David Jason

David Jason

Born: February 2, 1940
in Edmonton, London, England, UK
English actor and comedian. He played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the long-running BBC comedy series Only Fools and Horses, and Detective Inspector Jack Frost on the ITV crime drama A Touch of Frost.

Other high-profile television roles were as Granville in the sitcom Open All Hours, and Pop Larkin in the comedy drama The Darling Buds of May as well as the voices of Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, Danger Mouse and Count Duckula. His last original appearance as Del Boy was in 2014, while Jason retired his role as Frost in 2010.

One of the best loved actors in British popular culture, in September 2006 Jason topped the poll to find TV's 50 Greatest Stars, as part of ITV's 50th anniversary celebrations. He was knighted in 2005 for services to drama. Jason has won four British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs), (1988, 1991, 1997, 2003), four British Comedy Awards (1990, 1992, 1997, 2001) and six National Television Awards (1997, 2001, 2002 twice).

Movies for David Jason...

Title: David & Jay's Touring Toolshed
Character: Self - Presenter
Released: January 22, 2024
Type: TV
Tinkering twosome Sir David Jason and Jay Blades traverse the UK. Meeting master crafters and passionate hobbyists, they showcase traditional talents and pick up a tip or two.
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Comedy Classics: Porridge
Title: Comedy Classics: Porridge
Character: Narrator
Released: December 16, 2022
Type: Movie
An homage to the prison comedy series Porridge, created by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. This documentary examines how Ronnie Barker’s Fletch influenced Slade Prison’s characters. There is also a look at 1978’s Going Straight, Porridge: The Movie, the US remake On the Rocks, and the 2017 reboot starring Kevin Bishop and Ricky Grover.
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The Lancaster Bomber at 80 with David Jason
Title: The Lancaster Bomber at 80 with David Jason
Character: Narrator
Released: October 23, 2021
Type: Movie
The incredible story of one of history's most iconic aircrafts - the Lancaster bomber - and its instrumental role in the defeat of Nazi Germany
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We Love Only Fools and Horses
Title: We Love Only Fools and Horses
Released: December 27, 2020
Type: Movie
Tribute celebrating the iconic sitcom featuring classic archive material. We meet the insiders to find out exactly why this sitcom is one of the most successful TV shows ever.
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David Jason: Britain's Favourite TV Star
Title: David Jason: Britain's Favourite TV Star
Released: December 21, 2020
Type: Movie
Sir David Jason is a bona fide TV legend and one of the finest actors of his generation. As part of Channel 5's latest series of tribute documentaries, we celebrate his life and remarkable career. Narrated by Sue Johnston, we tell the real story behind his greatest TV creations, from Pop Larkin to Granville, Jack Frost to Del Boy and much more. We chronicle the superstar's early-stage career and hear what his fellow thespians really thought of the dashing young actor.
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Flying for Britain with David Jason
Title: Flying for Britain with David Jason
Released: September 15, 2020
Type: Movie
Sir David Jason spends time with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire as they prepare for the 2020 80th anniversary display season under the restrictions of the Covid 19 lock-down.
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Title: David Jason's Great British Inventions
Character: Himself - Presenter
Released: January 21, 2020
Type: TV
Sir David Jason explores his favourite great British inventions and discovers how and why they were first thought up
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Title: David Jason: Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Character: Himself - Presenter
Released: March 28, 2019
Type: TV
In this five-part series, comedy legend Sir David Jason hits the West Coast of the USA. He’s on a revealing and entertaining journey of a lifetime by planes, trains and automobiles, discovering the machines that made America and changed the world.
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Michael Palin: A Life on Screen
Title: Michael Palin: A Life on Screen
Released: January 7, 2018
Type: Movie
This special one-hour documentary reflects on Michael Palin's fascinating career as a BAFTA-winning actor, writer and presenter.
