Del Boy star David’s love of stunts and travel at 79
THE only way Del Boy got around was in a clapped-out Reliant Regal, belching smoke from the exhaust.
But one old motor was more of a challenge. He said: “Driving a Model T Ford was extremely difficult.
“The pedals are reversed from the way they are now.
“It’s so crude, but that was the motorcar that started it all. It’s an incredible part of history.” Daredevil David also had a few heartstopping moments up in the air. He said: “I also loved flying in a helicopter over the Mount St Helens volcano, which is still active. “That was scary, but exhilarating.” Thanks to his voice-over for another daredevil, cartoon superhero Danger Mouse, Sir David had no problems getting a work permit for his job in America. He said: “When I went to the embassy, what speeded up the process was the fact that two or three people who were processing me learned I had done the voice for Danger Mouse. That was very funny.” He said the people he met along the way on his trip made the series “a very nice advertisement for hard-working Americans”.
He said: “We get the impression through film and TV that Americans are violent gangsters with guns or uppermiddle-class people in romcoms.
“I really liked the people. They were really warm. They could have been Brits. I mean that in the nicest possible way.
“Ninety per cent of the people I met were self-made, like the man who had created the biggest private car collection in the US.
“It’s very nice to meet people who just get on, work hard and don’t have things handed to them. There are a lot of them in the US and there are a lot of them in this country, too.”
■ David Jason: Planes, Trains & Automobiles, from March 28, 9pm on Gold. FOOLS Rodney, Del & Grandad