Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961) is an English actor who began his career as a child actor. He is best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1981–2003).
Lyndhurst had major roles in other sitcoms, including as Raymond Fletcher in Going Straight (1978), as Adam Parkinson in Butterflies (1978–1983), as Ashley Phillips in The Two of Us (1986–1990), as Peter "Piglet" Chapman in The Piglet Files (1990-1992), as Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart (1993–1999, 2016), and as Jimmy Venables in After You've Gone (2007–2008). He starred as Freddie Robdal in the comedy-drama series Rock & Chips (2010–2011) and co-starred as Danny Griffin in the police procedural series New Tricks (2013–2015). He portrayed Professor Alan Cornwall in the revival of the American sitcom Frasier (2023–2024).
Lyndhurst won two National Television Awards for his role in Goodnight Sweetheart, as well as being nominated for a British Comedy Award and three British Academy Television Awards for his role in Only Fools and Horses.
Early life Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, on 20 April 1961, as the only child to Anthony Arthur Joseph "Joe" Lyndhurst and Elizabeth M "Liz" (née Long). He grew up in Emsworth. His parents met at the holiday camp on the farm owned by his paternal grandfather, Francis Lyndhurst, a theatrical scenery painter, film producer and film director, who set up an early film studio at Shoreham Fort, Shoreham-by-Sea. His parents separated when he was young, reuniting and separating permanently later on. His father had started a family with another woman by the time Lyndhurst was eight, leaving the boy and his mother "poverty-stricken".
Lyndhurst attended East Wittering Primary School. He then attended the Corona Theatre School in Hammersmith, London, where his friends included Lisa Vanderpump.
Career Lyndhurst made his debut as an actor with the uncredited role of Shot Cabin Boy in the historical drama film Bequest to the Nation, which was released on 25 April 1973. He appeared in various television advertisements and children's films during the 1970s before gaining the starring role of Tom Canty/Prince Edward in a BBC Television version of The Prince and the Pauper, directed by Barry Letts and broadcast in January 1976. He gained increased national recognition two years later in two BBC sitcom roles: Raymond Fletcher, the teenage son of Ronnie Barker's Norman Stanley Fletcher in Going Straight, and Adam Parkinson, a son of Wendy Craig and Geoffrey Palmer in Carla Lane's Butterflies.
Lyndhurst achieved his best-known role in another BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses, created and written by John Sullivan, in which he played Rodney Trotter, the younger brother of the main character, Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, played by David Jason. Only Fools and Horses was first aired in 1981 and increased in popularity until it reached its peak in 1996 with its Christmas Day special in the UK. In a BBC poll in 2004 it was voted Britain's Best Sitcom by television viewers. He appeared in the series until its final airing at Christmas 2003 with the episode "Sleepless in Peckham".
Lyndhurst had a minor part in the 1986 film Sky Bandits. The film went straight to video and was never seen in British cinemas. During the mid-1980s and 90s, he also played Ashley Phillips in ITV's The Two of Us, which co-starred Janet Dibley, and MI5 agent Peter "Piglet" Chapman in The Piglet Files, as well as in a number of stage performances.
Lyndhurst played the lead character of Gary Sparrow in the time-travelling sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart between 1993 and 1999. At around the same time, he was the face and voice of the TV and radio advertisements for the telecommunications chain Peoples Phone. He said that he declined an opportunity to play the lead of Gary in the 1997 British film The Full Monty. Lyndhurst was the public face of the stationery store WH Smith between 1997 and 1999, starring in their adverts as all four members of one family. He won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for his acting in the adverts. In 1999, he played the villainous Uriah Heep opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Dame Maggie Smith in David Copperfield.
Lyndhurst joined the cast as a regular in the BBC police procedural series New Tricks in 2013, alongside Dennis Waterman and Tamzin Outhwaite. Lyndhurst revived his Goodnight Sweetheart character, Gary Sparrow, in a one-off special episode, which was aired on 2 September 2016.