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Title: David Jason's Secret Service
Character: Self - Presenter
Released: December 5, 2017
Type: TV
Actor and British national treasure Sir David Jason travels around the UK and beyond to reveal the secret places and people who act as guardians and gatekeepers of the incredible but true story of Britain’s spy history.
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Title: The Story of Only Fools And Horses
Released: August 29, 2017
Type: TV
In this definitive six-part UKTV Original, Gold explores every aspect of Britain's most loved sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. With exclusive access to the key cast members, including Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, the series gives rare insights into the show and what went on both on and off camera. The Story Of Only Fools And Horses reunites cast members, rebuilds some of the sets and features rare and previously unseen material.
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British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
Title: British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
Character: Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: September 12, 2016
Type: Movie
Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.
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World Cup 1966: Alfie's Boys
Title: World Cup 1966: Alfie's Boys
Character: Self / Presenter
Released: May 22, 2016
Type: Movie
A retelling of England's only World Cup victory, fifty years later, placing special emphasis on the work of manager Sir Alf Ramsey.
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Title: Still Open All Hours
Character: Granville
Released: December 26, 2014
Type: TV
Still Open All Hours is a sitcom set in a grocer's shop. It is a sequel to the series Open All Hours, written by original series writer Roy Clarke and featuring several of the permanent cast members of the original series
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Title: A Life on Screen
Character: Himself
Released: December 24, 2014
Type: TV
Documentary series that celebrates the incredible careers of the best of British talent.
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Title: The Michael McIntyre Chat Show
Character: Himself - Guest
Released: March 10, 2014
Type: TV
Stand-up comedian Michael McIntyre sits in the interviewer's chair for the very first time, as he welcomes celebrity guests to chat, bringing his own unique brand of humour to the conversation.
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Title: Car S.O.S.
Released: February 7, 2013
Type: TV
Meet car enthusiast and TV presenter Tim Shaw and master mechanic Fuzz Townshend as they join forces to rescue rusty classic vehicles from their garage prisons
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Title: The Royal Bodyguard
Released: December 26, 2011
Type: TV
The Royal Bodyguard is a British television sitcom, written by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni, and starring David Jason, Geoffrey Whitehead, Tim Downie and Timothy Bentinck. A series of six episodes began on 26 December 2011, concluding on 30 January 2012. The first episode picked up more than 8 million viewers but the series declined in ratings throughout, with the fifth episode barely achieving 2 million viewers. The series was heavily criticised by viewers and critics. At 71 Jason was widely felt to be too old for the lead role. The show was cancelled by the BBC and will not return for further episodes.
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Come Rain Come Shine
Title: Come Rain Come Shine
Character: Don Mitchell
Released: December 20, 2010
Type: Movie
David Jason stars as cockney ex-docker Don Mitchell in this emotional drama. Don is incredibly proud of his son David’s affluent lifestyle. The cars, the detached house and private schooling for the children were things Don could only dream about as a young man. His wife Dora, on the other hand, has doubts about her son’s financial affairs. When David’s life starts to unravel under a mountain of debt, family bonds are tested to the limit.
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Touched by Frost: Goodbye Jack
Title: Touched by Frost: Goodbye Jack
Character: Self/Insp. Jack Frost
Released: April 6, 2010
Type: Movie
Cast and crew discuss the final series of A Touch of Frost
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Albert's Memorial
Title: Albert's Memorial
Character: Harry
Released: December 13, 2009
Type: Movie
One-off comedy drama that follows the story of three World War II veterans: Harry, Frank and Albert. It is October 2000 and, at the age of 76, Albert's dying wish is to be buried on the little hill outside Hinderburg in Germany where he watched the Russians take position in the closing stages of the Battle for Berlin. The notion of Harry and Frank transporting Albert's body after his death is a crazy one, but life is short, friendship precious and, after all, the trio have known each other for more than half a century.
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Title: The Colour of Magic
Character: Rincewind
Released: March 23, 2008
Type: TV
As Rincewind involuntarily becomes a guide to the naive tourist Twoflower, they find themselves forced to flee the city of Ankh-Morpork to escape a terrible fire, and begin on a journey across the Disc. Unknown to them, their journey and fate is being decided by the Gods playing a board game the whole time.
