An Only Fools and Horses devotee splashed out £5,000 and endured over 40 hours of tattooing to get Del Boy and Uncle Albert’s faces permanently etched across his entire back. Father-of-three Justin Scudder, 46, underwent 10 sessions spanning a year to complete the inking as homage to the “timeless” sitcom.
The cleaning business proprietor also sports The Krays and Jack The Ripper designs on his legs and has invested “tens of thousands” on between 40 and 50 tattoos.
Justin, from Sittingbourne, Kent, reveals the inspiration for his latest artwork struck while viewing an episode of the beloved programme.
Despite enduring up to nine hours under the needle at a stretch proving a “savage” ordeal, he insists it was entirely worthwhile – particularly as strangers now praise him for the tattoo, reports Bristol Live.
Justin said: “I was born in the late ’70s and Only Fools was quite prominent throughout the ’80s. My mum and dad used to have it on and it felt like a fitting tribute. You’ve probably seen it a million times but they’re still funny. They’re timeless.”
He was already contemplating a back tattoo before experiencing a lightbulb moment while watching an episode late in 2024. Justin continued: “I said ‘I’m after having something on my back’ and the lady that does my tattoos said ‘I’ll have a think of some ideas’.
“The first idea was Peaky Blinders but then I thought maybe not. In actual fact I think I was watching an episode of Only Fools and Horses and I said ‘that’s it, that’s what I’m going to have’.
“My tattoo artist said ‘I’ve never done Only Fools but I’d love to do it’.” A series of nine and four-hour sessions in the chair with Molly Cleland of Clockwork Ink in Faversham followed.
Justin commented: “The nine-hour ones were a bit savage. You’ve got to be in the right frame of mind for it. It’s painful. You know it’s going to be sore but you carry on because you want the end product.”
The tattoo was finally finished on 1 April. “The way she’s done it is brilliant,” he said.
“She’s got the faces spot on so I’m really chuffed. It’s healed really quickly. I think my skin’s sort of immune to them now.”
His wife Leanne, 40, who co-runs the business with Justin, is “on board” with the tattoo. “It’s not something she would have although she has a couple of small tattoos,” Justin said.
“She thinks the artwork’s great on it, so she’s on board. My dad, he’s a bit like ‘whatever’, although he has got one tattoo that he got when he was drunk in the army, he’s not a great fan of them.
“My mum, when she was alive, she didn’t really like them too much. My friends are quite interested and a few of them have started following the tattoo artist I used.”
And strangers have approached Justin to express their admiration for his body ink.
“When you’re away on holiday, you turn into a tourist attraction,” he said. “I had one guy in Egypt who wasn’t even English and he asked me to turn round so he could take a photo.
“An Egyptian bloke was asking if it was my grandparents. I was trying to explain that it’s a telly show but he couldn’t really grasp why you would have that on your back.”
Justin’s “ultimate goal” is to get David Jason to autograph the tattoo and he has reached out to the Del Boy actor’s representatives.
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