Actors have united in paying tribute to the man who brought laughter to millions for his role as the dimwitted star of Only Fools and Horses.
Roger Lloyd-Pack was a true character who worked with stars of both small and big screen and was famous for his deadpan style and warm, rich voice.
Born in Islington in 1944 he was the son of Hammer horror actor Charles Lloyd-Pack and Ulrike Elizabeth, a travel agent. He went to school in Hampshire and achieved A Level passes in English, French and Latin before heading to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) where he studied with future stars including One Foot In The Grave’s Richard Wilson.
He made his debut in 1968 but undoubtedly his breakthrough role was as road sweeper Colin “Trigger” Ball in the comedy series Only Fools and Horses, who’s hook was always calling Nicholas Lyndhurst’s character Rodney ‘Dave’.
Few will ever forget the moment where he became the unwitting straight-man in the classic Only Fools moment when David Jason’s Del Boy took a dive through an open bar. The scene won Mr Lloyd-Pack highest praise for his immaculate timing as he managed to perform a perfect 360 turn between the moment of the fall and the punchline as Del Boy picks himself up.
In another episode he proudly displayed a medal given to him by the local council for saving them money for keeping the same broom for 20 years, only to reveal: “This old broom’s had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.” “How can it be the same broom then?” asks an incredulous bystander to an indignant response from Trigger ‘There's the picture. What more proof do you need?’
He kept the laughs coming with his turn as Owen Newitt in The Vicar of Dibley alongside Dawn French.His character was famous for his love of swearing and lack of attention to personal hygiene, as experienced by the vicar when, having just been forced to kiss him, she discovers the piece of pork he had got stuck in his teeth the week before.
He also caused one of the greatest shocks in the series where in the final episode he pulls up in a limo to collect the vicar ahead of her wedding, and manages to cover her and her dress in mud from a nearby puddle.In recent years he appeared in Doctor Who and Harry Potter and trod the boards many time in stage plays by greats including Chekhov and Shakespeare.
Mr Lloyd-Pack was married twice; first to Sheila Ball, from whom he was divorced in 1972, and secondly to the poet and dramatist Jehane Markham (the daughter of David Markham), whom he married in 2000. He has one daughter, actress Emily Lloyd, and three sons: Spencer, Hartley and Louis.
He lived in Kentish Town, north London and supported Tottenham Hotspur as well as the Labour Party. He died at home on Wednesday from pancreatic cancer aged 69.
