Paul Whitehouse fears David Jason turning up at Only Fools and Horses musical

Paul Whitehouse lives in fear Sir David Jason will turn up to watch his 'Only Fools and Horses' musical.

The comic, 64, who plays Grandad in the show, thinks the cast wouldn't be able to perform if they heard the Del Boy star, 82, was in the audience.

And he is convinced fans would cause a "riot" if the actor was there, due to the show being filled with fanatics of writer John Sullivan's BBC sitcom.

Whitehouse told 'The Jason Manford Show' podcast: "That's not what you want, is it? Can you imagine if David Jason turned up?

"If David Jason turned up there would be a riot I think. I think the audience would go crazy."

Whitehouse co-wrote the Theatre Royal Haymarket production with Jim Sullivan, son of the TV show's late creator John, who died aged 64 in 2011 after a six-week battle with viral pneumonia.

He added: "I honestly think if he turned up we wouldn't be able to do the show."

Paul said the cast felt pressure when the late John Challis, who played Boycie on 'Only Fools', came to see the musical.

Challis, 79, died in his sleep from cancer in September 2021.

Whitehouse also joked the English language-only West End version does not go down well with some foreign visitors.

He joked: "You do see the odd person sitting in total silence and you think 'German?' - 'What is this lovely, jubbly?' "

'Only Fools' has a huge following globally, especially in Serbia, where the Del Boy and Boycie characters are worshipped.

The musical was one of the most popular shows in London before the pandemic closed theatres in March 2020, and received a raft of five stars reviews when it opened.