Justin Scudder, 46, spent £5,000 on the piece
An Only Fools and Horses devotee splashed out £5,000 and endured more than 40 hours under the needle to get a full back tattoo featuring Del Boy and Uncle Albert’s faces.
Father-of-three Justin Scudder, 46, underwent 10 sessions spanning a year to acquire the ink work as homage to the “timeless” comedy. The cleaning company owner also sports The Krays and Jack The Ripper on his legs and has invested “tens of thousands” across between 40 and 50 tattoos.
Justin, from Sittingbourne, Kent, explains the inspiration for his latest piece arrived while viewing an episode of the beloved sitcom. And while enduring the needle for up to nine hours at a stretch proved a “savage” ordeal, he insists it was entirely worthwhile – particularly since strangers now praise him for the tattoo.
Justin told Sell Us Your Story: “I was born in the late ’70s and Only Fools was quite prominent throughout the ’80s. My mum and dad used to have it on and it felt like a fitting tribute. You’ve probably seen it a million times but they’re still funny. They’re timeless.”
He was already considering getting a back tattoo before experiencing a lightbulb moment while watching an episode late in 2024. Justin continued: “I said ‘I’m after having something on my back’ and the lady that does my tattoos said ‘I’ll have a think of some ideas’. The first idea was Peaky Blinders but then I thought maybe not. In actual fact I think I was watching an episode of Only Fools and Horses and I said ‘that’s it, that’s what I’m going to have’. My tattoo artist said ‘I’ve never done Only Fools but I’d love to do it’.”
A combination of nine and four-hour appointments in the chair with Molly Cleland of Clockwork Ink in Faversham followed. Justin explained: “The nine-hour ones were a bit savage. You’ve got to be in the right frame of mind for it. It’s painful. You know it’s going to be sore but you carry on because you want the end product.”
The tattoo was ultimately finished on April 1. He said: “The way she’s done it is brilliant. She’s got the faces spot on so I’m really chuffed. It’s healed really really quickly. I think my skin’s sort of immune to them now.”
Wife Leanne, 40, who owns the business alongside Justin, is “on board” with the tattoo. Justin said: “It’s not something she would have although she has a couple of small tattoos. She thinks the artwork’s great on it, so she’s on board. My dad, he’s a bit like ‘whatever’, although he has got one tattoo that he got when he was drunk in the army, he’s not a great fan of them. My mum, when she was alive, she didn’t really like them too much. My friends are quite interested and a few of them have started following the tattoo artist I used.”
Strangers have also stopped Justin to express their admiration for his body art. He said: “When you’re away on holiday, you turn into a tourist attraction. I had one guy in Egypt who wasn’t even English and he asked me to turn round so he could take a photo. An Egyptian guy was asking if it was my grandparents. I was trying to explain that it’s a TV show but he couldn’t really understand why you would have that on your back.”
Justin’s “ultimate goal” is to secure David Jason’s signature on the tattoo, and he has reached out to the Del Boy actor’s representatives.
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