Footballer daunted by TV appearance alongside David Jason's Del Boy but Beckham's acting is described as 'very good'
He's better known for the delivery of precise crosses than perfectly timed dialogue, but David Beckham's acting in an Only Fools and Horses sketch has been described as "very good" by its scriptwriters.
Beckham will appear with Sir David Jason as Del Boy and Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney in the sketch for Sport Relief to be broadcast on 21 March.
Jim Sullivan, the son of the late Only Fools creator John, said he and his brother Dan were surprised and flattered when Beckham raised the idea of a reprise of the show, the last episode of which was aired in 2003.
"Since dad passed away the question of whether we'd be interested in writing any new material for Only Fools has been raised a few times, and we have always said no, our intention being to protect the work, not to attempt adding to it," he told the Radio Times. "However, with Sport Relief being such a worthy cause, and with the opportunity to help raise a lot of money, things were different this time, and we knew that dad would approve."
After writing a first draft for the sketch, Jim and Dan worked unused "snippets of dialogue" that their father had written, into the script.
"It was important that the characters felt as true as possible. The show, its characters and every episode came from dad's mind, so if there was any way of getting his thoughts and voice into the script then we were going to do it," Sullivan said.
He added that "as soon as the camera started rolling, David and Nick slipped back into character and it was as though Del and Rodney had never been away".
Beckham said he was very nervous at the prospect of performing. "The thought of being on set with Nicholas and David was obviously very nerve-racking," he said. "I've never done anything like this before. It wasn't just about learning the script, it was about delivering it: saying the right things at the right time."
Beckham said he was a big fan of Only Fools and Horses. "Being from the East End of London, it's what I was brought up on."
Sullivan said that Beckham overcame his initial nerves to deliver a great performance. "When he first read the script he was a bit surprised to have been given so much dialogue and was nervous, understandably, about having to act alongside David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, but he had no reason to be because his acting and delivery were very good," he said.
The sketch will not lead to a new series, said Sullivan. "We very much appreciate the passionate and loyal fan base that the show has, and in a perfect world there would be more episodes, but there was only ever one writer of Only Fools and Horses, and without him, there can be no more." Reported by guardian.co.uk 4 hours ago.
He's better known for the delivery of precise crosses than perfectly timed dialogue, but David Beckham's acting in an Only Fools and Horses sketch has been described as "very good" by its scriptwriters.
Beckham will appear with Sir David Jason as Del Boy and Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney in the sketch for Sport Relief to be broadcast on 21 March.
Jim Sullivan, the son of the late Only Fools creator John, said he and his brother Dan were surprised and flattered when Beckham raised the idea of a reprise of the show, the last episode of which was aired in 2003.
"Since dad passed away the question of whether we'd be interested in writing any new material for Only Fools has been raised a few times, and we have always said no, our intention being to protect the work, not to attempt adding to it," he told the Radio Times. "However, with Sport Relief being such a worthy cause, and with the opportunity to help raise a lot of money, things were different this time, and we knew that dad would approve."
After writing a first draft for the sketch, Jim and Dan worked unused "snippets of dialogue" that their father had written, into the script.
"It was important that the characters felt as true as possible. The show, its characters and every episode came from dad's mind, so if there was any way of getting his thoughts and voice into the script then we were going to do it," Sullivan said.
He added that "as soon as the camera started rolling, David and Nick slipped back into character and it was as though Del and Rodney had never been away".
Beckham said he was very nervous at the prospect of performing. "The thought of being on set with Nicholas and David was obviously very nerve-racking," he said. "I've never done anything like this before. It wasn't just about learning the script, it was about delivering it: saying the right things at the right time."
Beckham said he was a big fan of Only Fools and Horses. "Being from the East End of London, it's what I was brought up on."
Sullivan said that Beckham overcame his initial nerves to deliver a great performance. "When he first read the script he was a bit surprised to have been given so much dialogue and was nervous, understandably, about having to act alongside David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, but he had no reason to be because his acting and delivery were very good," he said.
The sketch will not lead to a new series, said Sullivan. "We very much appreciate the passionate and loyal fan base that the show has, and in a perfect world there would be more episodes, but there was only ever one writer of Only Fools and Horses, and without him, there can be no more." Reported by guardian.co.uk 4 hours ago.