FANS STILL SHOUT ‘MARLENE’ AT ME
Boycie haunts actor John
ONLY Fools and Horses legend John Challis can’t go anywhere without fans shouting his catchphrase: “Marlene!”
The actor, 74, played Boycie in the classic sitcom for more than a decade and became a TV favourite.
He told the Daily Star Sunday: “People see me coming and I hear them doing the laugh. Or I hear a ‘Marlene!’ It happens every day of my life.
“Everybody wants to talk about the character when they meet me.
“He seems to have got into the national consciousness. People often want to know what Boycie would think of things.
“I have to rack my brains… I’m thinking, ‘I’m just an actor. I’m not a scriptwriter, so I don’t know!’” John was even collared by a fan at the ruins of Herculaneum in Italy, where thousands were killed by a volcanic eruption in 79AD.
He said: “It is the most haunting place. I was standing there contemplating it all and thinking of all the people that died.
“There are skeletons still there of people who tried to shelter from this horror.
“Suddenly I hear someone shout ‘Boycie, can I have a selfie?’ I said ‘no’. It’s the only time I’ve said no. It was about respect.” After Only Fools ended Boycie and wife Marlene, played by Sue Holderness, appeared in BBC spin-off The Green Green Grass, which ran for four series.
John said: “I’m still known for playing Boycie. I get asked to go to flower shows and food festivals.
“And one of the best things about being on a big TV series is it can help attract people to a charity event if I go. I can help them raise a bit more money.”
John is now known for appearing in the ITV comedy Benidorm and will join the cast full-time for next year’s series.