Doubly jubbly, Del

Triffic: David Jason and his new wife Gill

12 April 2012

For Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter, life could not have been more cushty yesterday. In the space of 24 hours, he had picked up a knighthood and a wife. Lovely jubbly.

The marriage of David Jason, - who made Del a household name in Only Fools and Horses - to his girlfriend Gill Hinchcliffe was announced moments after his appointment with the Queen.

'It has been a long journey from Mandela House in Peckham to Buckingham Palace,' he said - Nelson Mandela House being the dingy council tower block where Del lives in the classic TV comedy.

As Sir David, 65, joked that he had been frisked by the Yeomen of the Guard and claimed a sight of his medal was '£10 a look', his wife mentioned, almost casually, that they had married the previous day. Their four-year-old daughter Sophie Mae was bridesmaid.

'It was intimate and very romantic,' she said. 'We were going to plan something in the summer but we got news of the investiture and decided to tie it in with that. We just thought it would be really convenient and exciting.'

The civil ceremony, with only 12 guests, took place at the Dorchester Hotel, the same place where the newlyweds celebrated the knighthood yesterday lunchtime.

Sir David's previous partner, actress Myfanwy Talog, died of breast cancer in 1995. They were together 18 years.

Although he has said he wants to put the character of Derek Trotter behind him - with no plans for another series - he could not help but wonder what Del Boy would have made of his day at the Palace.

'He would have loved all this,' he said. 'He would have said, "Stone me Rodders, we'll have to come back tonight - she's got some good gear here. You want to see the stuff hung on the walls. It's even better than the stuff on the floor".'

Asked if Rodders - Del Boy's brother Rodney, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst - had been invited, he said: 'You must be joking. I've already seen someone who looked like Uncle Albert. I said to my wife, "I thought we had told him to stay in the van".'

Sir David admitted that nerves had suddenly got to him as he waited in line with others who were being honoured. 'I was fine up until the moment when they called my name and that was when I realised. It's enough to make you a bit nervous. It's funny after all I've done in the theatre, you'd expect me not to be nervous at all. I think I was just overwhelmed by the occasion.

'It's so brilliantly formal and so brilliantly done. You feel you don't want to let the side down.'

While Del Boy might have sported a camel-haired coat, a fat cigar and plenty of chunky jewellery, Sir David dressed faultlessly in a morning suit with top hat. He and the rest of the Fools and Horses cast once performed a sketch in front of the Queen Mother at the Royal Variety Show, and he found the Queen knew all about Del Boy as well.

'She is not necessarily a fan, but she remarked that I had been in the business an awful long time,' he said.

'I said I hoped I hadn't offended her at any time and she said she didn't think so. I was surprised that she watched it.'

Officially, he will be known as Sir David White, and his wife Lady White, because White is his real surname. The son of a Billingsgate fish market porter and a cleaning lady, he adopted the surname Jason at drama school, when he discovered an actor called David White had already registered with Equity. Jason was the name of his twin brother, who died at birth.

Sir David's TV hits also include Open All Hours, in which he starred with his great friend Ronnie Barker, the Darling Buds of May and A Touch Of Frost.

He said he regards his knighthood as a reward for entertaining people. 'All I ever wanted to do was to be a better actor,' he said. 'I just love hearing people laugh.'

Showing off his medal, he added: 'You get one of these down the market, you double your business overnight.'

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