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Privacy Notice He may be loved by millions as Del Boy Trotter from classic sitcom Only Fools and Horses, but Sir David Jason wasn’t always the massive star he is today, in fact he had one major setback very early in his career. The actor, now 84 years old, was delighted when he got a starring role in sitcom Dad’s Army – now regarded as one of the true sitcom classics – but was axed from the BBC show just hours before filming began, following a bold move by the channel bosses. David flew through his audition for the role of Lance Corporal Jones and impressed show creators Jimmy Perry and David Croft with his knack for playing older characters – the actor was only in his late 20s at the time while Jones was supposed to be a pensioner. A last-minute decision by BBC boss Bill Cotton’s decision saw him replaced by actor Clive Dunn. “I was cast at 12 o’clock and sacked by three,” David recounted recently.
David was replaced by Clive Dunn (left)
(Image: BBC)
And it’s not the only role he has missed out on. Sir David was rejected as Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, with BBC chiefs questioning his “star quality.” However, Sir David’s career took off spectacularly, following earlier successes in Open All Hours and Porridge alongside greats like Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, he found further fame with the role of Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses. Leicestershire Live reports that before his rise to stardom, few might know that Sir David started out as an electrician, a job quite removed from the glitz of showbiz. “When I first started work, I was an apprentice electrician,” he explained. “When you are an apprentice to any trade, you have to absorb all sorts of traits you’re bumping into people who are bricklayers, plasterers, pipe benders, plumbers. And if you’re interested in making things, it leaves its mark. You get interested in how a plumber bends a piece of pipe, and that sort of thing is still with me, I still love bending pipes.”
David is became a national treasure after playing Del Boy
(Image: Getty Images)
He also revealed how he won his role in Open All Hours after forming a close bond with co-star Ronnie Barker when the pair worked on previous production. “The reason I got to work with Ronnie on Open All Hours was because of the little bits that I had done in his other series,” he said, revealing that the pair found a rhythm to working together. “He played this wonderful, bumbling character, and I was playing this hundred-year-old gardener. It was just working with him and understanding how he approached things.”Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnSir David JasonSitcom
