David Jason: My Life

The long-awaited autobiography of one of Britains best-loved actors, and the star ofOnly Fools and Horses.

Born the son of a Billingsgate market porter at the height of the Second World War, David Jason spent his early life dodging bombs and bullies, both with impish good timing. Giving up on an unloved career as an electrician, he turned his attention to acting and soon, through a natural talent for making people laugh, found himself working with the leading lights of British comedy in the 1960s and '70s: Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Bob Monkhouse and Ronnie Barker. Barker would become a mentor to David, leading to hugely successful stints inPorridgeandOpen All Hours.

It wasnt until 1981, kitted out with a sheepskin jacket, a flat cap, and a clapped-out Reliant Regal, that David found the part that would capture the nations hearts: the beloved Derek Del Boy Trotter inOnly Foolsand Horses. Never a one-trick pony, he had an award-winning spell as TVs favourite detective Jack Frost, took a country jaunt as Pop Larkin in theDarling Buds of May, and even voiced a crime-fighting cartoon rodent in the much-loved childrens showDanger Mouse.

But life hasn't all been so easy: from missing out on a key role inDads Armyto nearly drowning in a freak diving accident, David has had his fair share of ups and downs, and has lost some of his nearest and dearest along the way.

Davids is a touching, funny and warm-hearted story, which charts the course of his incredible five decades at the top of the entertainment business. He's been a shopkeeper and a detective inspector, a crime-fighter and a market trader, and he ain't finished yet. As Del Boy would say, it's all cushty.

Sir David Jason was born in 1940 in North London. His acting career has been long and varied: from his theatre work in the West End to providing voices for Mr Toad fromThe Wind in the Willows,Danger MouseandThe BFG; and fromOpen All HoursandThe Darling Buds of Mayto his starring roles as Detective Inspector Frost inA Touch of Frostand, of course, Derek Del Boy Trotter inOnly Fools and Horses.

He lives with his wife, Gill, and their daughter, Sophie, in Buckinghamshire.