Only Fools and Horses’ bottle of Peckham Spring water could sell for £5K

A bottle of Peckham Spring water used in the iconic television programme Only Fools and Horses is set to sell for thousands at an auction in Bristol.

The bottle will feature as part of a special British Comedy Auction being held by Auctioneum in Memorial Road, Bristol, on December 8. 

The sitcom created and written by John Sullivan ran across seven series from 1981 to 1991, set in Peckham and starring David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek “Del Boy” Trotter.

The bottle to be sold at auction was used in the 1992 Christmas special episode Mother Nature’s Son when Del started bottling up water from the tap in his flat and selling it as mineral water “from an ancient and natural source”.

More than 20million people tuned in to watch the Peckham Spring episode, which ends when it is revealed that toxic waste has been emptied into the water source and when the lights are turned off, the bottles glow in the dark.

After filming, a camera operator working in the studio had held onto the bottle as a souvenir.

Auctioneum Auctioneer, Andrew Stowe, said: “A couple of hundred bottles were made for filming, and when it concluded any extras were given away to the cast or crew as souvenirs. 

“Less than twenty are thought to survive, most being lost or thrown away over the years. 

“But Only Fools and Horses is such a well-loved show that they are now worth thousands of pounds to collectors.

Mr Stowe explained that this bottle nearly ended up in a recycling bin, as the owner thought it would be of no value.

He said: “When it came into our saleroom, our client told me this incredible story that at one stage he was going to put it in a bottle recycling bin. 

“He was more than surprised with the pre-auction estimate of three to five thousand pounds!”

The bottle of Peckham Springs water is going under the hammer at a special auction in Bristol next month, the city where much of Only Fools and Horses was filmed.

Mr Stowe said: “It’s an incredible piece of television history. To be able to hold an actual bottle of Peckham Spring is a surreal experience.

“The episode is one of the most famous in the series history, and this bottle is one of those key props. 

“You look at it, and it makes you smile!”

Pictured top: The bottle of Peckham Springs Water to be auctioned off in December (Picture: Auctioneum ltd)