This week marks 45 years since Only Fools and Horses first appeared on British television, following the Trotter brothers' increasingly absurd schemes to get rich in Peckham, south London. To mark the anniversary, show bosses this week released unseen footage from the 1989 Christmas special The Jolly Boys' Outing, in which the Trotters organise a trip to Margate.
A two-part series called Only Fools and Horses: The Lost Archive is also set to be released in October, featuring more unreleased clips alongside interviews with cast members. Ahead of its release, here is what became of the actors who made the sitcom one of Britain's most beloved.
Sir David Jason: Del Boy Trotter
Sir David Jason, now 86, will forever be known as enterprising cockney Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, driver of the three-wheeled 1967 Reliant Regal Supervan III. Born in Edmonton, north London, he began acting in 1964 in Crossroads before appearing in the children's comedy Do Not Adjust Your Set alongside Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Denise Coffey and Michael Palin.
He was initially cast as Lance Corporal Jones in Dad's Army before being replaced by Clive Dunn, joking he was "cast at 12 o'clock and saved by three," and also missed out on the lead in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em because executives thought he lacked "star quality." He went on to play Granville in Open All Hours, Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May, and Detective Inspector Jack Frost in A Touch of Frost. He was awarded an OBE in 1993 and knighted in 2005.
In 1995 he was left grief-stricken when his partner of 18 years, Welsh actress Myfanwy Talog, died of breast cancer. He later married Gill Hinchcliffe in 2005, and the couple had a daughter, Sophie Mae, in 2001.
In March last year Sir David discovered he had a second daughter, 54-year-old Abi Harris, and a grandson, Charlie, after a brief relationship with actress Jennifer Hill in 1970. He had been unaware of the connection even when he appeared alongside Ms Harris and her mother in a 2008 revival of Under Milk Wood. In 2017 he was named one of the BBC's top earners, on a salary of between £300,000 and £349,999.
Nicholas Lyndhurst: Rodney Trotter
Nicholas Lyndhurst, born in 1961 in Emsworth, Hampshire, took the role of Rodney Trotter, Del Boy's younger half-brother, in 1981 and became known nationwide as "Rodders." Now 65, he also starred as Ashley Phillips in The Two of Us, MI5 agent Peter "Piglet" Chapman in The Piglet Files, and Gary Sparrow in the time-travelling sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart, for which he won two National Television Awards. From 1997 he fronted WH Smith adverts playing all four members of one family, winning a Bafta for the campaign.
He turned down the lead role in The Full Monty in 1997, a part that instead made Robert Carlyle a star; his Only Fools co-star Paul Barber did appear in the film. Lyndhurst later played Rodney's biological father in the prequel Rock & Chips and Professor Alan Cornwall in the 2023 Frasier reboot alongside his friend Kelsey Grammer.
Lyndhurst married former ballerina Lucy in 1999. In September 2020 their 19-year-old son Archie, a CBBC star known for So Awkward, died in his sleep from a brain haemorrhage caused by leukaemia. Lucy wrote on Instagram that his death had had a "catastrophic effect" on the family, calling her husband "My soul mate and Archie's hero" and adding: "I never thought this would be part of our story but I will be forever grateful for every moment we all had together."
Patrick Murray: Mickey Pearce
Patrick Murray played Rodney's exaggerating friend Mickey Pearce across 20 episodes before appearing in the films Curse of the Pink Panther and The Firm, then working as a professional poker player, bricklayer and taxi driver.
After marrying his wife Anong, from Thailand, the couple were separated for almost two years by visa restrictions while he worked as a chauffeur to fund their reunion with their daughter Josie. "I only saw my baby on the phone for two years, I was a Skype dad," he said, later confirming on Loose Women in 2018 that the family had been reunited. Murray was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2021 and given the all-clear the following year, but confirmed in 2023 that it had returned, saying it had spread into his pelvis, leg bones and lymphatic system. He died last September, aged 68.
Tessa Peake-Jones: Raquel Turner
Tessa Peake-Jones, now 69, played Del Boy's partner Raquel from 1988 to 2003. In 1985 she married co-star Douglas Hodge, 66, who later played the adult version of her on-screen son Damien; they had two children, Mollie Rose and Charlie, before separating in 2013. She later became known as housekeeper Sylvia Maguire in ITV's Grantchester.