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Hogfather
Title: Hogfather
Character: Albert
Released: October 12, 2007
Type: Movie
It's the night before Hogswatch, usually a time of joy on Discworld, but there are suspicious going-on and the criminal underworld is abuzz. The beloved Hogfather - the jolly bearer of glee and pork-related gifts for children everywhere - has vanished. Suddenly, Discworld's entire mythical system is under threat. The fate of this magical time rests in the hands of a very motley group: A band of wizards headed up by a mystical university president named Mustrum Ridcully (Joss Ackland), a loyal manservant called Albert (David Jason), a level-headed governess called Susan Sto Heilt (Michelle Dockery), and her grandfather, who happens to be - Death (Marnix van den Broeke).
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Title: Hogfather
Character: Albert / Alberto Malich
Released: December 17, 2006
Type: TV
On the night before Hogswatch, the holiday where kids anticipate presents from the beloved Hogfather, Death notices that the Hogfather's life-timer is lying broken on the floor of his castle. Could it be that Hogswatch will not happen this year?
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Title: Prehistoric Park
Character: Narrator
Released: July 22, 2006
Type: TV
Using his knowledge of today’s animal kingdom and the latest research, wildlife adventurer Nigel Marven uses a time portal to take him into the past, on a quest to rescue long lost prehistoric creatures.
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Prehistoric Park
Title: Prehistoric Park
Character: Narrator
Released: July 22, 2006
Type: Movie
A BBC miniseries about Nigel Marvin's quest to bring the extinct dinosaurs through time to Prehistoric Park.
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Ghostboat
Title: Ghostboat
Character: Jack Hardy
Released: April 9, 2006
Type: Movie
Jack Hardy is the sole survivor of a mysterious submarine disaster in World War II. Now, in 1981, the ill-fated submarine Scorpion has resurfaced, miraculously intact. Naval Intelligence need Hardy's expertise to retrace the course and mission that led to her original disappearance. But what's waiting for them under the grey waters of the Baltic Sea turns out to be much worse than the Russian submarines they're expecting. Wherever Scorpion has been all this time, it's brought some very bad luck back with it...
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Title: Diamond Geezer
Character: Des
Released: March 20, 2005
Type: TV
Diamond Geezer is a British television comedy drama written by Caleb Ranson which stars David Jason as a jewel thief and professional con man.
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Title: The Best of Ronnie Barker
Released: January 1, 2005
Type: TV
Sketches and clips from his greatest television comedy performances
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The Final Quest
Title: The Final Quest
Character: Dave
Released: December 27, 2004
Type: Movie
Three old friends reminisce about their old haunts. Hearing that a coffee bar they frequented in their youth is reopening with a rock 'n' roll theme, Dave, Charlie and Ronno decide to pay a visit. Third film in The Quest Trilogy.
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The Second Quest
Title: The Second Quest
Character: Dave
Released: April 5, 2004
Type: Movie
Three old friends are reunited after one was involved in an accident. They reminisce about their motorbike trip to the Isle of Man to ride the TT course. Second movie in The Quest Trilogy.
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The Story of Only Fools and Horses
Title: The Story of Only Fools and Horses
Released: December 20, 2002
Type: Movie
How did John Sullivan first dream up Del Boy and Rodney Trotter ? Actors David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst team up with the writer to reveal how the enduring sitcom was created. Featuring celebrity fans, the stories behind the storylines and memorable scenes from the comedy.
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The Quest
Title: The Quest
Character: Dave
Released: April 1, 2002
Type: Movie
Three elderly men, Dave, Ronno and Charlie, meet at Charlie's retirement party and reminisce about their teenage "quest" in the 1950s to get laid. This had involved travelling on their motorbikes up to the Lake District "where all the girls shag like rabbits" - but things hadn't turned out quite as they had planned. First movie in The Quest Trilogy.
