But Only Fools star said the character 'wasn't for him'

Sir David Jason has claimed he was in line to play Father Ted – but turned it down because the character was too ‘pious’.

The Del Boy star says he was approached to play the part in the Channel 4 series, which started in 1995, before it eventually went to Dermot Morgan.

He told an Only Fools And Horses fan convention last weekend: ‘There was something about the character. It was a bit pious. I could not see myself doing it. Not for me, mate.’

His comments, reported in The Sun on Sunday, are the first time has has been linked to the role.

Arthur Mathews, who co-wrote the show with Graham Linehan, was originally considered for the part of Craggy Island's Ted Crilly but they decided he didn’t have the acting experience needed.

Mathews then wanted to cast Morgan but Linehan was reluctant, fearing audiences would confuse Ted with Father Trendy, a character Morgan had previously created for The Live Mike. TV show.

Several actors were auditioned but Morgan – who died in 1998 at the age of 45 –  lobbied hard for the role, eventually persuading Linehan.

Maurice O’Donoghue was their second choice but was cast as Ted’s nemesis, Father Dick Byrne, instead.

Sir David also he nearly landed the part of Corporal Jones in Dad’s Army, but the BBC changed their mind and plumped for Clive Dunn instead.

He would have been 28 when the wartime comedy started in 1968, 20 years younger than Dunn, who always played older characters than his true age.

Fans at the Only Fools event paid up to £375 to have their picture taken with Sir David in a mock-up of the Trotters’ Peckham flat.

Published: 7 Mar 2020