Sir David Jason shares heartbreaking health struggle as he's forced to make sacrifices

Only Fools and Horses icon Sir David Jason has revealed helium is nary longer capable to alert - and has shared the wellness issues that person forced him to wantonness the hobby

Sir David Jason has lamented helium is nary longer acceptable to alert - and has been forced to surrender his aviator licence.

The 84-year-old drama legend utilized to bask flying a Robinson R44 chopper but has been forced to springiness up the keys to his idiosyncratic flying device. Sir David - celebrated to millions for his iconic TV roles including Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter successful Only Fools and Horses and DI Jack Frost successful A Touch of Frost - got his licence successful 2005.

But owed to a drawstring of wellness issues, the prima has present had to springiness up his licence aft astir 20 years of enjoying the state to roam the skies. Sir David has endured hep replacement country - and has besides complained of symptom successful his knees and legs arsenic helium grows older.

The histrion - who began his vocation connected the tiny surface successful 1965 and has besides featured successful large surface films including Royal Flash and The Odd Job - has besides expressed his concerns astir his memory. He has besides expressed gratitude for different areas of wellness - celebrating the information helium inactive possesses a large powerfulness implicit show and sound.

He told the Sunday Times: "My representation isn’t what it utilized to be... Most of america scope this constituent erstwhile things aren't rather arsenic agleam arsenic they utilized to be... Mind you, I don't deterioration a proceeding aid, I don't deterioration glasses, and I've lone had to regenerate 1 spot of my assemblage [a hep replacement], truthful I'm not doing excessively bad, convey you."

He besides opened up astir missing his daughter, Sophie Mae, 23, who helium shares with his woman Gill Honchcliffe arsenic she has moved retired of the household home. He said: "There's been a nonaccomplishment and a change. Now I tin get into her chamber without needing a bulldozer to wide the route. She was ne'er the tidiest of small radical but, having said that, yea we bash miss her. We miss not having an bare fridge!"

Earlier this year, Sir David opened up astir his tendency not to discontinue - and expressed regret implicit ne'er making it to execute connected 1 of the UK's astir celebrated stages. He gushed to BBC Breakfast past month: "I'm conscionable addicted to work. And immoderate radical get addicted to alcohol, immoderate anserine devils get addicted to drugs, and I'm addicted I accidental to an assemblage and privation to marque radical laughter and bask themselves."

And helium added: "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 National Theatre. It was conscionable that romanticist representation of playing those large productions with each those big, fantastic actors. That ne'er happened."

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