Only Fools and Horses documentary with John Challis and Sue Holderness looking for a TV home
John Challis filmed an Only Fools and Horses documentary with his on-screen wife Sue Holderness just weeks before he died from cancer in September 2021.
The creator of John Challis' final project is pushing for his unseen Only Fools and Horses documentary to air on TV.
Lazar Vukovic's A Marriage Made in Peckham saw the actor, who played Boycie, and his on-screen wife Sue Holderness, who played Marlene, reminisce about their time on the beloved BBC comedy series, just weeks before John died from cancer in September 2021 aged 79.
The director, who made 2020's Boycie in Belgrade, which documented Only Fools and Horses' success in Serbia, has more than four hours of footage of the pair, and Lazar thinks it could be cut to a two-hour special or a two-part series.
He told The Sun newspaper's TVBiz column: "This was the last time John stepped in front of a camera, and he spent it doing what he did best - making people laugh alongside Sue.
"We wanted to wait for the right moment, and with the 45th anniversary and the love we’re seeing for Only Fools right now, that moment has come.
"We’re looking for a broadcaster who will give John’s farewell the home it deserves."
John first appeared as Boycie in the second episode of Only Fools and Horses, Go West Young Man, which aired in September 1981, while Sue, now 77, arrived on the late John Sullivan's series four years later in Sleeping Dogs Lie.
They both remained on the programme until it ended with a Christmas Day (25.12) special in 2003, titled Sleepless in Peckham.
Last week, the first two-parter of Only Fools and Horses: The Lost Archive aired on U+Gold.
It focused on "ten or so much-loved episodes" and featured stars including Sir David Jason, 86, who played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, Tessa Peake-Jones, 69, who played Raquel, and Gwyneth Strong, 66, who played Cassandra.
It included an unseen moment from 1991's The Class of '62, where Raquel auditioned at a nightclub while her fiance, Del Boy, and his brother Rodney Trotter, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst, now 65, watched from the audience.
The second run, which is being broadcast on Tuesday night (27.10.26), will show more than 30 clips from episodes including 1996's Time on Our Hands, which saw Del Boy and Rodney finally become millionaires.
And another series is on its way, as U+Gold said it had "barely scratched the surface" the first time round.
Helen Nightingale, UKTV’s head of factual entertainment commissioning, said: "With series one focusing on ten or so much-loved episodes, we have barely scratched the surface of unseen footage from this most beloved of comedy shows.
"Series two promises even more insight into just what it took to create such a fantastic and much-loved series."
Emma Tibbetts, director of scripted programming, hailed the new archive as "a comedic goldmine".
She added: "North One has unearthed a comedic goldmine equal to the one Del and Rodney uncover with the antique watch that finally makes them millionaires in the classic Time on Our Hands.
"It’s a pleasure to watch these new scenes and see how Sir David Jason and the cast react to their discovery."
Sean Doherty, director and series producer, commented: "It really has been the most enormous privilege seeing such precious, newly found John Sullivan gold for the first time – and sharing it with the incredibly talented people who helped make it come to life."
