Sir David Jason reveals what ended Only Fools and Horses

The actor, who is best known for playing Del Boy alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst (Rodney Trotter), said that the way the original series ended made it hard to take future installations of the show anywhere.

The programme followed the exploits of brothers Del Boy and Rodney as they attempted various get-rich-quick schemes.

The original series came to an end after the 1996 Christmas special titled Time On Our Hands. In the episode, the pair famously became millionaires after selling a valuable old watch for more than £6 million (£11.7 million in 2024).

Sir David Jason reveals the one 'mistake' that ended Only Fools and Horses

Despite this being the official end, the show carried on with three more Christmas specials in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

However, Sir David Jason has said he looks back at these Only Fools and Horses episodes less fondly than he did in the past.

Speaking at a recent fan convention, he told fans of the BBC show: "There was nowhere to go after the Trotters became millionaires and it all worked out. It was the end of a journey."

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According to the Metro newspaper, he added: "The journey was that struggle for survival, the struggle for the family, the way that they behaved.

"All of that stuff that made the Trotters ceased to exist once they had become millionaires."

These festive episodes revived the show for a time but each installation received fewer and fewer viewers, seeing the show ultimately axed.

Discussing the episodes, Sir David Jason said: "It wasn’t that John had run out of steam so much, but he was so used to working mentally with all of the characters, the style of the cut and thrust of learning to survive on the edge of disaster, as it were."