Sir David Jason offers incredibly rare insight into Christmas plans with long-lost daughter

Only Fools and Horses icon Sir David Jason has opened up about his relationship with his long-lost daughter Abi

Sir David Jason is planning a family Christmas which will include seeing his daughter Abi he didn't know existed for 52 years - as they continue a "voyage of discovery".

The Mirror revealed last year how TV legend David, 84, had met up with Abi Harris and his new grandson Charlie after a paternity test confirmed he had a second daughter he didn't know about from a brief relationship with the late actress Jennifer Hill in 1970.

We can reveal the 84-year-old toasted daughter Abi's birthday earlier this month and has plans for other events too.

In an exclusive interview to promote his new book which is out in time for the festive period, Sir David said: "Abi came round to us for Sunday lunch on her birthday and we gave her a cake - Charlie lit the candles - and gave gifts one of which was the book in which she appeared, the vehicle which gave me chance to explain how our situation had come about.

"Sadly, Sophie was away for the weekend on a pre-booked trip but we will all catch up together soon. For whatever reason out of our control, our lives have only just come together and so it does feel poignant celebrating birthdays after so many years of not being able to share."

He added: "The shock of the news that I had an undiscovered daughter is wearing off but, like I say in the book, we are slowly getting to know each other and things are working out on this voyage of discovery."

Plans are now afoot for another festive day together around Christmas, before a small party in February for his 85th birthday.

In the book, Sir David spoke of experiencing “wonder and amazement, through anxiety and heartache, to fear and outright panic” when he learned about Abi through an "astonishing" letter she sent to him.

Now Sir David also wants to pass on his love of making models to his grandson who he nicknamed “Charlie the hair” because he has lots of hair which he is jealous of!

He explained: "I hope that Charlie finds his passion and gives it everything he has as to eventually find a job which he loves doing – just something which brings in an honest day’s pay and gives stability. I am also trying to get him interested in model making as I think it’s great for youngsters (or any age) to be able to absorb themselves in something quiet and creative in this hectic world and doesn’t involve a battery or a plug."

The pair also will need to watch TV together at some point, with grandad having been in so many big hit shows over the years which also include A Touch Of Frost, Darling Buds of May and Open All Hours.

He admitted: "We haven’t watched television together yet but maybe we can get the chance to watch Dangermouse or something similar[he voiced the character]. With such an age gap, it could be tricksy finding something to watch together. At the moment, Cluedo and Bingo seem to be the go to activities!"

In his new book he gives more extraordinary details of his new blended family and shares his emotion that he was not part of Abi’s life sooner saying there is “the pang of sadness for those missing years, all that lost time”. The pair first met in a London hotel in 2023.

David also has a daughter, Sophie, with his wife Lady Gill and he writes: “I held Sophie straight after she was born, and I fed her and changed her and walked her to school and watched her grow, and all of those things. And that’s what I think of when I think of Sophie being my daughter.

“But Abi and I, of course, never had that chance, which is sad in itself, and now here she was, entering my life for the first time, but as a grown woman. In those first minutes it was such a complicated thing to process, for us both.”

Sir David will turn 85 on February 2 and hopes not too much fuss will be made at home by the family. He continues to work hard and insists he has been lucky with his career, meeting people who helped him along his journey including the late great Ronnie Barker. But he says in his new book like anyone he also had to put the effort in.

"If you want something, you've got to make it happen. You've got to believe in it and believe in yourself, but you've got to still enjoy the process and I think that's been the most important thing for me, a message I hope will get across to the readers, is you have to work for what you get. It’s the journey, not the arrival - that’s one of my sayings that I use all the time. 

"You’ve got to remember that if you don't enjoy the journey, you're not going to enjoy the arrival because the arrival may never come, may never happen for you. As you've enjoyed that journey, when the time comes and you go up and see the master and say, ‘I tried, I didn't make it, but I really enjoyed the process. Thank you very much."

He had few regrets it seems, mentioning a couple of plays which felt like "flogging a dead horse" early in his career, and perhaps more interestingly he still hankers to play one major role.

"I’ve always had a great admiration for Winston Churchill. I know he's been played by a couple of people in the past, but I always admired him so much.

"I know the fashion these days is to find a hero and then destroy them or show their weaknesses, so I wouldn't be attracted to that side. I would try to be positive. Reason why is there’s so much negativity about these days. Everybody seems to want to show all of their weaknesses and the failures of being a human being.

"Churchill would be, would have been one of my roles if I could cherry pick them."

This Time Next Year - the new memoir for 2024 by David Jason is out now, published by Penguin.

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