Idris Elba more likely to play Del Boy than James Bond after flurry of bets

The odds are very much in favour of Elba heading up Trotters Independent Trading
British legend: Idris Elba is the bookies favourite for an iconic role - but not the one you think
Adam Davy/PA Wire
Natasha Sporn21 March 2018

Idris Elba could indeed be set to play a British icon on screen – but not the one the one he was hotly-tipped for.

Bookies have seen the price driven up on the actor to play Del Boy instead of James Bond, in the latest odds.

Elba’s In The Long Run coupled with rumours of the small-screen return for the legendary Only Fools and Horses have sparked a surge in bets.

According to Ladbrokes, the Luther lead is 9/2 to be the next Del Boy but still at 8/1 for the next 007 agent.

New role: Idris Elba could play Del Boy in a remake of Only Fools And Horses
Matthias Nareyek/Getty Images

The bookmakers believe that Elba’s London roots have him in “pole position” for the gig should it return, with an announcement to revisit the legendary sitcom by the end of the year priced at 3/1.

Elba, 45, stars in upcoming Sky comedy In The Long Run, which he has written and created set in 1980s London.

Iconic: Only Fools And Horses is tipped for a return
BBC

The six-part programme, by Elba’s own admission, contains moments of “casual racism” in multicultural society and nods back to a time people were “thicker-skinned”.

Speaking to Radio Times he said: “It's good that that's come across because in early, early talks that was something I wanted to be upfront about.

“I wanted people to be reminded that, as PC as we all are now - which is fine, it's good - we were thicker-skinned back then."

He added: "Not that it makes casual racism right, but actually in the long run we all got along with it."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT