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ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES ICON SIR DAVID JASON HAS SPOKEN ABOUT THE MOMENT HE DISCOVERED HE HAD A DAUGHTER, ABI, WHO WAS THE PRODUCT OF A SHORT-LIVED RELATIONSHIP WITH ACTRESS JENNIFER HILL

SUSAN KNOX Assistant Showbiz Editor and KATY HALLAM 21:26, 30 May 2025 Sir David Jason has revealed the startling discovery that at 83 years old, he had a daughter he had never known about.

The beloved actor, famed for his role in Only Fools and Horses, found out in 2023 that Abi Harris was his biological child, born from an affair with actress Jennifer Hill during a 1970s

stage run of Under Milk Wood. Opening up about the unexpected news on Gyles Brandreth's Rosebud podcast, Sir David recounted: "[Myself and Jennifer] parted our ways and we drifted

apart and she got involved with someone else and married him and that was it." READ MORE Conor Maynard breaks silence on paternity battle 'hell' after one night with Traitors

star The truth came to light decades later when Abi questioned her mother about her parentage. "'That chap you call dad is not your father,'" her mother disclosed. To

which a stunned Abi responded: "'What do you mean he's not my father?'" Article continues below Her mother elaborated: "'I think you'll find your

father is David Jason, because we had a fling together when we did these shows'." Although initially dumbstruck, Sir David described establishing a relationship with Abi as a

"happy ever after" embracing her into his life. This heartfelt episode was also captured in his memoir, This Time Next Year, where he shared: "There is the pang of sadness for

those missing years, all that lost time.", reports the Mirror. Abi made contact through an emotive letter which left the veteran actor reeling. "You will be unsurprised to learn

that my hands were shaking by now," he wrote. "What had I just read? I had to go back and read the whole thing again. And then I had to read it again. And then again after

that." The letter contained a plea for an anonymous DNA test. "At no point in the nearly fifty years that had gone by since then had that thought had cause to enter my head,"

he confessed, acknowledging that the possibility of having fathered a child back in 1970 had never crossed his mind. Amidst the initial shock - a whirlwind of "wonder and amazement,

through anxiety and heartache, to fear and outright panic" - his wife Gill Hinchcliffe, with whom he has daughter Sophie, stood by him and was "so supportive and

understanding." Upon meeting Abi, Jason sensed an unmistakable "sense of distance," which he described as "such a complicated thing to process, for us both." The

revelation of Abi also brought the news of a grandson, 10 year old Charlie. Abi, now following in her father's acting footsteps, had always harboured suspicions about her lineage. She

was aware of Jason's history with her mother and had recognised their similar features - particularly the shape of their noses. She had been under the impression that her father was

Geoffrey Davion, who died in 1996. Their reunion has flourished into a heartfelt connection. Abi and Charlie spent Christmas with Jason's family in Buckinghamshire. Article continues

below In a serendipitous turn, Abi - who has featured in Doctor Who - once performed alongside her mother and Jason in a 2008 revival of Under Milk Wood, the very production that originally

united her parents.