Only Fools and Horses musical heads for West End

Sir David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Lennard Pearce in Only Fools and Horses and Tom Bennett, Ryan Hutton and Paul Whitehouse as they will appear in Only Fools and Horses The Musical Image copyright BBC/Trevor Leighton
Image caption Sir David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Lennard Pearce next to their Theatreland equivalents

Lovely jubbly! The heroes of Only Fools and Horses are making a comeback - in a musical version of the classic sitcom.

Co-written by Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan, son of the sitcom's creator John, it will open at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London in February.

Whitehouse, of The Fast Show fame, will play Grandad opposite Tom Bennett's Del Boy and Ryan Hutton's Rodney.

The late Chas Hodges, of Chas and Dave fame, helped compose the show's 20 new tunes.

The musical - which John Sullivan was working on at the time of his 2011 death - is "fully endorsed" by the late writer's estate.

Sir David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Lennard Pearce played Derek, Rodney and Grandad Trotter in the long-running series.

Image copyright Trevor Leighton
Image caption Whitehouse (right) said the musical would be "very faithful" to the BBC sitcom

Only Fools and Horses The Musical will combine well-known scenes from the original TV shows with "hilarious" new material.

The show will also feature such familiar characters as Boycie, Trigger, Marlene and Denzil.

Set in 1989, the musical will show Del and Rodney finding love with Raquel and Cassandra against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Peckham.

Whitehouse said he and Jim Sullivan had "remained very faithful" to the original's "feel" while also seeking to "highlight contemporary issues".

"We're very conscious of the Only Fools legacy and that it's so fondly remembered by people of almost all ages," he continued.

"So we've tried to incorporate everyone's favourite moments from the TV shows and, of course, all the great characters."

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