Sir David Jason discovers he has a 52-year-old daughter who he had no idea existed
Legendary actor Sir David Jason has been reunited with a daughter he was unaware even existed for more than five decades.
The Only Fools and Horses star, who previously believed he only had one 22-year-old daughter, was shocked to discover he had a 52-year-old child and is actually the grandfather of a 10-year-old boy.
The TV icon has now welcomed his newfound daughter, Abi Harris, and grandson, Charlie, into the family and told the Mirror he is making up for lost time by doing as much as he can with them.
He revealed to the publication it was ‘a surprise’ to find out he had an older child – Ms Harris is the daughter of actress Jennifer Hill and was born after the pair had a brief relationship.
The news came as a shock to Sir David, as well as his wife Lady Gill White and daughter Sophie, but the family say they have since welcomed the pair with open arms.
Sir David Jason, pictured here at the Royal Albert Hall in January 2022, has discovered he has a 52-year-old daughter
The legendary actor thought he only had his 22-year-old daughter Sophie from his current relationship with Lady Gill White (pictured together)
Speaking to the Mirror, the former A Touch of Frost star said: ‘To say it was a surprise to find out I had a daughter from years ago is an understatement.
‘However, on settling with the news, I am delighted that I am now able to get to know Abi and so we meet up when we can.
‘My wife, Gill, and daughter, Sophie, have been very supportive and understanding and have embraced Abi and welcomed her and her young son into her now wider family.’
For her part, Abi says while she had no idea who her father was – she had her suspicions after hearing about Jason’s relationship with her mother while they both starred in a stage adaptation of the Dylan Thomas radio play Under Milk Wood in 1970.
Her belief grew stronger after realizing she shared the same shaped nose as him, and her parentage has now been confirmed.
She had previously thought her father was Geoffrey Davion, who was married to her mother, until his death in 1996.
Since the surprise discovery was made, Abi and Charlie have been to visit him and spent a period over Christmas with him and his family at his home in Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire.
She also seems to have inherited some of his famed acting ability, having appeared in an episode of Doctor Who and remarkably a revival performance of Under Milk Wood in 2008 where Sir David and her mother also took part.
Abi was born after her mother Jennifer Hill had a brief relationship with Sir David Jason. Pictured: Jennifer Hill and David Jason (circled) stand with the cast of Under Milk Wood at the Mayfair theater in 1970
The revelation he has another daughter and a grandson has shocked the former Only Fools and Horses star, pictured here as his character from the show Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter
Friends who saw the legendary actor and Abi stood next to each other remarked on their similar facial profiles, and as the years went past, she worked up the courage to find out the truth.
The Mirror reports she wrote a letter to Sir David asking him to take a paternity test, emotionally beginning it with a line from the Thomas play, saying: ‘To begin at the beginning. Or to be more precise, my beginning…’
A source told the publication the letter came as a shock to Sir David, but he was touched by the request and agreed to do it.
The insider said: ‘It’s a lovely letter, which David has kept.
‘It was light-hearted but serious, without being overwhelming. It was obvious whoever had written it was a nice person who just wanted to find out her heritage. The Dylan quote was the perfect way to start it.
‘It was a sympathetic way of saying, ‘Brace yourself’.
After the bombshell, the two families agreed to meet up in London to figure out how to move forward from this life-changing news.
Abi said: ‘In discovering my father’s identity, I am starting to piece together my own.
‘Of course, I am tickled pink and incredibly proud but, frequently, completely overwhelmed with sorrow for the years we have lost.
‘After a measured start, now I hope we can consciously make time to see each other more often, so that I can master the art of being the best big sister and build a meaningful father-daughter relationship in its truest sense.’