Demolition for Only Fools landmark

The tower block where Del Boy and Rodney lived in Only Fools and Horses is to be demolished.

Harlech Tower on West London’s South Acton Estate stood in for Peckham’s fictional Nelson Mandela House for exterior shots in the long-running sitcom.

But the 13-storey building is to be torn down in 2011 as part of a redevelopment of the entire 42-acre estate, 1,800-home estate, considered one of the most foreboding in the capital.

Will Brooks from Ealing council said: ‘Only Fools and Horses is loved, but we are talking about the quality of people's lives. There are issues with crime and drugs and anti-social behaviour.’

Harlech Tower stood in for Nelson Mandela House from the show’s beginning in 1981 until 1985. After that, Whitemead House in Ashton Gate, Bristol, was used.

Published: 21 Dec 2009