RIP John Sullivan

John Sullivan, the screenwriter famous for creating Only Fools and Horses, died today aged 64. 

It was announced by the BBC that he died at a hospital in Surrey, following a battle with viral pneumonia that kept him in intensive care for six weeks. He had two sons and a daughter, with his wife Sharon, and two grandchildren. 

He is most famous for creating Only Fools And Horses, which followed the ups and downs of Derek “Del Boy” Trotter and his family as they tried to make a quick fortune. It ran for 10 years between 1981 and 1991, with several Christmas specials in the years that followed. 

It has regularly been voted the best British comedy of all time. The episode Time On Our Hands, in which the Trotter brothers become wealthy following the discovery and sale of a valuable watch, attracted 24.3 million viewers and gained the record for the highest UK audience for a sitcom episode. 

Sir David Jason, who played Del Boy, said he was "devastated" at the loss of his friend and added, "We have lost our country's greatest comedy writer but he leaves us a great legacy, the gift of laughter. My thoughts are with his family." 

Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Rodney, said he was deeply saddened and described his friend as "without doubt" Britain's finest TV writer, adding, "He was a shy and self-effacing man, but had a huge passion for his work and was looking forward to writing more Rock & Chips. I hope the last episode makes him proud."

He was described as "the Dickens of his generation” after writing a number of popular sitcoms, including Citizen Kane, Roger Roger, Dear John and Just Good Friends. He was awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to drama. 

He landed his first job at BBC Television Centre as a scene hand aged 16. During his spare time he wrote sketches and his break came when he submitted one of his scripts to Dennis Main Wilson, the renowned BBC comedy producer, who commissioned him to work on the series that became Citizen Smith.

The third and final episode of his latest work Rock & Chips, a comedy prequel to Only Fools and Horses, will be shown on BBC1 on Thursday.