Lyndhurst mourns late stars

Nicholas Lyndhurst has said he cannot watch Only Fools And Horses because it is too upsetting seeing the cast members who have since died.

The actor also said a reunion of the long-running BBC comedy would be “impossible” without cast members including Buster Merryfield, Lennard Pearce and Roger Lloyd-pack, who have died, and its writer John Sullivan, who died in 2011.

Lyndhurst, who played Rodney, told a national newspaper: “I can’t watch it now. I don’t want to see friends who are no longer with us on screen.

“We used to go and surprise them on their birthdays. We used to wind them up. We used to tease each other. It was a family. So yeah, it’s sad.”

Lyndhurst said he is still friends with his co-star David Jason, who played Del Boy, but that in recent years they mainly have seen each other at funerals.