Only Fools and Horses is a beloved sitcom that has become a cornerstone of British television culture since it first aired in 1981.
Created by John Sullivan, the hit BBC show features Sir David Jason as wheeler-dealer Derek “Del Boy”, Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother Rodney, and memorable supporting performances by Lennard Pearce as Grandad and Buster Merryfield as Uncle Albert.
The comedy is celebrated as one of the best, with its popularity leading to several Christmas specials over the years. Even more than 20 years later, reruns of these specials continue to bring joy to fans.
Despite its success, Lyndhurst once revealed he nearly got “fired” over one of the show’s most iconic scenes. Speaking to the camera in a 2021 BBC documentary about the classic series, the actor shared that a boss had threatened to let him go while filming the second series finale, "A Touch of Glass," where the Trotter brothers find themselves in trouble while cleaning a chandelier.
Fans consider the episode one of the funniest, as they watch helplessly while the chandelier crashes to the ground and shatters. However, Lyndhurst revealed that showrunner Ray had given him a stern warning before filming the scene.
He recalled: “Ray, he was only a little guy but fierce with it, came up to me and said this to me, ‘This chandelier that we are about to drop costs £6,000 and if you laugh when it’s dropped we’ve lost the end scene.
“If we’ve lost the end scene, we’ve lost the episode. If we’ve lost the episode, we’ve lost the series because the BBC will only transmit six - so if you laugh when that drops, I will fire you.’”
As they got ready for the scene, Ray was apparently giving Lyndhurst a fierce look. But in a twist, Ray ended up laughing hysterically at the mishap. Lyndhurst recalled, “About 10 seconds later, I noticed his shoulders shaking.”
Ray had been trying to hold back his laughter, and Lyndhurst saw him pull a handkerchief from his coat and stuff it into his mouth to stifle the noise. After filming, Lyndhurst described the relief among the cast and crew, saying, “When I came down from the ladder, the air was filled with a lot of relief and excitement.”
It comes after Jason recently opened up about a small downside he still deals with from being on the hit series. The sitcom actor said: "Del Boy is a character that I can’t avoid. He’s become so ingrained in the public’s mind that where I go, I tend to be recognised and then what happens is that people can’t help but interfere with your private life.”
Speaking to the Daily Star, he added: “It’s part of the job. It’s part of giving your time and your life to the Great British public, God bless them.”
