When David Jason met Diane Langton
Following the sad news of her death; family and friends have paid tribute to screen legend Diane Langton, whose many TV roles include playing Del Boy’s girlfriend in Only Fools and Horses.
Both actors have been prominent figures on British television since the 1970s, with Langton starring as June Snell alongside David Jason in a hilarious plot when Del thought he was a dad.
Her agent, Shane Collins, announced the star’s passing, describing her “rich and remarkable career”, which began in 1959 and ended in 2025 with the iconic role of Hollyoaks’ matriarch Nana McQueen.
Early careers
Langton and Jason were both born in the same era, during the austerities of World War II. They also had similar backgrounds, growing up in London in ordinary working-class families with no connections to showbusiness.
Jason’s father was a porter at Billingsgate Fish Market and his mother was a cleaner. After leaving Northfield Secondary Modern School at 15, he wanted to be an actor, but his father advised him to learn a trade, so he took a job as an apprentice mechanic, before working as an electrician for six years. However, the pull of acting was too great and he “retired” from being a tradesman to follow his dreams, although money was tight.
He won his first TV role in 1966 playing Bert Bradshaw in the ITV soap Crossroads. Later, he appeared alongside Monty Python stars Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones in the ITV kids’ comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set, until 1969. Roles followed in the Thames Television children’s programme Magpie, BBC sitcom Hugh and I and fantasy drama series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
His broad repertoire also included theatre and radio. Making his name in the West End farce, No Sex Please, We’re British in 1973, he also starred alongside Ronnie Barker in the gentle comedy Open All Hours, as shop assistant Granville, and then the BBC prison comedy Porridge as inmate Blanco – the role that made him a household name.
Famous meeting
In BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, David Jason made the lead character his own from the moment he first appeared onscreen as market trader Del Boy Trotter. Starring alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst as younger brother Rodney and the late Lennard Pearce as Grandad, Jason was loved by viewers for his wheeler dealer antics and kind heart.
Meanwhile, Langton’s acting career had followed a similarly distinguished path, after growing up in Fulham, London, with her parents, merchant seaman William and his wife Bridie Langton. As a child, she also aspired to become an actor and excelled in ballet, joining several touring companies after training at Hammersmith’s Corona Academy.
Her first onscreen credited role was at the age of 15, when she played a schoolgirl in the comedy Carry On Teacher -the third film in the famous British franchise. She also learned her craft in the theatre, starring in the rock musical Hair in 1968, followed by West End shows A Little Night Music, A Chorus Line and Mary Poppins, before playing Kathy Roberts in BBC sitcom The Rag Trade from 1975 to 1978.
For Diane Langton, Only Fools and Horses marked the start of her friendship with David Jason, as well as showcasing her comedy acting skills in the role of June Snell, aka Del Boy’s “on-off girlfriend”. Aged 41 when she debuted in 1985, winning the role led to Langton’s famous meeting with Jason. They had much in common, not only as leading actors of their generation, but also having enjoyed phenomenal success both on the stage and in television as stalwarts of numerous sitcoms and dramas.
Their easy rapport was apparent from the outset, leading to a believable and comfortable onscreen relationship as Del Boy and June, whose characters’ relationship went back more than 20 years. The story of their romance created some of the best moments of the series, with Del Boy meeting up with his old flame again by chance, after finding out a youth playing on the housing estate was her ten-year-old son Jason.
Del Boy and June memorable moments
After Del Boy reunited with June, the story of their chequered past came to light. They had courted in 1964, but June had two-timed him with his best friend, Albie Littlewood, who was killed on the railway tracks soon afterwards. Del and June had lost touch, and in the interim, she had given birth to two children, Jason and his older sister Debbie.
Rodney wanted to take Debbie out on a date, but when Del realised she was 19 years old, it struck him that he may be her father! After deliberately sabotaging Rodney’s budding relationship, Del decided to tell June he wanted to be a real dad to Debbie. However, when he says, “Come on, June, I know!” confusion arises, as he’s way off the mark. “Are you going to tell her, or am I?” he asks. Obviously confused, June replies, “Tell her what?”
Only then does June’s youthful affair with the late Albie come to light and that he was Debbie’s dad – so Del realises he has scuppered Rodney’s relationship for nothing! Langton, a hilarious comedy player, excelled in another storyline, when June and Del Boy went to the opera together.
Her laddish behaviour including crunching loud snacks, chatting to Del during the performance, insulting the leading man and eventually vomiting on the person in front causes arguments among the audience and ruins Rodney’s date with wealthy Lady Victoria.
Sadly, June and Del Boy’s relationship was not destined for longevity but Del does find love elsewhere when he meets and later marries Raquel.
Later life
Jason and Langton remained friends, although their careers took them in different directions, with Jason starring in the Open All Hours reboot, Still Open All Hours, from 2013 to 2019 and Langton appearing in The Bill, Eastenders and Heartbeat before joining the cast of Hollyoaks in 2007. Playing Marlena “Nana” McQueen, famous for her outspokenness and bright pink hair, she was still filming the soap at the time of her sad death on 15th January 2025 – the cause of which hasn’t yet been made public.
The screen legend leaves a son, Jamie, 61, from her marriage to Alan Cooper in 1963, as well as her lasting legacy to the world of entertainment as an inspiration to other women to aim for the stars.
