A rare photograph of the actor who played Grandad filming his final episode of Only Fools and Horses just days before he died aged 69 has been uncovered.
The poignant picture shows Lennard Pearce sat in a wheelchair as Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst filmed a scene for the BBC comedy in December 1984.
Jason and Lyndhurst, who played brothers Derek ‘Del’ and Rodney Trotter, can be seen walking together outside Kingston Magistrates’ Court in South West London.
The poignant picture shows Lennard Pearce sat in a wheelchair as Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst filmed a scene for Only Fools and Horses in London in December 1984
Just days later Pearce was found by his landlady at the foot of the stairs to his flat after suffering a heart attack and was taken to Whittington Hospital in Highgate.
Pearce, who had suffered problems with his balance and critical hypertension, then suffered a second heart attack three days later and died on December 15 that year.
They had been filming the episode ‘Hole In One’, which saw Grandad fall into a pub’s beer cellar, before Del and Rodney try to claim compensation against the brewery.
The episode was eventually reshot with Buster Merryfield, who joined the cast as Uncle Albert after Pearce’s death, and broadcast in series four in March 1985.
Derek Trotter (played by David Jason), his brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and Grandad (Lennard Pearce) pose for a photograph ahead of the 1981 Christmas special
The photograph was recently uncovered by Perry Aghajanoff from the Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society and shared widely among fans on social media.
Steve Clark, the author of Only Fools and Horses: The Official Inside Story, said: ‘This is a lovely and very poignant photograph and would have been taken just a few days before Lennard had a heart attack and he sadly passed away not long after.
‘I’ve never seen it before. It’s not one that’s in the archives of the BBC or Radio Times. Lennard became famous through Only Fools very late in life and enjoyed being in the show enormously.
‘He was a fine actor and was much-loved by the viewers and he was adored by the production team and his fellow actors.’
Jason wrote about filming the episode in the last few days of Pearce’s life in his 2017 biography Only Fools and Stories.
He said they were filming for a ‘daft series four story in which Grandad takes a tumble into a pub’s beer cellar and Del and Rodney then join him in pursuing a hefty compensation claim against the brewery, only to discover, when their case is heard, that this is not the first time that Grandad has tried this ruse’.
Jason also recalled being told about the news of Pearce’s death while in make-up with Lyndhurst on a Sunday morning.
Only Fools And Horses first aired on the BBC in 1981, featuring Lyndhurst, Jason and Pearce
He said the show’s director Ray Butt stood in the doorway, adding: ‘He didn’t say anything. He just shook his head and walked away.’
Jason said the team knew Pearce had health issues and was taking tablets for his hypertension, but added: ‘The actuality of it – the finality of it – was overwhelming.
‘Neither Nick nor I knew what to say or do with ourselves. I remember just sitting silently in a chair for a long time, trying to absorb it and failing.
‘The day’s work, obviously, was abandoned. As we left in silence to go home, as if in some kind of maudlin film, there was a sudden flurry of snow.’
Jason said he thought the show was over following Pearce’s death, but a meeting was called – led by then BBC comedy chief Gareth Gwenlan – about what to do next.
Buster Merryfield (left) joined Only Fools and Horses in January 1985, playing Uncle Albert
He attended the meeting along with writer John Sullivan amid the assumption ‘we were going to talk about calling it a day and about what the exit strategy would be’.
But the BBC said its transmission dates had been locked into the schedules, and they needed to come up with ideas of how to keep the hugely-popular show alive.
One idea that was initially floated was to bring in a lookalike to play Grandad, but this was crushed by Jason and Sullivan amid fears it would be an ‘insult’ to Pearce.
However, Sullivan suggested the show could go on if they wrote Grandad’s death into the show, gave him a proper funeral scene and marked the exit of his character.
Jason was fearful over what was uncharted territory for a TV comedy, but said Sullivan created ‘probably his greatest piece of writing for the show’ to make it work.
The show had Christmas specials until it ended in 2003. A photo from that year shows Del Boy with his wife Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) and Rodney with Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong)
The episode, ‘Strained Relations’, was deeply moving for viewers, save for a few jokes including one that saw Del tell the gravediggers to shovel soil over the coffin ‘gently’.
It also memorably saw Del and Rodney drop what they thought was Grandad’s trilby into his grave – although the hat actually happens to belong to the vicar.
Merryfield joined Only Fools and Horses in January 1985, soon after Pearce’s death, as Royal Navy veteran Uncle Albert, who was a long-lost brother of Grandad.
He became known for his catchphrase of ‘During the war…’ in which he would bore Del and Rodney with stories of his seafaring. Merryfield died in Dorset in June 1999.