Sir David Jason sets record straight on Nicholas Lyndhurst rift rumours as he shares real reason for friendship struggle
Sir David Jason has quashed any rumours of a rift between himself and former co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst – opening up on the real reason they don’t often see one another.
Jason and Lyndhurst starred as Derek “Del Boy” Trotter and Rodney Trotter in the BBC comedy sitcom and left fans in stitches over the years with their comedy sketches.
However, over the years, the pair have faced multiple rumours of a rift that supposedly ended their once-strong relationship.
One on-set “squabble” saw the pair act out an argument during the filming of Only Fools and Horses – to the point that a producer was “fuming”.
Recalling the on-set incident from an episode shot in 1989, David previously told The Mirror: “One day, Nick and I were in our very small caravan on location.“
We were all fed up because nothing was happening so [we] said ‘why don’t we stage a huge row and you can storm out and say you’re leaving and I can shout at you saying ‘don’t you ever come back again. I never want to work with you’.
“The whole crew went stiff. Five minutes later, the producer and director came to see me, looking terrified. They asked what was happening and I told them to go see Nick.
“When they did, I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer. Their faces turned from white to purple. I don’t think the producer was very impressed.”
In 2022, their relationship seemed to have cooled off and Jason openly admitted in an interview that he no longer spoke with Nicholas.
He said: “He’s much more, how can I say, self-contained, perhaps, than he used to be. So, unfortunately, we do.”
Lyndhurst had chosen to live a quieter life after the unexpected death of his 20-year-old son Archie in 2020.
His son died due to a brain haemorrhage brought on by acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, with Lyndhurst saying in a statement at the time: “Lucy and I are utterly grief-stricken and respectfully request privacy.”
Jason previously debunked any rumours of a feud within his “My Life” autobiography and suggested that misconceptions may stem from their fake on-set argument.
He revealed: “With Nick, I feel slightly to blame for some of this fake ‘feud’ news, because of what’s often used as supporting evidence in these stories.“
Is a tale I told in an earlier volume of these memoirs, about Nick and me having an enormous fight during a location shoot for Only Fools.”
Now, Jason has once again squashed any rumours that had resurfaced about their “feud” in his latest autobiography – This Time Next Year: A Life of Positive Thinking.
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The star told Radio Times that the pair struggle to see one another because “so often the time simply does not allow”.
Jason was also one of the first to support Lyndhurst after the death of his son.
He said: “We were on the phone instantly.”
