Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Peckham Spring bottle signed by Del Boy could sell for £8,000
AThe episode is one of the most famous in the series’ history AUCTIONEER ANDREW STOWE
N original bottle of ‘Peckham Spring’ water from an iconic episode of Only Fools and Horses signed by ‘Del Boy’ is set to fetch thousands of pounds at auction.
The prop – heralded as an “incredible piece of television history” – featured in the 1992 Christmas special episode Mother Nature’s Son – and is estimated to fetch up to £8,000 at the Bristol sale.
It was part of the production line Del created as he started bottling up water from the tap in his flat and selling it as mineral water ‘from an ancient and natural source’.
Around 200 bottles of Peckham Spring were made by production during filming and once studio filming wrapped, a few lucky audience members were able to take some as souvenirs.
This bottle was one of those given out, and is believed to be the only example that carries the autograph of Del Boy himself – Sir David Jason.
It is going under the hammer at a special auction next month in Bristol, where much of the sitcom was filmed.
Auctioneer Andrew Stowe said: “It’s an incredible piece of television history. To be able to hold an actual bottle of Peckham Spring water is very surreal.
“The episode is one of the most famous in the series’ history, and this bottle is one of those key props. You see it, and just smile.”
The Peckham Spring episode ends when it is revealed that toxic waste has been emptied into the water source and when the lights are turned off, the bottles of water glow in the dark.
Mr Stowe added: “Twenty million people tuned in on Christmas Day 1992 to watch this episode, and it’s humbling to think that this very prop was responsible for making a lot of people laugh. Bristol is the home of Only Fools and Horses – the majority of the series was filmed in the city, so it’s always special when items like this ‘come home’.”
The prop bottle carries an estimate of £5,000 to £8,000. It is being sold, along with other items from the sitcom, at East Bristol Auctions on December 2.
The catalogue can be viewed on their website www.eastbristol.co.uk