Season 1 Plot
Comedy legend Sir David Jason embarks on a journey across Britain to explore his extraordinary career in television - meeting the people and visiting the places that have helped make him one of the nation's best-loved actors.
David Jason: My Life on Screen Season 1 aired on August 26th, 2017.
Season 1 Episodes
1. Episode 1
Along the way, Sir David recalls the comedy stars who inspired him, including the pivotal role his friend and mentor Ronnie Barker - the man he calls The Guv'nor - played in his career. He heads back to the London studios where he was given his big television break, reuniting with future Monty Python star Michael Palin, who he worked with on the 1960s comedy sketch show Do Not Adjust Your Set. Sir David also takes a nostalgic tour of his childhood roots in North Finchley - including a visit to his old school - and is on location on his latest project Still Open All Hours.
2. Episode 2
The second instalment looks at Sir David's transition from comedy sidekick to major TV star and follows his attempts to make the breakthrough as a leading man on sitcoms like The Top Secret Life Of Edgar Briggs and Lucky Feller, before he finally got the role of his life as Del Boy on Only Fools And Horses. And yet, it was a role that nearly never happened as the producers needed some convincing that Sir David was the right man. Sir David recalls how his daredevil physical comedy on the ITV sitcom The Top Secret Life Of Edgar Briggs saw him hailed as 'TV's man of action' in the TV Times. He takes a trip down memory lane as he heads back to Margate, the setting for the classic Only Fools And Horses episode The Jolly Boys Outing, with former co-star John Challis (who played Boycie) and director Tony Dow. And he looks back on his memorable voice-over work on the likes of Danger Mouse and The Wind In The Willows, with the help of friend and animator Brian Cosgrove.
3. Episode 3
This final episode looks at how Sir David's career moved on from sitcoms to lead roles in comedy dramas like The Darling Buds Of May and Porterhouse Blue, through to crime with A Touch Of Frost and historical dramas like All The King's Men. Sir David is reunited with his A Touch Of Frost co-stars Bruce Alexander and John Lyons as they recall his surprising move into TV crime - would the viewers really accept this darker side from an actor they thought they knew so well? He heads back to the real-life Kent farm used as the setting for The Darling Buds Of May, where he meets up with actors Pam Ferris and Philip Franks - there's even a video link-up to Catherine Zeta-Jones in New York. And he learns the real-life story behind Captain Frank Beck, the World War I hero he portrayed in BBC drama, All The King's Men.