By Liam de Brun

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Only Fools and Horses legend David Jason has said that he is ‘very saddened’ in a tribute to his late co-star Patrick Murray following his passing. It was announced on Thursday (October 2) that the actor passed away in his sleep at 1.28am on Monday (September 29). Surrounded by family and friends at the time of his passing, the 68-year-old was best known for playing Mickey Pearce on the iconic BBC sitcom. Appearing in 20 episodes of the programme between 1983 and 2003, Mickey was a close friend of Del Boy and Rodney. The wheeler dealer would often take advantage of Rodney’s business inexperience, making extravagant claims about how well he was doing with money and women. Outside of his work on Only Fools , Patrick appeared in Scum and Quadrophenia, Curse of the Pink Panther and The Firm over the years. With tributes from fans around the world continuing to pour in, 85-year-old David released a statement following news of Patrick’s death. He said: “I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Patrick after his difficult health battles. “It is always a great loss to the Only Fools cast and crew as the show was, and still is, like a big family and another one of our friends has passed away. I would like to send my condolences to Patrick’s family and friends.” A BBC spokesperson added: “We are very sad to hear of the passing of Patrick Murray, much loved for his role as Mickey in Only Fools and Horses, our thoughts are with his friends and family.” Joining in on those paying their respects was the wife of Only Fools legend John Challis , who played Boycie in Only Fools and its spin-off The Green Green Grass, Carol Challis. “My condolences to Pat’s beloved wife Anong and their daughter Josie,” she wrote on X, previously known as Twitter . Patrick shared with his fans in July 2021 that he was diagnosed with cancer and had an operation to remove a lung tumour in its early stages, followed by chemotherapy, in January 2022. Subsequent scans found another tumour in his liver that was unconnected to his lung cancer and also treatable. In a health update in May 2022, Patrick said his oncologist told him his ‘lung cancer was cured and that the tumour in my liver was shrinking’, however by April 2023 he revealed his lung cancer had returned.