Vinnie Jones channels his villain character Danny Driscoll as the Only Fools and Horses The Musical cast get ready for their opening night

The cast of Only Fools and Horses The Musical had been getting ready to open their three week London Christmas season at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo on Tuesday.

Vinnie Jones, 59, will play the function of the notorious Danny Driscoll whereas actor Sam Lupton will play Del Boy.

The pair had been seen exterior the theatre forward of opening night as Sam drove round in the iconic three-wheeler yellow van.

Vinnie kicks off his run in the Only Fools musical this Christmas, starring in 28 reveals at London’s Hammersmith Eventim Apollo from December 17. 

The present is now on a nationwide tour till July 5 subsequent yr, following its record-breaking four-year sold-out run in the West End. 

Funnyman Paul Whitehouse, 66, who options as Grandad, wrote the musical with Jim Sullivan, son of late Only Fools creator John Sullivan.

Vinnie, who will solely seem throughout the Hammersmith dates, has revealed he was provided a component in the stage manufacturing earlier than it first launched however felt it was not the proper time. 

However, this time round he couldn’t say no, after he requested his shut good friend Guy Ritchie, the movie producer who sparked his appearing profession, his ideas on him collaborating in the present to which he claimed ‘You’ve bought to do it’.

Vinnie’s character is one-half of the TV present’s infamous Peckham-based gangsters, the Driscoll Brothers.

The duo — performed by 6ft 4in Roy Marsden and 5ft 1in Christopher Ryan — terrified Del Boy, Rodney and the remainder of the Nags Head regulars on the present.

Last month Vinnie stated that he’s made for the half in the musical as he beforehand flogged dodgy TVs and exploding toasters – identical to Del Boy – throughout his wheeler-dealing days. 

Speaking completely to The Sun, Vinnie stated: ‘I like a little bit of wheeler-dealing, you do not neglect the place you come from.’ 

‘Pairs of knocked-off Gucci footwear in numerous sizes, sheepskin coats, what­ever we may get maintain of — we had been all at it.’ 

Vinnie stated his go-to contact for ‘hooky gear’ was a infamous dealer who had an workplace at his native golf membership, regardless of the reality his items had been unrelated to the sport.

He defined: ‘I’d go there and see him, and he could be sitting there with a henchman. It was coming as much as Christmas and he stated to me, ‘I’ve bought these pretty nests of tables and these toasters.” 

Vinnie added that the dealer requested him if his ‘boys at soccer’ would need any for Christmas. 

One of the soccer gamers, who purchased a toaster off of Vinnie, suffered a mishap, after shopping for the equipment for his mom at Christmas. 

Vinnie revealed that the household had simply embellished their kitchen, nevertheless, the toaster someday made a loud bang and earlier than the household knew it there was ‘all black on the ceiling’. 

Revealing that he needed to foot the invoice for the decorator, Vinnie claimed that he ended up with all the toasters and tables which price him a ‘fortune’. 

However, his wheeler-dealing days didn’t cease there, as he was later landed with an assortment of knock-off Russian televisions, which he needed to retailer in his storage. 

The star believed he would not have any points till the police someday popped round to his residence to arrest him after an altercation with a neighbour. 

To Vinnie’s shock, nevertheless, the police by no means questioned him on why he had so many TVs saved in his residence.