Paul Whitehouse on how taking Only Fools and Horses to the West End nearly killed him
ONLY Fools And Horses has tickled our funny bones for decades, but the classic sitcom was no laughing matter for Paul Whitehouse.
He revealed the stress of turning the much-loved telly series into a musical stage show almost sent him into an early grave.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Paul says: “It made me ill, it almost killed me. Cabbies tell me every day it’s ‘Britain’s best loved sitcom’, so having the weight of that on my shoulders with the fear of damaging its legacy did me in.”
And that pressure of taking Del Boy, Rodney, Grandad and the rest of the characters from the small screen to the stage in Only Fools And Horses The Musical, seriously damaged his health.
The funnyman, 61, who had part of his colon removed 14 years ago, aggravated the condition and eventually had to take a break. Paul, who co-wrote the musical with Jim Sullivan, son of late Only Fools creator John, was so poorly he nearly missed the musical’s press night in February.
But in true showbiz style he carried on playing Grandad — a role held by Lennard Pearce in the TV version — before taking time off in the summer. And after six months off, Paul is ready to reprise his role as Grandad, alongside Tom Bennett as Del Boy and Ryan Hutton who plays Rodney, in the musical from January 6.
Paul, who has also had three stents put in his heart, admits health fears were heightened after Chas Hodges, one half of cockney duo Chas & Dave, died during the writing process of the musical after the pair collaborated on a number of songs.
He explains: “I did think Chas has passed, so am I going to be next? There was a lot of people looking down on us on that opening night.
“Not only Chas, but my dad died during the process and, of course, there was also John, so it was a special night for the Sullivan family. It was really emotional journey for everybody involved.”
But, thankfully, Paul can now sit back and reflect on the huge success of the show — which has had its West End run extended through to April next year. Not bad for a show he expected to run for a “couple of months”.
He says: “The Queen musical ran for years, but then Rod Stewart’s wasn’t as successful, so you never know. And Only Fools fans are very protective, so there were a lot of people thinking it might not work but we knew we had a good show.
“I think people forget quite quickly that they’re not in the presence of David Jason (TV’s Del) and Nicholas Lyndhurst (Rodney) and it’s Only Fools, and it is John Sullivan’s vision.”
He adds: “I know the London Cab driver is a good barometer and I do get a lot of them going, ‘I picked up a lot of people from the show who loved it’.”
Indeed, the musical and its stars are so well loved, I ask Paul if he would ever consider bringing the stage creation back to the small screen and write a modern day version of Only Fools?
He replies: “It’s not really our decision. The Sullivan family have the rights to it but the BBC must have large chunks as well. I’d have to speak to Jim but I imagine it might work.”
Paul is well aware of the difficulties of getting a comedy commissioned on TV, especially on the BBC — Only Fools’ spiritual home.
Earlier this year, the Beeb’s comedy department approached Paul and Charlie Higson, his co-writer of cult series The Fast Show, to create a 25th anniversary special.
The pair went away and wrote two 30-minute episodes of the classic comedy, which featured a host of characters including Ted and Ralph, but when they presented them to the BBC, they were told the specials would be too expensive.
Paul says: “It’s not like we were asking for fortunes because we wouldn’t and they don’t pay as much as they used to, so it certainly wasn’t an issue for us. If you look back at The Fast Show, we always shot it nicely and tried to make it look good as well as funny.
“I’m not knocking the comedy department, because the budget they have now is certainly not what it used to be. The money in all TV production today goes into drama such as box sets and they don’t spend money on comedy.”
Asked if it was frustrating that the channel couldn’t find the funds, he adds: “It is but I’m not knocking the BBC. It is a shame with comedy because drama sells. All TV production companies and channels, not just the BBC, know that drama is what they can sell internationally to bring money in.”
Paul believes the lack of money in comedy is the reason why so many new sitcoms are axed after just one series — the latest being BBC1’s Scarborough written by Derren Litten, the man behind Benidorm, and starring Jason Manford.
Paul adds: “Certainly Blackadder with the first series didn’t go to very much, and I was told most of my stuff wouldn’t have been a success if we didn’t have a second bite of the apple. In comedy, if you’re going to commission something commission two series, don’t commission one because so many comedies are finding their feet and you have to take a punt.
“John Sullivan said that about Only Fools. I don’t think it was a rip-roaring success but had got enough of a cult following for them to say ‘do another one’.”
The tightened purse strings in comedy prompted Paul and Bob Mortimer, 60, to pitch their award-winning Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing to BBC Factual. And it worked, the pair are now working on a third series since the first episode aired in June 2018.
However Paul admits, on this occasion, he is surprised how well it has down. He says: “It’s a bit of a slight mystery to us. Some bloke just came up to me and said, ‘I really like your fishing show mate, it’s so chilled’ and I was like, ‘It sends you to sleep?’
“We’ve been friends a long time and Bob’s always wanted to go fishing but we’ve never got round to it — but we did get as far as buying him a rod. I had my heart problems and he has his heart bypass, so we went out about four times and he loved it.
"It is such a different world and gives you a new lease of life. I overuse the term ‘life affirming’ but it was. I remember sitting there one day, on the river, thinking ‘this would make a nice programme.’”
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While his double-act with Bob continues to prosper, Paul admits it’s very unlikely that he will resurrect his comedy partnership with Harry Enfield, 58.
He says their 2015 Legends! Live Tour was “a kind of goodbye” to their comedy creations including Smashie and Nicey, the Old Gits and The Self-Righteous Brothers. Plus, he admits it would be hard for their content to pass through new PC guidelines.
He explains: “I think it changes every five years. All comedians think that, whatever background, age, colour, gender they all think it. They’re slightly p***** off with political correctness, because it’s so limiting.”
Only Fools and Horses The Musical is at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket. For tickets: .
Trotters' triumph
NO British sitcom has come close to matching the success of Only Fools And Horses.
In 1996, 24 million viewers tuned in to see Del Boy and Rodney become millionaires, the biggest audience ever for a TV programme.
And five years later, more than 20 million watched the Trotters make an unlikely return when they lost all their money in the American Stock Market crash.
The death of the show’s creator John Sullivan in 2011 put an end to any hopes of another TV comeback but his son Jim, with Paul Whitehouse, brought back the beloved characters in another form.
Shortly before his death, Sullivan had been working on a musical version of the sitcom which the pair completed in his honour.
And they more that pulled it off, with Only Fools And Horses The Musical becoming an unlikely hit in London’s West End.
It has banked £20 million at the box office since it opened in February and has been seen by more than 400,000 people.
It has also been nominated for gongs at the 2020 What’s On Stage Awards – including Best New Musical – voted for by the public.
And it has also had four extended runs at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket.
It really is bonnet de douche.
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