Only Fools and Horses remake would be "dangerous" says David Jason: "Don't try"

The acting legend recently spoke to Digital Spy after ruling out a return to the series alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst in his new autobiography, A Del of a Life, following the death of Only Fools creator and write John Sullivan in 2011.

"The answer there is no," he said. "No, no, no, the writing would be the same, but also don't forget, one of my flags that I like to wave, is that it's a team effort, and it's not just the character of Del and Rodney, and Uncle Albert, or Grandad, as it were."

"But it was all the other peripheral characters, you know, Boycie, Marlene and all of those, how beautifully played they all were."

"You're hard-pressed to replace all those characters who have endeared themselves into the hearts of your audience today," he added. "So it would be a very dangerous journey to take, so my answer to that is, don't try."

Only Fools and Horses, which starred David Jason as the charismatic market trader Del Boy, reaches its 40th anniversary next year, having aired on BBC One from 1981 until 1991.

While the BAFTA-winning show has never been rebooted, it has produced several spin-offs, such as The Green Green Grass, which followed Boycie (John Challis) and Marlene (Sue Holderness), and Rock & Chips – a 2009 prequel starring The Inbetweeners' James Buckley as young Del Boy.

David Jason's autobiography A Del of a Life is available to buy on Amazon. Visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight, or check out our guide to new TV shows 2020 to find out what’s airing this autumn and beyond.