Sir David Jason has shared his regret and sadness at not being part of his long-lost daughter Abi Harris’ life for 52 years.
The Only Fools And Horses alumnus, 84, said he received the ‘most amazing’ letter from the secret daughter he never knew he had.
In his new memoir This Time Next Year, David recalls the overwhelming rush of emotions he felt upon seeing the life-changing letter.
Abi is the daughter of actress Jennifer Hill – who starred in the James Bond film Octopussy – after her mother and David briefly dated in 1970.
David talked about the extraordinary moment in his life and how he wished he had known Abi sooner. He said there is “a pang of sadness for those missing years, all that lost time.”
The Only Fools And Horses alum said he received the ‘most amazing’ letter from the secret daughter he never knew he had
When he discovered the letter, David sat in his kitchen and remembered how his hands shook as he began to read it.
David said he felt “wonder and amazement, through fear and heartache, to fear and outright panic” when he knew the possibility of having a second daughter.
In the letter, Abi wanted David to take an anonymous paternity test because she was unsure, but insisted she did not want financial support.
In That of the Mirror exclusive look at his book, he says: ‘It won’t surprise you that my hands were shaking by now. What had I just read? I had to go back and read the whole thing again. And then I had to read it again. And then again.
‘I have to say it didn’t really occur to me that Abi Harris was my daughter – that my relationship with Jennifer Hill, while we were in the 1970 production of Under Milk Wood, could have produced a child without my knowing anything about it .
“At no time in the nearly fifty years that have passed since has that thought entered my mind.”
David credits his wife Gill Hinchcliffe, with whom he shares daughter Sophie, for being ‘so supportive and understanding’ through it all, despite the shock they were both in.
When he met Abi for the first time, David said they both felt an “inevitable sense of distance” because of the lost time they had.
In his new memoir This Time Next Year, David recalls the overwhelming cascade of emotions he felt upon seeing the life-changing letter (pictured last week)
Abi is the daughter of actress Jennifer Hill – who starred in the James Bond film Octopussy – after her mother and David briefly dated in 1970 (Jennifer photo)
David talked about the extraordinary moment in his life and how he wished he had known Abi sooner. He said there is “a pang of sadness for those missing years, all that lost time.”
David said he felt ‘wonder and amazement, through fear and heartache, to fear and outright panic’, when he knew the possibility of him having a second daughter (pictured in 2010)
David credits his wife Gill Hinchcliffe, with whom he shares daughter Sophie, for being ‘so supportive and understanding’ through it all, despite the shock they were both in.
David added that it was “so complicated to process, for both of us,” after their first meeting.
When he learned about Abi, he also discovered that he had a 10-year-old grandson, Abi’s son Charlie.
Abi says that although she had no idea who her father was, she had her suspicions after learning about Jason’s relationship with her mother while they were both starring in a stage adaptation of the Dylan Thomas radio play Under Milk Wood in 1970.
Her belief grew stronger after she realized she had the same shaped nose as him, and her parentage is now confirmed.
She had previously believed her father was Geoffrey Davion, who was married to her mother until his death in 1996.
Since the surprising discovery was made, Abi and Charlie have visited him and spent time with him and his family at his home in Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire, over Christmas.
She also appears to have inherited some of his famous acting prowess, having appeared in an episode of Doctor Who and, remarkably, in a 2008 revival of Under Milk Wood, which also featured Sir David and her mother.
Friends who saw the legendary actor and Abi standing next to each other commented on their similar facial profiles, and as the years passed, she mustered the courage to find out the truth.
David was knighted in 2005 for his services to acting and comedy. In November of that year he married Mrs. Hinchcliffe.
He started dating Gill after his long-term partner of 20 years, Welsh actress Myfanwy Talog, died of breast cancer in 1995 at the age of 45.
The TV star believed he became a father for the first time at the age of 61, and after Sophie was born, he said it was “forced on him” as most of his life was focused solely on success.
He previously said: ‘My life has been turned around. It wasn’t fame and it wasn’t money, but I always wanted to succeed. The only way I could do that was to try to be better at each job than the last, and to learn.
“That’s why I had to be footless and free of imagination.”