David Jason is known for many things, whether it's cheeky but charming Del-Boy in Only Fools and Horses or trusting and thorough DI Jack Frost in A Touch of Frost, he's been a familiar face on our screens for a number of years and cemented his name as a national treasure.
MORE: The sad story behind A Touch of Frost star David Jason's first love
The actor is much more reserved when it comes to his private life, however, David did open up about the sweet moment he first met his now-wife Gill back in the late nineties. Speaking to the Guardian in 2013, the Open All Hours star explained: "I first set eyes on Gill, a floor assistant at [a TV studio] in Leeds, when she was sent to meet me in the studio car park.
© Photo: Getty ImagesDavid with his daughter Sophie Mae and wife Gill
"Later, she told me she had felt an almost physical jolt and a voice in her head said, 'This man is going to affect your life.' Her other immediate thought was that I looked lonely, which was true." The 80-year-old added: "At that time, the idea that we would start a relationship would have struck us both as unlikely.
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"She was 20 years younger, we were living in different parts of the country, and I was still numb with grief. Yet work kept bringing us together and fondness turned to love. Our daughter, Sophie Mae, was born in March 2001. When she was handed to me, the room seemed suddenly very still."
© Photo: Getty ImagesDavid's partner Myfanwy sadly died in 1995
Gill and David married in 2005, ten years after his partner of 18 years, Myfanwy, sadly died from breast cancer. The couple began a relationship in 1977 and remained together while he nursed her through her battle with the disease.
In his autobiography, David described how Myfanwy was the "love of his life" and how he was "numb with grief" after her passing. The actor also opened up about the moment his partner received the diagnosis. "You can imagine: tears. It was terrible.
"She had a specialist who said she should have an operation to remove her breast because radiotherapy wasn't going to shrink the cancer on its own. That was so hard for her to take. Neither of us had known anything like this in our lives before. It was a whole new reality to get used to. It was a very stressful time, a terrible, difficult emotional time."
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