David Jason’s long-lost daughter, 52, is “incredibly proud” to discover her father’s identity

Sir David Jason announced his “joy” today When he discovered he had a 52-year-old daughter, he had no idea they existed until they took the stage together and a friend in the audience noticed they had similar profiles and the same nose shape.

The 83-year-old ‘Only Fools and Horses’ star – who previously thought she only had a 22-year-old daughter – has “welcomed” Abi Harris and his 10-year-old grandson Charlie to the Jason family – and they shared their first together in 2022 Christmas party .

Ms Harris, who was born in 1970, is the daughter of actress Jennifer Hill – who starred in Octopussy and had a brief relationship with Sir David in a stage production of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, which also starred Hi-de-Hi’s Ruth Madoc co-starred Windsor Davies, from It Ain’t Half Hot Mum.

Incredibly, Abi is an actress who appeared in a 2008 revival of Under Milk Wood, which also starred Sir David and her mother.

Friends who saw the legendary actor and Abi stand side by side remarked on their similar facial profiles, particularly her nose, and over the years she’s encouraged herself to find out the truth.

Ms Harris wrote to Sir David asking him if he would take a paternity test and the comedy legend agreed given his relationship with her mother and confirmed she was his daughter. He said: “To say it was a surprise to find out I had a daughter years ago is an understatement. I am very happy that I can now get to know Abi and that we can meet up when the opportunity arises.’

Up until last year, Sir David thought he had become a father for the first time at 61. But in fact, at 30, he appeared in Miss Marple and The Stars Look Down but died in 1996. A source close to Abi said: “Things just didn’t seem to add up.”

Pictured: Jennifer Hill and David Jason (circled) standing with the cast of Under Milk Wood at the Mayfair Theater in 1970, including Windsor Davies from It Ain’t Half Hot Mum (top left)

The legendary actor (left in Darling Buds of May) discovered actress Abi Harris (pictured) was his daughter after she took a paternity test – after her friends noticed how similar their profiles are, particularly their noses

Sir David Jason, pictured here with his future wife Gill Hinchcliffe and their daughter Sophie Mae in April 2001, was shocked to discover he had another daughter born more than 30 years earlier

The news came as a shock to Sir David, his wife Gill Hinchcliffe and daughter Sophie Mae, but the family say they have welcomed Abi and Charlie with open arms ever since.

Abi’s mother is 86 and lives in Brighton.

Sir David married Lady Gill in 2005, four years after their child was born. Sir David previously had a long relationship with Myfanwy Talog, a Welsh actress who died of breast cancer in 1997.

Speaking to the Mirror, he said: “My wife Gill and daughter Sophie have been very supportive and understanding and have hugged Abi and welcomed her and their young son to their now larger family.”

Abi’s belief that she was related to Sir David grew stronger after she realized she had the same nose shape as his, and her parentage has now been confirmed.

She had previously thought her father was Geoffrey Davion, who was married to her mother until his death in 1996.

Since the surprising discovery, Abi and Charlie have been visiting him and spending Christmas with him and his family at his home in Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire.

The Mirror reports that she wrote Sir David a letter asking him to take a paternity test, emotionally opening it with a line from the Thomas play saying: ‘Start at the beginning. Or more precisely, my beginning…’

A source told the publication the letter came as a shock to Sir David, but he was touched by the request and agreed.

The insider said: “It’s a lovely letter that David saved.

“It was lighthearted but serious without being overwhelming. It was obvious that whoever wrote it was a nice person who just wanted to find out her origins. The Dylan quote was the perfect introduction.

“It was a sympathetic way of saying, ‘Get ready’.”

The legendary actor thought he only had his 22-year-old daughter Sophie from his current relationship with Gill Hinchcliffe (pictured together)

Abi was born after Sir David had a brief relationship with actress Jennifer Hill in 1970. Pictured: Mrs Hill in the James Bond film Octopussy in 1983

Sir David, pictured here at the Royal Albert Hall in January 2022, was reportedly “surprised” to discover he had another daughter and grandson

The revelation that he has another daughter and grandson has shocked the former Only Fools and Horses star, pictured here as his series character Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter

After the bombing, the two families agreed to meet in London to find out how to move forward with this life-changing news.

Abi said: “By discovering my father’s identity, I am beginning to piece my own together.

“Of course I’m blushing and incredibly proud, but I’m often overwhelmed by the sadness of the years we’ve lost.

“After a slow start, I hope we can now make a conscious effort to see each other more often so that I can master the art of being the best big sister and build a meaningful father-daughter relationship in the truest sense of the word .”

Sir David added: “We hope we all have the privacy to continue our new relationship and get to know each other better.”

Sir David was knighted in 2005 for his services to acting and comedy. In November of that year he married Mrs. Hinchcliffe.

He began dating Ms Hinchcliffe after his longtime partner of 20 years, Welsh actress Myfanwy Talog, died of breast cancer in 1995 at the age of 45.

The TV star believed he was becoming a father for the first time at the age of 61, and after Sophie was born he said it was “forced on him” as he had been just focused on being successful for most of his life.

He previously said: “My life was reversed. It wasn’t fame or money, but I always wanted to be successful. I was only able to do that by trying to be better at each job than the last and by learning.

“So I had to be unattached and free from fantasies.”

One of the country’s most popular TV stars, he starred alongside Catherine Zeta Jones and Granville in Open All Hours with Ronnie Barker as Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May.

He also provided the voice for Mr Toad in an adaptation of The Wind in the Willows.