Only Fools and Horses secrets you never knew – including real-life Del Boy and Hollywood stars who nearly got the jobs | The Sun

FEW could have predicted a story about a tax-evading wheeler dealer living in Peckham would become the most beloved British sitcom of all time.

Yet decades on, Only Fools And Horses remains in the nation's hearts and is practically compulsory viewing for households around Christmas.

This week, Sir David Jason revealed a few surprising secrets in an exclusive interview with The Sun – including that he nabbed items from his character Del Boy's wardrobe.

It comes as a poll by TV station Gold voted Del's infamous fall through the bar as the funniest sitcom moment ever.

Here, we reveal some of the other lesser-known secrets about the BBC show.

Del of a lot of choices

Sir David Jason’s portrayal of wheeler-dealer Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter was among comedy’s finest performances – yet he very nearly didn’t get the part.

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The actor said by his “most conservative estimate” he was “merely the fifth option” behind a roster of bigger stars.

“Why, perhaps you, dear reader, were considered for the role, too, and turned it down. It would hardly come as a shock to me,” Sir David wrote in his 2020 memoir A Del Of A Life.

Voiceover specialist Enn Reitel was believed to be the show’s “first port of call” – followed by Jim Broadbent, who was working on a play at the time.

In recent years, the Harry Potter star told The Sunday Post that he didn’t feel the part was “quite right” for him as he was “too tall” and a “Jack the Lad character was not quite my style”.

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Comedic actor Robin Nedwell was approached too, as well as future EastEnders baddie Billy Murray, who played Johnny Allen in the soap.

Sir David admitted he could have been “terribly sniffy” about being so low down their list. However, he decided that being “first in line” wasn’t important – but “being the best you can be when you get to the front of the queue” was.

Chandelier fall really happened

In A Touch Of Glass, Del and Rodney accidentally destroy a priceless Louis XIV chandelier after claiming they were professionals who could clean the items for a measly £350.

It was rated the second funniest Only Fools scene, behind Del falling through an open bar flap in the episode Yuppy Love.

But many would be surprised to know that the comedic moment happened in real-life to John Sullivan’s father while working as a plumber in the Thirties. He was even fired for the mishap.

He and a group of tradesmen had to remove a chandelier to install central heating in a stately home – only for them to undo the wrong one.

When it came to the TV adaptation, Nicholas Lyndhurst was threatened with being sacked if he ruined the scene and the prop chandelier cost £6,000 to make.

Surprising fans of the show

The sitcom had fans across the country – and overseas with it being broadcast in countries as far away as Croatia, Greece and Israel.

However, a little closer to home, the Royal Family – especially the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip -reportedly loved the show too.

Tessa Peake-Jones, who played Del’s love interest Raquel, confirmed claims that they would request advance copies of episodes.

She said Buckingham Palace would “send a tape” to the BBC before Christmas specials aired and added: “So they see it before the nation.”

Nicholas also said: “I guess they must have liked them because they never gave them back.”

What 'Only Fools And Horses' really means

Creator John Sullivan was desperate for cash when he wrote Only Fools after his previous show Over The Moon, about a rundown football club, was cancelled.

He initially had several over names for the show, including Readies and oddly Big Brother.

However, John landed on Only Fools And Horses because he liked longer TV show titles and believed it summed up the tax-dodging brothers’ lifestyle.

It stemmed from the 19th century American showbiz saying, “Only fools and horses work for a living” and was the name of an episode in the writer’s previous series Citizen Smith.

The BBC were initially unhappy and confused by what the title meant – some guessed it was a Shakespearean quote and others thought it was the title of a jockey’s autobiography.

Viewers were baffled too and after the first season the theme tune was changed to a song recorded by John that explained what it meant.

Liz Hurley nearly bagged big part

The role of Del wasn’t the only part that was fought over by a number of famous faces – Rodney’s girlfriend Cassandra was also tricky to cast too.

Author Mike Jones revealed the “most notable” star who tried out for the role was Liz Hurley and she gave an “enthusiastic” audition.

However, he added: “It was felt that perhaps she was probably a little too glamorous for, how can I say it diplomatically, our lanky Trotter brother.”

Eventually, the part was taken by Gwyneth Strong in 1981 and she appeared in 21 episodes.

Rude joke was 'mistake'

Alongside the hilarious scenes that unfold onscreen, many viewers take a cheeky chuckle at the name of Del's company.

That's because the initials for Trotter's Independent Traders spell "tit".

John admitted: "I’d love to say it was deliberate from the start but it wasn’t, it was a pure accident."

Truth behind real Del Boy

John drew inspiration for Del from real-life dodgy dealer Chicky Stocker, who the writer described as a “tough man” who “always dressed very neatly”.

He admitted the working-class Londoner wasn’t someone “you’d go out of your way to annoy” and that he took inspiration for Del from some of his stunts, including flogging dodgy perfume.

“I found out why it was so cheap. When you took the top off it smells OK but then a few days afterwards it smells like cabbage water,” John said.

Sir David helped to design Del’s look and drew from people he met while working as an electrician – including the iconic camel hair coat and cheap oversized jewellery.

Amusingly, much of the bling was such poor quality that it had to be replaced each series because the gold paint would rub off – apart from one item, a custom-made ‘D’ necklace that cost £70.

Catchphrase inspiration

Alongside his suitcase full of dodgy goods, Del was also armed with a number of catchphrases and broken French phrases – used incorrectly in a failed bid to sound more intelligent.

One of his favourites was “Bonnet de douche”, which means shower cap and was spotted by John in a hotel room in Ramsgate, Kent.

Del’s other misused French words included “Mange tout”, meaning sugar pea, not “no problem”; “Au revoir” meaning goodbye, not “hello”; and “pot purri”, which is a dried fragrant plant – not an expression of disbelief.

His most famous, ‘Lovely jubbly” ,was taken from the ice lolly brand Jubbly, which was famous during the Fifties.

Second millionaire plot

Viewers rejoiced when Del and Rodney’s dream of becoming millionaires finally came true thanks to an old pocket watch hidden in their garage.

In a bizarre case of fiction imitating life, the timepiece described as a Harrison “lesser-watch” in the episode does actually exist and is missing.

However, that wasn’t the only chance the boys could have made a fortune.

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In 2003, when the cast and crew reunited to film three new episodes, it was planned that Del was going to appear on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

However, the idea was canned after rivals ITV and the BBC could not agree to terms.

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