BBC Only Fools and Horses' star Nicholas Lyndhurst was almost 'fired' over infamous scene

may have come to an end in 1991, but the London-based sitcom still remains a staple in British comedy to this day. The beloved show is widely regarded as one of the best, with its popularity leading to several Christmas specials more than a decade later and re-runs still delighting fans 20 years on.

The TV show catapulted leading stars David Jason, who played Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter, and Nicholas Lyndhurst, who starred as Del Boy's brother Rodney, to nationwide fame. But despite is success on the small screen, Lyndhurst revealed that he was almost "fired" on the show over one of its most iconic scenes.

In a BBC documentary looking back at the classic series in 2021, the 63-year-old actor recalled how his boss threatened to fire him during the finale of the second series, titled A Touch of Glass. The now beloved episode saw the Trotter brother facing some trouble whilst trying to clean a priceless chandelier.

Loyal fans regard the episode as one of the funniest moments in the entire show as the two watch on helplessly while series falls to the ground and smashes. However, Lyndhurst explained how a showrunner called Ray had given him a stern warning prior to filming the scene.

He recalled: "Ray, he was only a little guy but fierce with it, came up to me and said this to me, 'This chandelier that we are about to drop costs £6,000 and if you laugh when it's dropped, we've lost the end scene.

"If we've lost the end scene, we've lost the episode. If we've lost the episode, we've lost the series because the BBC will only transmit six - so if you laugh when that drops I will fire you."

As the duo prepared for the scene, Ray was apparently "looking daggers" at Lydnhurst. However, it turned out that Ray himself would be the one to break the scene following the hilarious moment.

He added: "About 10 seconds went past and I could see his shoulders going." In an effort to stifle his laughter, Lydhurst continued: "I see him out of the corner of my eye, reach into his parker and pull out a handkerchief. He just stuffed the whole thing into his mouth."

After the scene had been shot, the actor said he cast and crew were able to take a big sigh of relief, admitting: "I came down the ladder and went blue."