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All the King's Men
Title: All the King's Men
Character: Capt. Frank Beck
Released: November 14, 1999
Type: Movie
Feature-length drama about the mystery of Sandringham Company, which disappeared in action at Gallipoli in 1915. Commanded by Captain Frank Beck, their estate manager, the men advanced into battle, were enveloped in a strange mist and never seen again.
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Title: Angelmouse
Released: September 27, 1999
Type: TV
Angelmouse is a children's television programme which was produced and broadcast by the BBC. It was aired on CBeebies. It was also aired on CITV in 2012. It has also been broadcast on ABC Kids. It started from 27 September 1999 and ended on 20 March 2000. There are also Angelmouse books and plush toys. It was narrated by David Jason who also voiced Danger Mouse, Count Duckula, Toad in The Wind in the Willows, Hugo in Victor and Hugo, The BFG and Father Christmas in Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer.
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Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer
Title: Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer
Character: (voice)
Released: October 25, 1998
Type: Movie
On Christmas Eve, Father Christmas is all set to deliver his huge consignment of presents to the children of the world when he makes a terrible discovery - his reindeer are missing!
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March in Windy City
Title: March in Windy City
Character: Steven March
Released: May 3, 1998
Type: Movie
Retired MI6 agent Steven March is called back into action by his former employers. His task is to assassinate Chicago politician Dan Paterson, an ambitious and ruthless Russian who March has encountered before. March's task is made more difficult when Paterson's daughter is kidnapped, apparently by Chinese gangsters.
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Title: Albert The Fifth Musketeer
Released: January 11, 1995
Type: TV
Albert the Fifth Musketeer is a French animated series based on the story of the Three Musketeers. It is a France Animation and Cinar, Franco-Canadian co-production, for Ravensburger and Children's BBC in association with France 3 and Canal+.
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The Snow Queen
Title: The Snow Queen
Character: Eric
Released: January 1, 1995
Type: Movie
Far away, in her vast ice palace, the Snow Queen plots to rule the world by deflecting all the sun's warmth away from Earth so that it freezes over. But her mirror breaks, and on her mission to find all the missing pieces, she kidnaps Tom, who has part of the mirror in his body. Can his sister Ellie save Tom, and stop the evil Queen from achieving global dominance?
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The Bullion Boys
Title: The Bullion Boys
Character: Billy Mac
Released: October 24, 1993
Type: Movie
Based on a true story. In 1940, Britain's gold reserves were transferred for safety to Liverpool because of the threat of a German invasion. The top-secret operation was known only to a handful of security men and senior bank officials... and a group of Liverpool dockers who handle the move. Billy Mac, the dockers' leader, hatches an ingenious plan to steal some of the gold bars from under the noses of the guards.
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Title: A Touch of Frost
Character: DI Frost
Released: December 6, 1992
Type: TV
Jack Frost is a gritty, dogged and unconventional detective with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice who attracts trouble like a magnet. Despite some animosity with his superintendent, Norman “Horn-rimmed Harry” Mullett, Frost and his ever-changing roster of assistants manage to solve cases via his clever mind, good heart, and cool touch.
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Title: Victor & Hugo, Bunglers in Crime
Released: September 6, 1991
Type: TV
Victor and Hugo, Bunglers in Crime is an animated series made by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and screened on CITV from 6 September 1991 to 29 December 1992 and is a spin off from Count Duckula. The series centres on the exploits of two bumbling French criminals - the eponymous brothers of the title. Despite referencing the French author Victor Hugo in their names, neither brother was particularly intelligent. The plot of each episode dealt with Victor and Hugo and their English-based business "Naughtiness International" being hired by crime figures to steal something. Victor would come up with a "meticulous plan" to achieve this goal, which was routinely botched by Hugo. The episodes would traditionally end with the brothers imprisoned.
