His Only Fools and Horses character might have tried to avoid the war, but in real life actor Lennard Pearce once came face to face with Adolf Hitler, according to his co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst.

Lyndhurst, who played dim Rodney in the classic BBC sitcom, has said that his on-screen grandad met the German dictator before the war, and later regretted not taking the opportunity to kill him.

“He was a young actor touring Europe and they were playing some German city and the Nazis walked in," Lyndhurst said.

"The top honchos of the Nazi party had seen the play and came to congratulate them ­afterwards. Lennard shook hands with Adolf Hitler. He only ever told me once, but he said, ‘Had I known then what I know now, I would have drawn the pistol from one of the bodyguards and I’d have done my best to kill him.’”