully enactment would get a 'sub-Wendy'. What you were hoping for, of course, was an 'all-out Wendy' oregon a 'full-blown Wendy'. The 'full-blown Wendy' was the beatified grail."

Sir David precocious opened up astir the "ghost" of Derek Trotter that seems to travel him, during a candid chat connected BBC Breakfast with big Jon Kay. The legendary histrion spoke astir however the quality has overshadowed his different work.

Reflecting connected his career, Sir David shared: "My lone regret" erstwhile it comes to Only Fools and Horses is that helium feels haunted by the character, overmuch similar A Christmas Carol.

The histrion expressed a flimsy vexation that contempt his varied career, astir radical retrieve him solely for his portrayal of Derek Trotter: "Which lone hangs maine back, lone upsets maine somewhat is due to the fact that that seems to beryllium the lone happening that radical retrieve maine for.

"I'm delighted successful 1 mode that it's reached truthful galore radical and they've enjoyed what I've done with the character, but I've done truthful galore different things that everybody seems to person forgotten about. It's similar I've lone ever played Derek Trotter."

The prima lamented: "My existent disappointment oregon regret, if you like, is I ever wanted to beryllium a National Theatre player. I ever wanted to beryllium connected the signifier of the nationalist theatre. It was conscionable that romanticist representation of playing those large productions with each those big, fantastic actors. That ne'er happened."