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Title: The Darling Buds of May
Character: Pop Larkin
Released: April 7, 1991
Type: TV
An idyllic picture of 1950's rural England as seen through the lives of the Larkins, a farm family living in Kent. The show revolves around Pa Larkin, a man of a kind and mischievous nature with a penchant for getting into scrapes and talking his way out of them with equal equanimity; and his daughters, as they deal with growing up and discovering the joys and sorrows of young love.
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Amongst Barbarians
Title: Amongst Barbarians
Character: George
Released: July 11, 1990
Type: Movie
Amongst Barbarians is set far away from Margaret Thatcher's Britain in Penang, Malaysia, a former British colony, where two young Englishmen have been arrested for drug trafficking. As they both face the death penalty, their relatives travel to Penang to come to their rescue. However, they soon find out that there is nothing they can do to save the boys' lives. In the course of their futile attempts at influencing the authorities, their racism becomes more than apparent. The question which is never made explicit is of course who the real barbarians are. Wall's play is based on a true story and featured David Jason's first straight acting role on TV.
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Title: Oh, Mr. Toad
Character: Toad
Released: March 27, 1990
Type: TV
Oh, Mr. Toad was a television spin-off from the 1980s stop motion animation series The Wind in the Willows. The show was animated by Cosgrove Hall and broadcast on CITV. It then became Series 5 of the main series, when it came onto DVD.
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The BFG
Title: The BFG
Character: The BFG (voice)
Released: December 25, 1989
Type: Movie
Sophie is snatched from her orphanage early one morning by the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), whom she witnesses engaged in mysterious activities. She is soon put at ease, as she learns that BFG's job is to collect, catalog and deliver pleasant dreams to children. She joins him that night, but a mean giants follow them, planning to eat the children of the world.
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Title: A Bit of a Do
Character: Ted Simcock
Released: January 13, 1989
Type: TV
A Bit of a Do is a British comedy drama series based on the books by David Nobbs. The show starred David Jason and was aired on ITV in 1989. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television. The show was set in a fictional Yorkshire town. Each episode took place at a different social function and followed the changing lives of two families, the working-class Simcocks and the middle-class Rodenhursts, together with their respective friends, Rodney and Betty Sillitoe, and Neville Badger. The series begins with the wedding of Ted and Rita Simcock's son Paul to Laurence and Liz Rodenhurst's daughter Jenny; an event at which Ted and Liz begin an affair. The subsequent fallout from this affair forms the basis for most of the first series.
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The Wind in the Willows: A Tale of Two Toads
Title: The Wind in the Willows: A Tale of Two Toads
Character: Toad (voice)
Released: December 6, 1988
Type: Movie
Designed with young audiences in mind, this award-winning animated film (created with labor-intensive stop-motion techniques) brings Kenneth Grahame's classic children's book to life. When the villainous Weasel and his crew of thugs kidnap an unsuspecting Toad and send an impostor to take over Toad Hall, Badger, Rat and Mole aren't fooled. But can they figure out a way to save their friend before it's too late?
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Title: Count Duckula
Character: Count Duckula
Released: September 6, 1988
Type: TV
Count Duckula is a vegetarian vampire duck, coming into the world as an accident. Unlike his family and ancestors, he has no bloodlust, as when he was reincarnated, blood was omitted and replaced with ketchup.
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Title: Porterhouse Blue
Character: Skullion
Released: June 3, 1987
Type: TV
Cambridge, Great Britain, 1980s. When the headmaster of Porterhouse College dies without naming a successor, the government appoints a former graduate whose ideas clash with the extreme conservatism that reigns at the institution.
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Title: The Wind in the Willows
Character: Toad
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: TV
The Wind in the Willows is a TV series that was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1987, based on characters from Kenneth Grahame's classic story The Wind in the Willows and following the 1983 film The Wind in the Willows. It was made by animation company Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and shown on the ITV network. An hour-long feature, A Tale Of Two Toads, was broadcast in 1988, and a fifth season of 13 episodes was shown in 1989 under the title Oh! Mr Toad in some countries, whilst retaining the title The Wind in the Willows in others.
