Inside Sir David Jason family tragedy and loss of twin brother who died at birth

Sir David Jason is one of the most revered actors in British history, best known for playing Del Boy Trotter on the legendary sitcom Only Fools and Horses.

Since his time on the show, he has gone on to become an acting icon, landing huge roles in shows including A Touch of Frost and Open All Hours. But away from his acting accolades, Sir David's family have been revealed to have gone through immense struggles and hardship.

Many fans of the actor may not know that Sir David was one half of a set of twins, who was born on February 2, 1940. Born to mum Olwen Jones, David was the only twin to survive, as his brother in utero sadly passed away before he was delivered.

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Speaking to The Guardian, Jason explained: "I'm a twin, but only I emerged live from the womb. The fact that I was originally one half of a duo gave rise to a theory, much propounded in newspaper profiles, that my life has been one desperate effort to compensate for that stillborn brother.

"I fear the truth may be more prosaic," Sir David continued: "The incident, sad as it was, dated back to the day I was born. It was hard to feel it as a loss."

Sir David, who has played roles from detectives to dodgy dealers and all in between, does still have a fraternal connection. Having an older brother, Arthur White – who also works in acting – has allowed the pair to form an immensely close bond.

Arthur was even able to star in some of the episodes of A Touch of Frost, playing the role of PC Ernie Trigg. But it turns out that older brother Arthur was the person to steer David in the direction of becoming an actor.

"It was Arthur who helped secure my first big break in the theatre," Sir David remarked. "And life came full circle when I recommended him for a part in [A Touch of] Frost – and he went on to appear in 27 episodes. It was great having him around."

Whilst Arthur and David are biologically related, they do not share the same surname. This is due to Sir David having to change his name due to there being another David White in the acting industry at the time.

Now aged 83, Sir David reflected on how his older brother became the trailblazer in the family, saying he was the first one to go into acting. "Returning home from National Service, he declared that he fancied being a thespian and duly won a scholarship to Rada," he recalled.

David continued: "I can remember the family crowding round excitedly at home to listen to his debut appearance in the long-running BBC radio drama serial Mrs Dale's Diary." Arthur himself would go on to have an illustrious career, working on TV shows including Crossroads, The Darling Buds of May and Heartbeat, to name but a few.

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