John Challis jokes ‘the drinks are on me’ after receiving 9p royalties for Heartbeat episode
ACTOR John Challis got 9p in royalties for a Heartbeat appearance and joked: “The drinks are on me.”
The star, famed for playing Only Fools and Horses’ Boycie, told fans he was paid after an old episode of the Yorkshire drama aired.
Challis, 78, tweeted today: “Yippee! I just got a royalty payment for Heartbeat. NINE pence. The drinks are on me, and I want change.”
His quip refers to a Fools and Horses episode in which a gangster offers Mike the barman £1 to buy everyone in the pub a drink, adding menacingly: “I want change.”
Dodgy car dealer Boycie, married to Marlene, then orders a pricey large cognac.
ITV3 airs regular repeats of Heartbeat, which ran from 1992 until 2010.
Challis appeared on one episode in 1998 as a character called Stan Fraser.
His army of 108,000 Twitter followers found the royalty payout hilarious.
Aubrey Davis recalled Del Boy’s famed catchphrase, commenting: “This time next year you’ll be millionaires.”
Ged Tivey replied: “Large cognac please Michael!”
Rob Lewis added: “Bloomin hell. The postage would have well exceeded that! Spend it wisely John.”
And Dave Bowen said: “Ssshhh John. Your agent will want their cut . . . oh and don’t forget the HMRC as well.”
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