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The Wind in the Willows
Title: The Wind in the Willows
Character: Toad
Released: December 30, 1983
Type: Movie
One spring, Mole decides that he can ignore the spring cleaning for a little longer, and begins a series of adventures with his new friend Rat. They go for a picnic on the riverbank, on a caravan expedition with Toad, until Toad switches allegiance to his new car and his reckless driving makes Mole and Rat search out Badger for help in curbing Toad's profligate habits. But Toad gets away from them and gets a 20-year sentence from the magistrate for theft, reckless driving, and Gross Impertinence. While Toad works his wiles on the jailer's daughter and escapes jail dressed as a washer woman, Badger tries to guard Toad Hall from the machinations of the Weasels and is badly beaten. And it requires a plan of attack and all four comrades to regain Toad Hall.
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Title: Wogan
Character: Self
Released: May 4, 1982
Type: TV
Wogan is a British television chat show
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Title: Danger Mouse
Released: September 28, 1981
Type: TV
Danger Mouse, the world's greatest secret agent, and his side-kick Penfold work to foil the evil schemes of Baron Greenback.
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Title: Danger Mouse
Character: Danger Mouse / Narrator (voice)
Released: September 28, 1981
Type: TV
Danger Mouse, the world's greatest secret agent, and his side-kick Penfold work to foil the evil schemes of Baron Greenback.
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Title: Only Fools and Horses
Character: Del Boy
Released: September 8, 1981
Type: TV
The misadventures of two wheeler dealer brothers Del Boy and Rodney Trotter of 'Trotters Independent Traders PLC' who scrape their living by selling dodgy goods believing that next year they will be millionaires.
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Title: Only Fools and Horses
Released: September 8, 1981
Type: TV
The misadventures of two wheeler dealer brothers Del Boy and Rodney Trotter of 'Trotters Independent Traders PLC' who scrape their living by selling dodgy goods believing that next year they will be millionaires.
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The Odd Job
Title: The Odd Job
Character: The Odd Job Man
Released: August 31, 1978
Type: Movie
Arthur Harris is a happily married man who returns from his job to discover that his wife, Fiona, is leaving him. Devastated he gets really drunk and tries to commit suicide. After a few setbacks and while he is trying to electrocute himself with a lamp, the door bell rings. An odd man in a leather coat asks if there are any odd jobs that he can perform. Arthur hires the man to kill him. The next day his wife returns, but the man he hired is still trying to kill him...
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The Water Babies
Title: The Water Babies
Character: (voice)
Released: June 23, 1978
Type: Movie
Grimes, an amoral chimney sweep, occasionally likes to steal valuables from his clients. One day, on the verge of being caught, he frames his young apprentice, Tom, for the crime. Tom runs away and jumps into a river where, instead of drowning, he finds himself transformed into a mystical aquatic creature. Swimming and breathing effortlessly, he discovers a colorful underwater world replete with creatures both cruel and kind.
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Title: A Sharp Intake of Breath
Character: Peter Barnes
Released: July 28, 1977
Type: TV
British sitcom in which happy-go-lucky character Peter Barnes comically and haphazardly tries to deal with the daily frustrations his life throws at him.
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Title: Lucky Feller
Character: Shorty Mepstead
Released: September 4, 1976
Type: TV
Lucky Feller is a 1976 ITV sitcom written by Terence Frisby and produced by Humphrey Barclay. It featured David Jason and ran for just one series of 13 episodes. It is reported that London Weekend Television later tried to revive it in the 1990s but Jason did not agree to this as he felt at the time he was being over-exposed. About two brothers in South-East London, the basic set-up can be seen as a dry run for Only Fools and Horses, except with David Jason playing the nerdy "Rodders" part, Shorty Mepstead. The other brother, Randolph Mepstead, was played by Peter Armitage. In the sitcom, Jason was in love with a girl, who was sexually infatuated with - and indeed pregnant by - Randolph Mepstead. Despite her feelings for Randolph, she was engaged to Shorty and had to bed him before the end of the series to make sure that he would think he was the father. But despite her best attempts, and Jason's feelings for her, the consummation never quite happened. Guest stars included such names as Pat Heywood, Prunella Scales and Mike Grady as well as international stars such as Bert Kwouk and Saeed Jaffrey. The show was directed by both Gerry Mill and Mike Vardy and was mainly filmed in and around South London. The show was offered a second series, however writer Terence Frisby didn't feel he had enough ideas for the series to continue and therefore the show was axed after the final episode.
