Only Fools and Horses icon David Jason says another comedy legend stole his lines

Sir David Jason says that he lives in Del Boy's shadow

Sir David Jason has revealed that he was left helpless as a British comedy legend stole his lines unapologetically. The Only Fools and Horses legend, 84, has shared the incident in his new memoir, This Time Next Year.

He revealed that at the start of his career, the beloved late actor Terry Scott, who appeared in seven of the Carry On films, took advantage of being the big star when they first filmed together in the 1960s.

David explained: "I got a small role in a sitcom that Terry was starring in with Hugh Lloyd, [called] Hugh and I.

"[It was] - a small role, I might add, which got even smaller after Terry noticed that one of my lines was quite funny, and after a quiet word with the director, got the line switched to him.

Addressing why he didn't protest the move, he said: "For this wet behind the ears performer, who was still cautiously making his way into the business and in no position to complain, that was quite an eye-opening moment."

Sir David was too new in the industry to fight for his lines (Image: Getty)

However, sometime after Sir David had more footing in the industry, the pair worked together again and things were decidedly different.

"In the 1980s, when I'd now made more of a name for myself, fate brought Terry and me back together again on Danger Mouse...." he wrote.

"Both of us were older and wiser by then, but Terry struck me as far more relaxed than I remembered him from our initial encounters, and we got on very well during those sessions. No line poaching - just a lot of laughter."

Terry died in July of 1994, aged 67.

Terry Scott didn't want to be upstaged by newbie David Jason (Image: Getty)

sir David went on to be a bigger star than Terry thanks to Only Fools and Horses (Image: Getty)

Elsewhere in the book, Sir David also admits he was left "extremely upset" about the future of the BBC sitcom Still Open All Hours. The 84-year-old starred as Granville, and like its original 1970s series, it remained popular with viewers when it was rebooted in 2013.

However, after six successful series, the show was cancelled by the BBC with the final episodes being aired in 2019, but David was hoping for further instalments.

He explained: "And the postponement of that project really did cause me some disappointment - and even more so when the postponement then turned into a cancellation.

I loved doing Still Open All Hours, just as I had loved doing Open All Hours, the original series with Ronnie Barker back in the 1970s and 80s."

David admitted he still has questions about what has become of his character Granville, adding: "There seemed to be many rich routes that the story could go down".

David Jason's This Time Next Year: A Life of Positive Thinking is out now