There’s no doubt Sir David Jason is up there in national treasure territory, the bloke’s an absolute legend.
A staple of British telly, the 84-year-old is of course best known for playing Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter in Only Fools and Horses. But this morning (8 October), the actor opened up about the ‘only regret’ he has about his career.
Jason not only appeared in the classic BBC sitcom, but also other major TV shows like A Touch of Frost and Open All Hours. He also voiced iconic characters like Danger Mouse, the BFG and Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows.
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Despite all that, he told BBC Breakfast how he feels somewhat ‘haunted’ by Del Boy. With decades of an acting career to his name, Jason said he hasn’t quite been able to fulfill a main goal of his.
“My real disappointment or regret, was that I always wanted to be a National Theatre player,” he explained. “I always wanted to be on the stage of the National Theatre. It was just that romantic image of playing in those big productions, with those big, wonderful actors.
“That never happened.”
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And while the interviewer told him it’s ‘not too late’, Jason seems to disagree as he said: “Well you wonder whether the old memory would be quite good enough. I could do it with the autocue things.”
Although, he did add a bit of a plea to the camera as he quipped: “Hey! Yes, National Theatre, I’m available.”
With this goal unfulfilled (for now), the icon explained how Del Boy has somewhat been ‘haunting’ him. Jason of course played the role from 1981 to 1991 with a string of Christmas specials until its official end in 2003.
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“That Derek Trotter thing is like a bit of a ghost that comes along behind me like the Christmas Carol,” the actor said.
“He’s with me all the time. He’s on my back all the time, because wherever I go, people recognise me as that character.”
And while Jason of course doesn’t hate Del Boy, he added that it ‘upsets him slightly’ as it often feels like it’s ‘the only thing people remember’ the actor for.
He added: “I’m delighted in one way that it has reached so many people and they’ve enjoyed what I’ve done with the character, but I’ve done so many other things that people seem to have forgotten about.”
Jess Battison