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Title: Open All Hours
Character: Granville
Released: February 20, 1976
Type: TV
Open All Hours is a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke and starring Ronnie Barker as a miserly shop keeper and David Jason as his put-upon nephew who works as his errand boy.
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Royal Flash
Title: Royal Flash
Character: Mayor
Released: October 10, 1975
Type: Movie
Cowardly rogue Harry Flashman's (Malcolm McDowell) schemes to gain entry to the royal circles of 19th-century Europe go nowhere until he meets a pair of devious nobles with their own agenda. At their urging, Flashman agrees to re-create himself as a bogus Prussian nobleman to woo a beautiful duchess. But the half-baked plan quickly comes unraveled, and he's soon on the run from several new enemies who are all calling for the rapscallion's head.
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Title: The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs
Character: Edgar Briggs
Released: September 15, 1974
Type: TV
The Top Secret Life Of Edgar Briggs was a 30-minute British television comedy series created by Bernard McKenna & Richard Laing and produced by Humphrey Barclay for LWT. It was transmitted on the ITV network 15 September - 20 December 1974 and featured David Jason as the inept Edgar Briggs, personal assistant to the Commander of the British Secret Intelligence Service who, in spite of his cluelessness, manages to solve case after case. It has been likened to the earlier American series Get Smart.
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Title: Porridge
Character: Blanco
Released: September 5, 1974
Type: TV
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film also titled Porridge. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. "Doing porridge" is British slang for serving a prison sentence, porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight, which established that Fletcher would not be going back to prison again. Porridge was voted number seven in a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms.
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Title: Seven of One
Released: March 25, 1973
Type: TV
Seven of One was a British comedy series that aired on BBC2 in 1973. Starring Ronnie Barker, 7 of One is a series of seven separate comedies that would serve as possible pilots for sitcoms. Originally it was to be called Six of One, which Barker planned to follow up with another series called Half Dozen of the Other. This was a BBC version of a similar showcase for LWT called Six Dates with Barker created in 1971.
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White Cargo
Title: White Cargo
Character: Albert Toddey
Released: January 1, 1973
Type: Movie
David Jason's most famous film appearance of the 1970's was opposite Graham Chapman in 'The Odd Job' but five years earlier he played the lead role in this very low budget comedy. His character is a daydreamer but he manages to get caught up in an adventure involving the hugely underated Imogen Hassall. There is even an appearance from a pre Darth Vader Dave Prowse although his character closer resembles the one he played in 'Callan'.
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Title: His Lordship Entertains
Character: Dithers - the gardener
Released: June 5, 1972
Type: TV
His Lordship Entertains was Ronnie Barker's second sitcom vehicle for his Lord Rustless character, first seen three years earlier in Hark at Barker on ITV. This time though, Rustless had switched channels and was now appearing on BBC2. Hark at Barker had also included sketch inserts, whereas His Lordship Entertains was a regular sitcom. Set again in the aristocratic Chrome Hall, which had now become a hotel. It again also starred David Jason as the 100 year old Dithers and Josephine Tewson as Mildred Bates. Two actors who would go on to have a long working relationship with Barker. In fact all of the regular cast reprised their roles from Hark at Barker. Barker wrote all the scripts under the pseudonym Jonathan Cobbald. He liked to refer to the show as "Fawlty Towers mark one" as it appeared on television three years before that other hotel bound sitcom. Four episodes of the sitcom were recently performed on stage by Nottingham University's New Theatre.