Lyndhurst played the role of Star Keeper in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel at the English National Opera in 2019. He played the Governor/Innkeeper in Man of La Mancha for English National Opera at the London Coliseum in 2019, opposite Kelsey Grammer as Cervantes/Quixote, Danielle de Niese as Aldonza/Dulcinea and Peter Polycarpou as Sancho.
Lyndhurst appeared as Johnny in an episode of the CBBC sitcom So Awkward, alongside his son, the late actor Archie Lyndhurst. The episode, "Awardatarian", was broadcast on 19 September 2019, having originally been released on BBC iPlayer on 12 September 2019.
Lyndhurst was cast as Professor Alan Cornwall in the new Frasier series in January 2023.
Personal life
Lyndhurst married Lucy Jane Smith, a former ballet dancer, in a secret ceremony at St Mary's Church in Chichester, West Sussex, on 1 September 1999, having been engaged since 1990. The Reverend David Parker, rector of St Mary's Church, said the 40-minute ceremony took the form of a "traditional Church of England service".
Lyndhurst and Smith's only child, a son, Archie Bjorn Lyndhurst, was born in Westminster, Greater London, on 4 October 2000. Archie was an actor and designer, who was best known for his role of Oliver 'Ollie' Coulton in the CBBC sitcom So Awkward. Their son died in his sleep from a brain haemorrhage caused by acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the family home in Fulham, Greater London, on 22 September 2020, aged 19. In a statement, he said he and his wife were "utterly grief stricken and respectfully request privacy."
Lyndhurst and his wife now reside in West Wittering, West Sussex.
Lyndhurst enjoys underwater diving, beekeeping and piloting his own aeroplanes.
Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNotes1973Bequest to the NationShot Cabin BoyUncredited1983BullshotNobby Clark1986Sky BanditsChalky2005LassieBuckle2016A United KingdomGeorge Williams
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1974HeidiPeter4 episodes1975Anne of AvonleaDavy Keith6 episodes1976The Prince and the PauperEdward Prince of Wales, Tom Canty6 episodes1976Peter PanTootlesTelevision film, credited as; Nicky Lyndhurst1978Going StraightRaymond Fletcher4 episodes1978The Tomorrow PeopleKarl Brandt2 episodes1978PlayhouseWestbrookEpisode: "Losing Her"1978Play of the WeekBrian GrantEpisode: "Fairies"1978–1983ButterfliesAdam Parkinson28 episodes1979Father's DayPhilip Rice-DaviesTelevision film1979Two PeopleMatthew2 episodes1980The Dick Emery ShowEpisode: "Episode #18.2"1980To Serve Them All My DaysDobson4 episodes1981SpearheadPrivate Wilson4 episodes1981–1996, 2001–2003Only Fools and HorsesRodney Trotter64 episodes1982ArenaDennisEpisode: "A Genius Like US: A Portrait of Joe Orton"1982Play for TodayPolicemanEpisode: "A Mother Like Him"1982Only Fools and Horses: Christmas TreesRodney TrotterShort film1982The Funny Side of ChristmasRodney Trotter, Adam ParkinsonTelevision film1983It'll All Be Over in Half an HourVarious3 episodes1983Michael Barrymore1 episode1984Only Fools and Horses: License to DrillRodney TrotterVideo1984Slimming DownSebastianTelevision film1984HauntedJack (voice)Video1984Round and RoundPatrickEpisode: "Sex"1984Haunted: Tales of the SupernaturalJackPodcast series, Episode: "Channel Crossing"1984–1985The Lenny Henry ShowVarious3 episodes, credited as; Nick Lyndhurst1986Only Fools and Horses: Royal Variety ShowRodney TrotterTelevision film1986–1990The Two of UsAshley Phillips32 episodes1990Only Fools and Horses: The Robin