Asked about a reunion episode on Steph's Packed Lunch in 2021, she said writer John Sullivan's absence made it unlikely to work: "I wonder if it's best left where people remember it for what it was rather than seeing us sort of all elderly and perhaps not remembering our lines quite as well." She has also spoken about her mother's bipolar disorder, telling the Daily Mail it "taught me to make the most of every day because you never knew what was round the next corner."
Gwyneth Strong: Cassandra Trotter
Gwyneth Strong, 66, played Rodney's wife Cassandra and later reunited with Sir David in A Touch of Frost. She now plays Ceri Mayland in Casualty, having previously starred as Geraldine Clough in EastEnders. A patron of Ovarian Cancer Action after losing her mother to the disease, she has said: "Ovarian cancer kills more women than all the other gynaecological cancers together." She is married to Footballer's Wives actor Jesse Birdsall, and the couple, who live in East Sussex, have two children, Oscar and Lottie.
Benjamin Smith: Damien Trotter
Benjamin Smith took over the role of Del Boy's son Damien in 2001. Now 36, he has since appeared in Holby City, Doctor Who, EastEnders and Skins, starred in Channel 4's No Offence, and played journalist Robbie Lennox in the 2019 Netflix series Resistance.
John Challis: Boycie
John Challis played car dealer Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce and later reprised the role in spin-off Green Green Grass. He also played Monty Staines in Benidorm and published two autobiographies. In 2020 he told Norfolk magazine Iceni that work had dried up since Benidorm ended: "As for television, my career came to an end with the end of Benidorm." He died of cancer in September 2021, aged 79, having cancelled a speaking tour after just one date due to ill health. He had become an honorary citizen of Serbia, where the show remains hugely popular, and made a documentary, Boycie In Belgrade, about its cult following there. His widow Carol had his catchphrase "I Am Here" inscribed on his headstone.
Sue Holderness: Marlene Boyce
Sue Holderness played Boycie's wife Marlene from 1985 to 2003 and in the spin-off from 2005 to 2009. Now 77, she launched a national appeal against online scams after fraudsters hacked her computer and conned her out of money, and now supports the Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign. Last summer she reunited with Sir David at an Only Fools And Horses convention in Milton Keynes, writing: "So lovely to be with Sir DJ again."
Paul Barber: Denzil
Paul Barber, 75, played Denzil despite a traumatic childhood in Liverpool foster care after his mother's death from tuberculosis. He landed his biggest role, Barrington "Horse" Mitchell in The Full Monty, in 1997, reprising it in a 2023 miniseries, and has since appeared in Coronation Street, Casualty and Death in Paradise. He now lives alone in Clacton, Essex.
Roger Lloyd-Pack: Trigger
Roger Lloyd-Pack played road sweeper Colin "Trigger" Ball, who always called Rodney "Dave." He also appeared as Owen Newitt in The Vicar of Dibley and Barty Crouch Sr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2014, aged 69; having left no will, his £1.4million estate was shared between his widow, Jehane Markham, and his four children.
Kenneth MacDonald: Mike Fisher
Kenneth MacDonald played pub landlord Mike Fisher from 1983, a role meant to last one episode but which continued until 1996. He died of a heart attack in Hawaii in 2001, aged 50, prompting the show's revival to write that his character had been imprisoned for embezzling the brewery.
Lennard Pearce: Grandad
Lennard Pearce played Grandad from 1981 until his death in 1984, aged 69, during filming of the episode Hole In One. He suffered a heart attack and was found by his landlady, dying days later after a second attack. Sir David later wrote that director Ray Butt broke the news silently, and that producers considered recasting the role before Sullivan suggested writing Grandad's death into the show instead.
Buster Merryfield: Uncle Albert
Harry "Buster" Merryfield, a former bank manager, joined as Uncle Albert following Pearce's death, known for the catchphrase "during the war." He died in 1999, aged 78, after being admitted to hospital with a brain tumour, having been married to his wife Iris for 57 years.
