https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/david-jason-reveals-playing-del-23255921?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_campaign=morning_newsletter2&utm_medium=emailDavid Jason reveals playing Del Boy Trotter helped him grieve death of his lover
EXCLUSIVE: The national treasure has opened up about how filming the Only Fools And Horses specials in the mid-90s gave him a focus after the death of his partner, Myfanwy Talog
ByJames Desborough
20:45, 3 JAN 2021Updated10:59, 4 JAN 2021
Only Fools And Horses legend Sir David Jason has described how playing Del Boy helped him deal with one of the lowest points in his life. Sir David, 80, said dedication to his work helped him recover emotionally from the grief of losing the love of his life. When his partner Welsh actress Myfanwy Talog died of cancer aged 50 in 1995, he went through a “terrible sad period”, and ploughed his energy into filming a hit trilogy of Only Fools and Horses specials. He said: “It took a bit of time to recover from that. As soon I got over the worst of it, I dedicated to working as hard as I could and getting back into gear. Not an easy thing to do at first, but that is what you have to get up and do sometimes.”
Sir David never thought he would find love again, before production executive Gill Hinchcliffe, 61, changed his life. He said: “You don’t sort of go out and look for it. Fortunately it did happen that way and it helped heal the past memories.”
Sir David said Gill, who he married in 2005, caught his eye while making The Darling Buds Of May. He added: “Nature took its course. [I thought] good grief, where has this one been all my life?”
Sir David’s own emotional journey helped him portray Inspector Jack Frost coping with the loss of his wife in A Touch of Frost. “So I called on moments of tragedy and upset when my girlfriend of the time passed away, and my mother and father.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 2’s Good Morning Sunday, he added: “I have the greatest respect for people who have a religious feeling, because it really helps people through difficult times. I am not a very religious person myself.”
