Nicholas Lyndhurst has said he cannot watch Only Fools And Horses because it is too upsetting seeing the cast members who have since died.
The actor also said a reunion of the long-running BBC comedy would be “impossible” without cast members such as Buster Merryfield, Lennard Pearce and Roger Lloyd-Pack, who have died, and its writer John Sullivan, who died in 2011.
Lyndhurst, who played Rodney, told The Mail On Sunday: “I can’t watch it now.
“I don’t want to see friends who are no longer with us on screen.
“We used to go and surprise them on their birthdays. We used to wind them up. We used to tease each other.
“It was a family.
“So yeah, it’s sad.”
The actor continued: “I remember Lennard Pearce, who played Grandad, bless his heart, saying to me, ‘Have you heard about these new VHS video recorder machines? That means we’ll now live for ever. Did you ever think of that?’
“I said, ‘Christ no, I hadn’t’.”
Lyndhurst is still friends with his co-star David Jason, who played Del Boy, but said in recent years they mainly see each other at funerals.
The star ruled out an Only Fools And Horses reunion, saying it could not be done without the original cast and writer Sullivan.
“We can’t do it without them. Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said.