Kelsey Grammer Explains His Choice Of British Co-Star For ‘Frasier’ Reboot, Plus Why The Return

Kelsey Grammar won’t have David Hyde Pierce at his side when he returns in the Frasier reboot later this year.

Instead, he’ll have as his co-lead actor Nicholas Lyndhurst, whom British fans will know has all the requisite experience and know-how to set up the gags in a TV double act.

yndhurst played Rodney, younger brother of Del Boy Trotter, in UK sitcom Only Fools and Horses, which ran for more than 20 years, including specials. The Christmas feature-length episode in 1996 drew 24.3 million viewers, still one of the UK’s highest ever television audiences.

Grammer told the UK’s Times of his British co-star:

“Nick and I fell in love when we were doing Man of La Mancha together [at the London Coliseum in 2019]. I warned them in America. I said, ‘Wait until this guy gets here. You’ll be doing a scene with him and suddenly you realise he’s just run off with it.’ He’s an extraordinary actor, a dear friend. And I am so pleased he’s part of it.”

Grammer is bringing back Frasier nearly 20 years after it previously signed off. He told The Times of his decision to return to the psychiatrist’s chair:

“He’s lived a kind of a parallel life with me. Now we’ve found our way back to one another. This character, who is obviously fictional, has a life outside of mine that is just as believable and palpable as the one I’ve actually lived —and I’m good at playing him. We were funny together.”