SIR DAVID JASON AND NICHOLAS LYNDHURST SET TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst are set to receive a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s National Film Awards UK. The highest accolade which is awarded to veterans of the stage or screen is voted for by the public. Over 1.5 million film fans  including National Film Academy voted in December for the pair to be celebrated at the 2017 National Film Awards UK.  Previous winners include; Dame Judi Dench and Helen Mirren.

Amongst an extensive list of TV/Film and on stage appearances. The pair are best known for the Only Fools and Horses which is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials until its end in 2003. Episodes are regularly repeated on UKTV comedy channel Gold and occasionally repeated on BBC One.

Set in Peckham in south-east London, it stars David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek “Del Boy” Trotter, Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother Rodney Trotter, and Lennard Pearce as their elderly Grandad. After Pearce’s death in 1984, his character was replaced by Del and Rodney’s Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield) who first appeared in February 1985. Backed by a strong supporting cast, the series follows the Trotters’ highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich.

The show achieved consistently high ratings, and the 1996 episode “Time on Our Hands” (the last episode to feature Uncle Albert) holds the record for the highest UK audience for a sitcom episode, attracting 24.3 million viewers (over a third of the population).Critically and popularly acclaimed, the series received numerous awards, the series influenced British culture, contributing several words and phrases to the English language. It spawned an extensive range of merchandise, including books, videos, DVDs, toys and board games. A spin-off series, The Green Green Grass, ran for four series in the UK from 2005 to 2009. A prequel, Rock & Chips, ran for three specials in 2010 and 2011. A special Sport Relief episode aired in March 2014, guest starring David Beckham.

Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst are this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award 2017. The National Film Awards UK 2017 takes place on the 29th of March 2017. To vote for your favorites. Click here