Lyndhurst makes BBC sitcom return

Lyndhurst played Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst will return to the BBC in a sitcom scripted by My Family creator Fred Barron.

In After You've Gone, Lyndhurst, 45, plays a divorced father who has to look after his children when his wife leaves the country to work in the third world.

His attempts to be a father are hindered by his mother-in-law, played by Acorn Antiques star Celia Imrie.

The comedy was one of several new shows piloted by the BBC earlier this year.

A sketch show by British-Iranian comedian Omid Djalili has also been commissioned after the testing process.

New ideas

Controller of BBC One, Peter Fincham, said the pilots were intended to "give our artists the breathing space they need to experiment with their ideas".

He added: "Some may work perfectly as one-offs, whilst others may sustain longer runs."

Other programmes given a trial run included a spoof chat-show starring Jennifer Saunders, and a fire-fighting sitcom by Men Behaving Badly scribe Simon Nye.

After You've Gone will see Nicholas Lyndhurst reunited with Only Fools and Horses director Tony Dow.

Lyndhurst played market stall holder Rodney Trotter in the classic comedy series for 22 years.

In 2004, it was voted the public's favourite television sitcom in a BBC search, beating competition from Blackadder, Porridge and Fawlty Towers.