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Only Fools’ Nicholas Lyndhurst joins Frasier for pints in new series

23 August 2023 By Jessica Mason

Only Fools and Horses actor Nicholas Lyndhurst has been seen drinking pints with Kelsey Grammer in a first look at the new Frasier series.

The union will see the two actors, known for being at home in pubs and bars, get together in the Paramount+ Frasier reboot show. Lyndhurst, known fondly across Britain for playing the Only Fools and Horses role of Rodney Trotter famously drank in the Nag’s Head pub with his brother Delboy played by the actor David Jason. Similarly, Grammer’s character reprises the role as psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane, a character who was known for propping up the bar in the US sitcom Cheers.

In the new 10-episode series, Lyndhurst will play Frasier’s old college friend turned university professor Alan Cornwall and join Frasier during his return to Boston.

Frasier, which was originally a spin-off show from the hugely popular show Cheers that featured the actor Ted Danson as the bartender Sam, was set in Seattle and began in 1993, running until 2004.

During its heyday, Frasier also starred the actors Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon, David Hyde Pierce as Dr Niles Crane and Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle, and often mentioned the original Cheers series which had been set in the bar in Boston.

Frasier’s son Freddy has been recast in the new show with British actor Jack Cutmore-Scott, known for his role in Deception. Plus, a new character named Olivia (Toks Olagundoye) also joins Lyndhurst as a newcomer to the show.

In new images released by the studio, Olagundoye’s character can be seen having a drink with Frasier (Granmer) and Alan (Lyndhurst) in what appears as a mash up between the bar scenes in Cheers and the much-adored pub scenes of the Nag’s Head often celebrated in Only Fools and Horses.

A teaser for the show has a new recording of the theme song “Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs” performed by Grammer and hints at the show moving forwards in time, giving the series both a sense of revisiting the past and looking forwards to the future.

The popular US series Frasier has, during its time, picked up a host of awards and won widespread critical acclaim, with Grammer winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for his role of Dr Frasier Crane. In total, the Frasier has won 37 Emmys from 107 overall nominations.

The show, which has been filmed in front of a live studio audience at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, will begin airing on Paramount+ from 12 October.

Lyndhurst and Grammer first met when they appeared in the West End together back in 2019 in Man Of La Mancha at the London Coliseum and became friends after Granmer revealed he had been a big Only Fools and Horses fan.