Flies at DawnRodney TrotterShort film1990–1992The Piglet FilesPeter Chapman19 episodes1993Stalag Luft'Chump' CosgroveTelevision film1993–1999, 2016Goodnight SweetheartGary Sparrow, Colonel Henri Dupont59 episodes1996Gulliver's TravelsClustrilEpisode: "Episode #1.1"1997Only Fools and Horses: Only Fools CutawayRodney TrotterShort film1997The English ProgrammeClustril2 episodes1999David CopperfieldUriah Heep2 episodes2000Butterflies Reunion SpecialAdam ParkinsonShort film2000Thin IceGraham MossTelevision film2002The Life and Times of Aly Martin-SmithAly Martin-SmithTelevision film2003Murder in MindAlan WillisEpisode: "Landlord"2006The Children's Party at the PalaceCruella de Vil's Chauffeur (The 101 Dalmatians)Television special2007–2008After You've GoneJimmy Venables25 episodes2008After You've Gone: Deleted ScenesJimmy VenablesVideo2008After You've Gone: OuttakesJimmy VenablesUncredited2010–2011Rock & ChipsFreddie Robdal3 episodes2013–2015New TricksDanny Griffin26 episodes2014Only Fools and Horses: Beckham in PeckhamRodney TrotterShort film2019So AwkwardJohnnyEpisode: "Awardatarian"2023–2024FrasierAlan Cornwall20 episodes
Radio YearTitleRoleStationNotes1974–1975Drama Now: StonesBBC Radio 32 episodes1976Thirty-Minute Theatre: Open DayJohn BurnsBBC Radio 41 episode1986The Afternoon PlayNarratorBBC Radio 41 episode1999Only Fools and HorsesRodney TrotterBBC Radio 44 episodes2007Parkinson's Sunday SupplementBBC Radio 21 episode2008–2009Original ShortsReaderBBC Radio 43 episodes2010Steve Wright in the AfternoonHimselfBBC Radio 21 episode2011Richard BaconHimselfBBC Radio 5 Live1 episode2012Saturday DramaSergeant HanleyBBC Radio 41 episode2012My First PlanetBrianBBC Radio 411 episodes2013HauntedJackBBC Radio 4 Extra1 episode2017Graham NortonHimselfBBC Radio 21 episode2019The Michael Ball ShowHimselfBBC Radio 21 episode2023Liza TarbuckHimselfBBC Radio 21 episode2023Jo WhileyHimselfBBC Radio 21 episode
As himself YearTitleNotes1977Our Show7 episodes; Presenter1978The Saturday BananaPresenter1981Give Us a ClueEpisode: "Episode #4.13"1982The Kenny Everett Television ShowEpisode: "Episode #2.0"1982Head for Business1984The Saturday Picture ShowEpisode: "Episode #1.19"1984Children in Need1 episode1984–1985Blankety Blank2 episodes1985Saturday SuperstoreEpisode: "Episode #3.24"1987The Grand Knockout Tournament1 episode1988Aspel & CompanyEpisode: "Episode 5.4"1988, 1991, 1997Comic Relief3 episodes1992WoganEpisode: "Episode #12.29"1992, 2000Auntie's Bloomers2 episodes1996National Television Awards2002The Story of 'Only Fools and Horses...'''
|2004 |Britain's Best Sitcom|2 episodes |- |2004 |Richard & Judy|1 episode |- |2005 |Parkinson|1 episode |- |2007 |This Morning|1 episode |- |2010 |The One Show|1 episode |- |2011 |The Comedy Genius of John Sullivan| |- |2017 |David Jason: My Life on Screen|Episode: "Episode #1.2" |- |2017 |The Story of... Only Fools and Horses....|6 episodes |- |2023 |Frasier Inside the Series''Interviewee
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Awards and nominations Year Group Award Work Result 1987 British Academy Television Awards BAFTA Best Light Entertainment Performance Only Fools and Horses 1991 1997 BAFTA Best Comedy Performance Only Fools and Horses (Christmas Special) British Comedy Awards Best TV Comedy Actor National Television Awards Most Popular Comedy Performer 1997 Only Fools and Horses 1998 Most Popular Comedy Performer 1998 Goodnight Sweetheart 1999 Most Popular Comedy Performer 1999
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