Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses fans stunned as picture shows Uncle Albert was actually ‘ripped’

Despite appearing old and frail in the show, actor Buster Merryfield lived a very healthy lifestyle

When the character of Uncle Albert was introduced to the cast of Only Fools and Horses in the fourth season to replace Grandad following Lennard Pearce’s sad passing, nobody would have guessed the level of success the show would go on to enjoy. Now without doubt one of the best and most popular British sitcoms of all time, Buster Merryfield’s portrayal of Uncle Albert is one of the best remembered characters alongside the two leads of Rodney and Del Boy.

But when fans of the show cast their minds back their image of Uncle Albert is probably of an unhealthy, heavy smoking and drinking Navy veteran who loved nothing more than to live in the past, telling endless – and sometimes misremembered – stories of the war. On top of this his propensity for confusion tended to get Del Boy into scrapes more often than not.

But one fan looking back through some old episodes of the classic sitcom recently noticed that not only did Uncle Albert not look particularly old or frail save for his bushy silver beard and hair, but he actually looked ripped and muscular.

 

Uncle Albert was a lot fitter than you might have realised (Image: BBC)

Writing in an Only Fools and Horses fan group on Facebook, one viewer shared the surprising screenshot which showed Uncle Albert in shorts and a mesh vest, revealing his athletic physique with clearly pronounced muscles you would expect from a far younger man.

They wrote alongside the picture: “In his personal life Buster Merryfield was a teetotal, non-smoking, very fit man. I’ve noticed it before but actually managed to get a picture from the TV this time. Uncle Albert was ripped for his age…”

The truth is that Buster, who got the role aged 64 and played the character of Uncle Albert well into his seventies, really was a picture of health. In a 1997 interview with the Mirror he explained how he had never smoked, never drank or did any drugs.

Despite his age he kept active too, still swimming regularly aged 76, with a past as a schoolboy boxing champ. Realising just how muscly Uncle Albert was fans of the show expressed their surprise in the comments, as well as a few jokes.

“He was in great shape!” one shocked fan wrote. Another joked: “Buster Merryfield was a unit mate… Had great shape, you wouldn’t want to receive a real life ‘Trotter’s Trembler’.”

“It’s from all the swimming he did after sinking all those boats in the Merchant Navy!” a third quipped. “Absolute tank,” a fourth chimed in.

Tragically despite the healthy lifestyle Buster led he died just two years after the interview in 1999 from a brain tumour, devastating fans of the actor who brought smiles to living rooms across the country for decades.

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