The death of Derek Trotter

Del Boy, the lead character in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses will now never to return to TV in any new projects according to creator John Sullivan. The writer told the Daily Star Sunday in an exclusive interview today that he is "laying Del Boy to rest".

Sullivan, 61, told the paper: "There will not be another series of Only Fools and Horses. I can say that. We had our day, it was wonderful but it is best to leave it now. When I started writing the show I thought I might get a second series if I was lucky. To keep going for 23 years was amazing. I never guessed it was going to be so big – I am grateful for all the success we had with it. I was perfectly happy to keep writing them all those years. The BBC were paying me to do something I loved – it was the next best thing after playing football for a living as far as I was concerned. We were never supposed to come back in 2003 – the producer Gareth Gwenlan gave an interview saying we were doing another without asking the rest of us, so we were sort of forced into it so as not to let people down. We're all getting old now – so it's best to bring it to a close. I'm really proud of all we achieved with the show."

However, while it may be the end of Del in Britain, it has also been confirmed that several Eastern European countries are to adapt Only Fools and Horses for their screens. Sullivan also gave his backing to a campaign to have a statue of Del Boy erected in Peckham.

An eight part fourth series of OFAH spin-off sitcom The Green Green Grass is currently in production.