A ‘real-life’ Del Boy has been given an hilarious send-off in a Trotter’s yellow hearse - with Batman and Robin leading the cortege.
Steve Holloway - a lifelong Only Fools and Horses fan - left this world in style after his funeral was entirely themed on the 1980s comedy show.
The former cabbie, died last month from covid, yet despite being bogged down by grief his big-hearted family refused to give the larger-than-life character a black-tie funeral.
65-year-old Steve had people laughing on the pavement last Friday February 11, when amused bystanders watched on in amazement at what they were witnessing.
Video footage of the unique funeral service has racked up almost 2million views on TikTok.
Granddaughter Kaidie Holloway, 25, from Basildon, Essex said: “We knew that he wouldn’t want a sad funeral where we were all sat there crying.
“My grandad was a really big Only Fools and Horses fan. The show just related to his sense of humour.
“He had the whole box set and wore a Del Boy dressing gown.
“We couldn’t allow him to just go in a box.”
Steve’s funeral saw him carried in a yellow hearse styled as the Trotter’s Independent Traders van through the streets of his Essex home town.
The great-grandad’s coffin was inscribed with ‘Lovely jubbly’ on the side and ‘This way up you plonker’ on the top.
Steve’s daughter Claire and her best pal ran ahead of the procession dressed as Batman and Robin - a nod to the Only Fools episode where Del and Rodney turn up in fancy dress to what turns out to be a wake.
Kaidie said: “On the day people were laughing and some were crying. The funeral itself had 150 people at the ceremony.
“People were lining the streets to film the procession.”
Funeralgoers were encouraged to wear red and white at the ceremony as a reference to Arsenal, Steve’s favourite football team.
Born in Hackney, London in the 1950s, Steve was a “Jack of all trades” as he worked in stints as a cabbie, carpenter and mechanic.
He lived in Basildon, Essex, with his wife of 41 years Sandra and had five children followed by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Steve retired early due to illnesses and devoted himself to fundraising - raising “thousands and thousands” for charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support and the British Heart Foundation.
He died on January 11 after catching Covid while being treated for a separate illness at Basildon Hospital.
The funeral was organised by Only Fools and Hearses and local funeral company T Cribb and Sons.
Darren Abey, owner of Only Fools and Hearses, said: “I’ve been doing it for 11 years. We do funerals for families that want a celebration of life.
“As soon as that yellow van appears everyone knows it’s Del Boy.
“Everyone is laughing and smiling. If you’ve got everyone laughing and smiling then you’ve swam the channel - you’ve completely flipped it on its head.”
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