‘Alright Bazza!’: Remember Barry Gibb’s cameo on Only Fools and Horses?

6 August 2024, 10:10

A cameo all but confirmed your status as a national treasure.

Only Fools And Horses, without a doubt, was one of the greatest ever comedies to grace British television.

We all know and love the central characters in the gobby dodgy dealer Del Boy (played by David Jason), his younger gangly brother (played by Nicholas Lyndhurst) and their lodger relative Uncle Albert (played by Buster Merryfield).

Over the years, the sitcom brought some of the most memorable comedic moments to our screens at home, and rightly became one of the most beloved programmes ever made.

• Sir David Jason would love to bring back Del Boy and Only Fools and Horses if he could
• Only Fools and Horses: The heartbreaking 'Holding Back the Years' moment at Rodney's wedding
• David Jason says he and 'Only Fools and Horses' co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst no longer speak
• Watch a gobsmacked Bee Gees giggle their way through This Is Your Life episode

So you can understand why, if any celebrities appeared in the show, they'd instantly be considered a national treasure.

No wonder the likes of David Beckham, Richard Branson, Jonathan Ross, and Aled Jones all made cameos, with actors like Jim Broadbent and David Thewlis also appearing as characters in one-off episodes.

But one of the most unlikely cameos was when Del Boy and Rodney Trotter found themselves in Miami, brushing shoulders (well, kind of) with a local resident: the Bee Gees' very own Barry Gibb.

His appearance came at a time when the Bee Gees' professional career was on a high, after the British public embraced the Gibb brothers once again in the years after they topped the charts with 'You Win Again'.

So, what better way to further endear yourself to your fans than by appearing in the nation's favourite television show?

It's no secret that the Bee Gees loved a giggle - they were almost constantly cracking jokes and keeping interviewers in stitches when promoting their music.

Convincing Barry to appear in the show must've been fairly easy however, given he was a major fan of Only Fools And Horses himself according to David Jason.

Recalling the experience of filming with Barry to The Sun in 2022, Jason said that the Bee Gees lead singer "was a) admirably down to earth and b) just the most enormous fan of our show."

"As an ex-pat," he continued, "Barry apparently used to insist on having two things flown out to him from the UK that he couldn’t get in the States."

"Jaffa Cakes and tapes of Only Fools And Horses. Ah, that rock ’n’ roll lifestyle."

Barry appeared in the second half of the two-part Christmas Special titled 'Miami Twice: Oh To Be In England'.

Whilst Del Boy and Rodney are taking a boat tour of local tourist hot spots, they pass by Barry Gibb's Miami home, in which Del Boy thinks he spots the Bee Gee on his lawn.

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"Rodders, look," Del Boy says as he turns round to Rodney. "There's a real-life Bee Gee!"

Rodney, not convinced Barry would be watering his own lawn, claps back at Del Boy to say it's probably the gardener he's shouting at.

Typical to the character's loudmouth nature, Del Boy then proceeds to shouts across the water: "Alright Bazza!" following up with the title to one of their most celebrated songs in saying "how deep is your love?"

All the while, the camera just shows the back of someone resembling Barry's lion mane hair, until they finally reveal it to be home as he turns to face the camera.

Throwing his hose pipe down and dusting his hands, Barry then laments "like I need all this" before walking away.

A brief cameo certainly, but one that showed Barry's love of having a laugh, even at his own expense.