SIR David Jason is making up for lost time after meeting a 52-year-old daughter he never knew he had, declaring: “Surprise is an understatement.”
The Only Fools And Horses legend, 83, was shocked yet “delighted” to meet Abi Harris as well as his new grandson Charlie, now ten.
Abi was born after Sir David, then a fresh-faced 30-year-old, had a fling with actress Jennifer Hill while they were starring in a play in 1970.
Decades later, Abi wrote to Sir David convinced that he was her father after learning of his time with her mum — and noticing they have similar shaped noses.
The actor — who already has a daughter, Sophie, 22, with his wife Gill — then took a paternity test, which confirmed Abi’s suspicions.
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He 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.”
Sources said Abi, herself an actress and casting director, was left “astonished” when the truth was finally confirmed — as she had idolised Sir David while growing up.
She and son Charlie spent time with the Del Boy star’s family over the Christmas period at his home in Ellesborough, Bucks.
Sir David now hopes to “continue our new relationship and get to know each other more and more”.
He had already had a few TV roles when in 1970 he starred with Jennifer and Windsor Davies in Dylan Thomas’s play Under Milk Wood at London’s May Fair theatre.
Incredibly, Abi, her mum and Sir David would star in the same play almost four decades later — still not knowing they were related.
Over the years, Sir David would become a household name through roles as Granville in Open All Hours and as the legendary Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses.
But he remained in touch with Jennifer, who has also appeared in Octopussy and Doctor Who, as they shared mutual friends.
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Jennifer was married to fellow actor Geoffrey Davion — who died in 1996 — and Abi had always believed he was her father.
As she got into the acting business herself, she crossed paths with her “hero” Sir David several times.
In 2008, Abi and Jennifer were cast in lead roles for a reprisal of Under Milk Wood, with Sir David doing a pre-recorded voiceover as the narrator.
Five years later, Abi and Sir David were next to each other at an event when a mutual friend noticed their similar side profiles and noses.
Abi then became increasingly convinced her mother’s fling with Sir David had been something more.
She also wanted to understand her family’s hereditary health conditions for the sake of son Charlie — and so decided to write to Sir David.
She opened with a line from Dylan’s play, which read: “To begin at the beginning. Or to be more precise, my beginning?”
In the note, she asked him if he would take a paternity test.
A source 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.”
Sir David agreed to the test and, after the surprise result, the families eventually met up at the Landmark Hotel in central London.
The source added: “Everyone prepared themselves for both scenarios, but it still came as an almighty shock when it came back as a positive match.
“Abi went to pieces. It’s hard to imagine discovering anyone unexpected is your father, but a TV icon, who she idolised growing up, was just astonishing.
“He was a hero of hers. You can’t imagine how incredible a discovery it was. But everyone has been so loving and accepting.”
Abi, who lives in Brighton, told of her delight after years wondering about her roots — though the experience is bittersweet.
She 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.”
Abi, whose acting credits include a part in the 2012 comedy film Run For Your Wife, now hopes to form a relationship with her new sister Sophie, a university student 30 years her junior.
Sir David has previously admitted he and Gill — who he met in 1989 — were “scared” when they decided to start a family later in life.
He wrote in his autobiography: “We were older than people conventionally are when they think about these things.
“The idea scared us a lot.
“We batted it back and forth.”
He was 61 and Gill 41 when Sophie was born, and the couple would later marry in 2005, the same year Sir David was knighted for services to comedy.
Nearly 20 years later, Sir David’s new grandson is helping him in his workshop and collecting eggs from the chickens he owns.
A source told the Daily Mirror: “Sir David is very sanguine and accepting.
“It seems like an impossible task for everyone — you can’t make up for lost time.
“But what they can do is make the most of their relationships moving forward, and that’s very exciting.
“It’s early days, but they are meeting up when they can during holidays.”
