Del Boy becomes Uncle Albert

But memories of Uncle Albert will be fondly jogged by this picture of Sir David Jason, who played his wheeler dealer nephew Del Boy in Only Fools And Horses.

With their bushy white beards and moustaches, there seems to be a definite likeness between Sir David and the late Buster Merryfield, who played Albert, even though their family was, of course, a fictional one.

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Surely if Sir David had donned a peaked cap, the similarity would have been even more compelling.

The 67-year-old star has adopted the bearded look for his latest role, the incompetent wizard Wincewind in Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic, the sequel to The Hogfather.

The actor was pictured in his scruffy wizard's costume of a brown beige top, coarse trousers and lace upboots as he took a drinks break during filming the series for Sky One.

It is 11 years since he and Merryfield shared the screen together in Only Fools And Horses, the hugely popular BBC sitcom.

Merryfield, a former bank worker who played the part of Uncle Albert from 1985 to 1996, died at the age of 78 in 1999.

Sir David has recently criticised the standard of modern television and revealed that he does not let his seven-year-old daughter Sophie Mae watch TV after 7pm.

"Entertainment should be about good, clean, honest fun - that's my personal opinion," he said. "I suppose it's slightly old-fashioned, but I don't like a lot of swearing and I don't like a lot of violence."