Only Fools And Horses stage present stars left ‘visibly upset’ after two black cast-members are ‘racially abused by a rowdy viewers member’

The cast of Only Fools And Horses musical were victims of vile racist abuse from a ‘rowdy’ audience member during a performance at the Eventim Apollo in London’s Hammersmith, on Friday. 

Black actors Bradley John and Gloria Acquaah-Harrison, who play truck driver Denzil Tulser and and new character Mrs Obooko, were said to be the target of the disgusting comments which left  them ‘visibly upset’. 

An onlooker told The Sun: ‘It was a rowdy crowd, with everyone in the Christmas spirit, but this idiot spoiled the performance for those in ear shot’.

Before adding: ‘Security were unable to identify the culprit and eject them.’

While a source close to the production told the publication: ‘Cast members were visibly upset, they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.’

Denzil was played by actor Paul Barber in the original BBC sitcom, while Mrs Obooko is a new character created for the show. 

Following the incident show bosses took to social media with a stark warning to future audiences which read: ‘Here at Only Fools and Horses The Musical we always act with respect and kindness towards ourselves and others’. 

‘We do expect our audiences to do the same. Any unkind comments, bullying, discrimination or any form of abuse towards our cast or company members will not be tolerated by the producers or theatres’. 

‘We expect respect on and off stage. We are committed to working closely with the venue teams to ensure that out cast, company and audiences embrace an environment of respect inclusivity and safety’. 

MailOnline have contacted the show’s producer’s for further comment. 

The musical is enjoying a three week run at the venue over the festive period with The Fast Show’s Paul Whitehouse as Grandad and Vinnie Jones in the role of villain Danny Driscoll.

It comes after Sir David Jason praised the ‘hysterical and moving’ musical after attending it’s gala performance last week. 

The actor, 84, who portrayed Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter on the beloved BBC sitcom, said the stage show ‘brought a tear to my eye’ as memories of his time on the series came flooding back.

Sam Lupton has taken on his iconic character with Vinny Jones playing Danny Driscoll and Paul Whitehouse as Grandad. 

Speaking to The Sun at the show David said it was ‘hysterical’ and added he even found himself laughing despite knowing the gags.

The beloved BBC sitcom ran from 1981 to 1991 followed by several Christmas specials that ended in 2003. 

In January 2022, Only Fools and Horses topped a BBC poll of the best 20 TV programmes the corporation has ever made.

Sir David reportedly almost quit Only Fools And Horses during its prime back in 1986 and almost an entirely different ending for Del Boy character was written. 

According to The Sun, as the actor contemplated leaving, head writer John Sullivan wrote a potential final episode called Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

The episode did air that year but it almost had a very different ending. It saw a character named Jumbo Mills arrive in Peckham after supposedly making a fortune while living in Australia.

The initial idea was that Jumbo would cross paths with Del and tempt him to return to Australia with him to make his fortune there.

This would have given David the opportunity to make a clean break from the show while setting up for the series to carry on without him.

Producers were reportedly contemplating making Nicholas Lyndhurst the star of a new version of the show called Hot Rod, centred around his character Rodney. 

While the fate of Only Fools And Horses hung in the balance, David ultimately changed his mind and decided to stay with the series.

The episode aired with Del rejecting Jumbo Mils’ offer to go to Australia.