Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961) is an English actor. He began his career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

and became best known for his role as

Rodney Trotter Rodney Charlton Trotter (also known as Dave by Trigger), is a fictional character in the long running BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', played by Nicholas Lyndhurst. Biography Rodney is the son of Joan Mavis Trotter, grandson of Edward Tr ...

in the sitcom ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

'' (1981–2003). He also had major roles in other sitcoms including '' Goodnight Sweetheart'' (1993–1999, 2016) (as Gary Sparrow), ''

Going Straight ''Going Straight'' is a BBC sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. The programme was a direct spin-off to the sitcom '' Porridge'', which all four were involved in, wit ...

'' (1978), '' Butterflies'' (1978–1983), ''

The Two of Us ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1986–1990), '' The Piglet Files'' (1990–1992) and '' After You've Gone'' (2007–2008). He starred in the comedy-drama series ''

Rock & Chips ''Rock & Chips'' is a British television comedy-drama miniseries and a prequel to the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses''. The show is set in Peckham, southeast London, during the early 1960s, focusing primarily on the lives of Del Trotter, Freddie ...

'' (2010–2011) and co-starred in the procedural crime drama series ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...

'' (2013–2015). Lyndhurst won two

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are vot ...

for his role in '' Goodnight Sweetheart'', as well as being nominated for a

British Comedy Award The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards ( ...

and three British Academy Television Awards for his role in ''

''.

Early life

Lyndhurst was born on April 20, 1961, to parents Joe and Liz, and raised in

Emsworth Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, England, near the border of West Sussex and located at by the south coast of England. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet fr ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. He is the grandson of

Francis Lyndhurst Francis Lyndhurst was an English theatrical scenery painter, film producer and film director, who set up an early film studio at Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. Lyndhurst's first films, beginning with ''The Showman’s Dream'' in 1914, were made ...

, a theatrical scenery painter and film director, who set up an early film studio at Shoreham Fort,

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to its west by the Adur Valley and to its south by the River Adur and Shoreham Beach on th ...

. He attended East Wittering Primary School. He also attended

Corona Theatre School Corona Theatre School (formerly Corona Academy) was founded in 1950 as a performing arts academy, operating in the region of west London. After the retirement of its owner, Rona Knight, it reopened as Ravenscourt Theatre School in 1989. Histor ...

in Hammersmith, London.

Career

Lyndhurst appeared in various television adverts and children's films in the 1970s, before winning the starring role of

Tom Canty Thomas "Tom" Canty is a fictitious character from Mark Twain's 1881 novel ''The Prince and the Pauper.'' He was born the same day as Edward Tudor, the Prince of Wales in 1537 and grew up in a life of poverty with his abusive, alcoholic father and ...

/ Prince Edward in a BBC Television version of ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547 ...

'', directed by

Barry Letts Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of ''Doctor Who'' from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre, ...

and transmitted in January 1976. Lyndhurst gained increased national recognition two years later in two BBC sitcom roles, Raymond Fletcher, the teenage son of

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and '' Open All Hours''. ...

Norman Stanley Fletcher Norman Stanley Fletcher, commonly nicknamed "Fletch", is the main fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'', and the spin-off, '' Going Straight''. He was played by Ronnie Barker. In the pilot episode, Fletcher claims to Mr Barrowclou ...

in ''

'', and Adam Parkinson, a son of

Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''Not in Front of the Children'', '' ...And Mother Makes Three'', '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' and ''Butterflies''. ...

and

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians * Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pa ...

Carla Lane Romana Barrack (5 August 1928 – 31 May 2016), known professionally as Carla Lane, was an English television writer responsible for several successful British sitcoms, including '' The Liver Birds'' (co-creator, 1969–1979), ''Butterflies'' (1 ...

's '' Butterflies''. Lyndhurst achieved national stardom in another BBC sitcom, ''

'', in which he played

, the younger brother of the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, played by

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

. ''Only Fools and Horses'' first aired in 1981 and increased in popularity until it reached its peak in 1996 with its

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

show in the UK. In a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Personal life

West Wittering West Wittering is a village and civil parish situated on the Manhood Peninsula in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies near the mouth of Chichester Harbour on the B2179 road southwest of Chichester close to the border with Ha ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

Their son, Archie Lyndhurst (Born October 4, 2000) was also an actor appearing in ''

So Awkward ''So Awkward'' is a sitcom series on CBBC following the lives of a group of friends in secondary school. It stars Cleo Demetriou as Lily Hampton, Ameerah Falzon-Ojo and Emily Burnett (in series 6) as Jas (Jasmine) Salford, Sophia Dall'aglio as ...

''. On 22 September 2020, Archie died from

acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of immature lymphocytes. Symptoms may include feeling tired, pale skin color, fever, easy bleeding or bruisin ...

at the age of 19. In a statement, Lyndhurst said he and his wife were "utterly grief stricken and respectfully request privacy". Lyndhurst's hobbies include

underwater diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on contex ...

, beekeeping and piloting his own aeroplanes.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

* ''

My First Planet ''My First Planet'' is a British radio sitcom written by Phil Whelans. Set on a newly founded space colony, second-in-command Brian Palmer ( Nicholas Lyndhurst) finds himself unexpectedly in charge when their intended leader dies and must work ...

'' (2012-2014)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyndhurst, Nicholas 1961 births Living people British male comedy actors English male child actors English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Hampshire People from Gosport