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Under Milk Wood
Title: Under Milk Wood
Character: Nogood Boyo
Released: January 27, 1972
Type: Movie
The delightful if peculiar story of a day in the life of a small, Welsh fishing village called "Llareggub" in which we meet a host of curious characters (and ghosts) through the 'eyes' of Blind Captain Cat.
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Title: Six Dates with Barker
Released: January 8, 1971
Type: TV
Six Dates with Barker is a series of six one-off, half hour situation comedies showcasing the talents of Ronnie Barker. All were broadcast by London Weekend Television early in 1971. Writers on the series included John Cleese and Spike Milligan. The producer was Humphrey Barclay.
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Using the Telephone
Title: Using the Telephone
Released: May 1, 1970
Type: Movie
A young David Jason tries and fails to master sales calls.
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Title: Counterstrike
Released: September 8, 1969
Type: TV
Counterstrike is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC in 1969. The series starred Jon Finch as an alien living on Earth as a human named Simon King. He was assigned to live there to prevent an alien invasion of the planet. The programme lasted for one series of ten episodes, but only nine episodes were actually transmitted. The screening of the sixth episode, "Out of Mind", was canceled on the day it was due to be shown due to a late schedule change, being replaced by a documentary on the Kray brothers who had been refused leave to appeal against their prison sentences on that same day. For reasons that will probably never be known, "Out of Mind" was never rescheduled; it was subsequently wiped from the BBC Archives and has never been screened – thus making it possibly one of the rarest pieces of British science fiction television. The first four episodes – "King's Gambit", "Joker's One", "On Ice" and "Nocturne" – still exist in the BBC Archives as 16mm Black & White Film telerecordings, while the remaining five transmitted instalments – "Monolith", "The Lemming Syndrome", "Backlash", "All That Glisters" and "The Mutant" – are listed as missing by the Lost Shows website.
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Title: Hark at Barker
Character: Dithers
Released: April 11, 1969
Type: TV
Hark at Barker was a 1969 British comedy series combining elements of sitcom and sketch show, which starred Ronnie Barker. It was made for the ITV network by LWT. Each show began with a spoof news item read by Barker as a continuity announcer. He would then introduce the main part of the programme, a lecture to be given by Lord Rustless on a different topic each week from his stately home, Chrome Hall. Helped and hindered by Rustless' secretary Bates, his Butler Badger, his bad-tempered Cook, his incoherent gardener Dithers and his buxom, near-mute maid Effie, these lectures invariably degenerated into farce, and were frequently interrupted by comic sketches on film or videotape which also starred Barker in various roles. Barker reprised the role of Lord Rustless in the BBC series His Lordship Entertains, and played very similar characters in Futtock's End and the Two Ronnies specials The Picnic and By the Sea.
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Title: Do Not Adjust Your Set
Character: Various Characters
Released: December 26, 1967
Type: TV
Innovative and influential, and originally envisaged as children’s show, Do Not Adjust Your Set was a madcap early-evening comedy sketch show that quickly acquired a cult following with Swinging Sixties adults, who rushed home from work to see it. Written by and starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, with great performances and additional material by David Jason and Denise Coffey, it also provided an early showcase for the hilarious animations of Terry Gilliam, and the brilliantly bizarre musical antics of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
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Title: Softly, Softly
Released: January 5, 1966
Type: TV
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern, supposedly in the Bristol area of England.
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David Jason's Greatest Escapes
Title: David Jason's Greatest Escapes
Character: Presenter
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
Actor David Jason examines wartime escapes that inspired films and TV dramas. He begins his journey in Germany at Colditz Castle, where William Neave tells how his father Airey fled dressed as a German soldier. He then heads to Poland to visit the setting for The Great Escape, where former Stalag Luft III internee Ken Rees describes how he helped dig the tunnel immortalised on the big screen. David also meets a Frenchwoman who sheltered an escaped Briton - and learns how a love story developed.