There hasn’t been a new Only Fools and Horses episode aired on our TV screens since the early 2000s.

But more than 20 years later since it ended, fans are still hoping the series could make a much-awaited return once more.

A total of series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the UK from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen “sporadic” Christmas specials airing until the end of the show in 2003.

However, Sir David Jason who starred as the famous Del Boy alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney for more than two decades, has broken his silence regarding the future of Only Fools and Horses.

Earlier this month he was back in character when he attended the annual two-day Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society convention in Milton Keynes.

The event was recently rescheduled from last year as Sir David needed to undergo surgery for a "new bionic body part", he said in a Facebook announcement at the time.

Sir David Jason says 'we would like that to happen' on Only Fools and Horses return

But now speaking to The Sun’s TV Mag about a comeback, he revealed: "Well, to be honest with you, we would like that to happen very much because not only did we enjoy it so much, but so did most of the British public. Because of that, we would love to do it."

Before Brits can get their hopes up, Sir David explained the main reason why it probably won’t happen.

The 83-year-old added: "I don’t think we could do another episode of Only Fools and Horses because the brains behind it, Mr John Sullivan, is unfortunately no longer with us."

One Fools and Horses writer John passed away in April 2011 at the age of 64 from pneumonia.

Shortly after, another actor from the sitcom, Roger Lloyd Pack who played Trigger, died in January 2014.

John Challis, who played Boycie in the show also died in September 2021.

When the last two episodes aired at Christmas in 2003, series writer John told the TV Times: "When we finished in 1996 we thought it was the end, but there was a lot of pressure to bring Only Fools back, and I think everyone missed the camaraderie of being part of what had become a family.

"You never say never, but I can't see us doing any more after these two episodes."

Recommended reading:

The final episodes were called Strangers on the Shore and Sleepless in Peckham.

If you’re wondering what Sir David has been up to lately, you can catch him on David and Jay’s Touring Toolshed with The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades.

It will air on Monday, January at 6.30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.