David Jason: My Life

David Jason

Oct 2013 · Cornerstone Digital · Narrated by Michael Fenton Stevens

About this audiobook

David Jason: My Life, now available as an unabridged audiobook.

National Book Awards Autobiography of the Year 2013.

Born the son of a Billingsgate market porter at the height of the Second World War, David Jason spent his early life dodging bombs and bullies, both with impish good timing. Giving up on an unloved career as an electrician, he turned his attention to acting and soon, through a natural talent for making people laugh, found himself working with the leading lights of British comedy in the 1960s and '70s: Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Bob Monkhouse and Ronnie Barker. Barker would become a mentor to David, leading to hugely successful stints in Porridge and Open All Hours.

It wasn’t until 1981, kitted out with a sheepskin jacket, a flat cap, and a clapped-out Reliant Regal, that David found the part that would capture the nation’s hearts: the beloved Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter in Only Fools and Horses. Never a one-trick pony, he had an award-winning spell as TV’s favourite detective Jack Frost, took a country jaunt as Pop Larkin in the Darling Buds of May, and even voiced a crime-fighting cartoon rodent in the much-loved children’s show Danger Mouse.

But life hasn't all been so easy: from missing out on a key role in Dad’s Army to nearly drowning in a freak diving accident, David has had his fair share of ups and downs, and has lost some of his nearest and dearest along the way.

David’s is a touching, funny and warm-hearted story, which charts the course of his incredible five decades at the top of the entertainment business. He's been a shopkeeper and a detective inspector, a crime-fighter and a market trader, and he ain't finished yet. As Del Boy would say, it's all cushty.

The introduction to the David Jason audiobook is narrated by David himself.

Ratings and reviews

Such A Shame 'David Doesn't Read The Whole Audiobook For Us. Michael Fenton Stevens does a good enough job of putting Sir David's words into voice, but when we got the ten minute taster of David reading to us, it becomes strange that he then let's someone else read the rest. However Sir David is a National Treasure, and his story is very interesting (especially to fans) and worth our time to listen.

I loved this book. I feel I now know David Jason as a friend might. David takes you through the whole of his life in a way that you're their along side him. The roller coaster of his life is all there, with the up's and downs all laid out in front of you. I learnt a lot I never knew about him, and feel honored that he took the time to share his private life with us all. Thank you. Craig.

very amazing and good 👍 👏 👌 🙌 😀

About the author

Sir David Jason was born in 1940 in North London. His acting career has been long and varied: from his theatre work in the West End to providing voices for Mr Toad from The Wind in the Willows, Danger Mouse and The BFG; and from Open All Hours and The Darling Buds of May to his starring roles as Detective Inspector Frost in A Touch of Frost and, of course, Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter in Only Fools and Horses.

He lives with his wife, Gill, and their daughter, Sophie, in Buckinghamshire.