Only Fools And Horses Writer John Sullivan Has Died

I thought this required its own thread the BBC are reporting that the only fools and horses writer John Sullivan has died after a short illness RIP.

I know we don't need RIP threads for every death reported but only fools and horses did have a massive fan base.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13176198

RIP John. He brought us one of the best comedy series of all time.

Coincidentally GOLD already had the final episodes of OFAH scheduled in for today.

I assume they'll be a dedication at the end of Rock & Chips next week? (Another superb show)

Rest in Peace, John.
I adored Only Fools and Horses and it is a shame that a comic genius such as John has passed away.

Citizen Smith was a great show too. I loved the way John Sullivan always managed to write comedy with such heart.

Did he ever do anything other than Only Fools and Horses and it's various spin-offs after 1996? At his peak he was a legend and Citizin Smith was classic too - but the last 15 years his (and the BBC's) refusal to let Only Fools rest in peace did his reputation as a writer no favours at all.

Look's like he did a couple of projects. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sullivan_(writer)#Works

I think it's a terrible shame he's gone. Only Fools has to be one of my favourite ever TV programmes.

I think you're misrepresenting the situation slightly - he wrote OFaH to its natural conclusion with "Time on Our Hands" but it was the public's perceived demand for more episodes, connected with the BBC's desire for more, which forced his hand to write the three further Xmas shows.

While The Green Green Grass seems to have been a bit of a sleeper hit, Rock & Chips however I believe was a worthy exercise, and we'll see how the full series is received from Thursday onwards.

Thursday's is the last one right? I wonder if he'd written any more before his death?

I do beg your pardon, I was under the mistaken impression this Thursday's was the first in a series.

'...and the third and final episode of his latest work Rock & Chips will be shown on BBC One on Thursday.'
(From the BBC News article.)

A good writer knows when to stop though, and if he hadn't fallen into the trap Only Fools and Horses would be remembered for ending on the high that it did, rather than the awful lows of it's come back episodes.

I've read that a full series would likely have been comissioned if the third special airing on Thursday proved successful. Obviously, that's not now going to be the case.