Patrick Murray, the actor who gave Only Fools and Horses fans Mickey Pearce, has died at the age of 68. He passed away in his sleep on September 29, 2025, after a long battle with lung cancer. The news was confirmed a few days later, on October 2, by the Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society, who called him “a regular attendee of our conventions” and someone whose “humour and the joy he brought to many” would be missed.
If you grew up quoting “Rodney, you plonker!” then you probably remember Mickey Pearce. Murray played the role from 1983 until 2003, across 20 episodes. Mickey was the sort of character who’d swagger into The Nag’s Head, claim he had a new business deal, and leave Rodney shaking his head. He was brash, cheeky, and impossible not to laugh at. “Patrick was a very talented & clever actor with impeccable timing,” wrote the Only Fools podcast on X. “He really brought ‘Mickey Pearce’ to life with a mischievous charm.”
Murray popped up in Scum and Quadrophenia, took roles in films like The Firm and Curse of the Pink Panther, and even appeared in Bergerac. But during the 1990s, he drove a taxi around Blackheath, often recognised by fans after a night out. One tribute recalled, “Patrick used to be a cabby in Blackheath in the 90s and often I would get him to drive me home after a late night out at the pub… this is very sad news.”
Murray struggled with alcoholism in the 1990s but turned things around through Alcoholics Anonymous. Later, he spent years in Thailand, where he married his wife, Anong, in 2016, and the couple welcomed their daughter, Josie. Visa problems made things difficult, and he once described himself as a “Skype dad,” only seeing his child through a screen for two years. On Loose Women in 2018, he explained how work dried up after leaving acting: “Being out of the industry for so long, the work dried up so I went back to driving an executive car, a Mercedes, to do it.”
Murray’s health challenges became public in 2021 when he revealed he had lung cancer. By 2022, he was given the all-clear, but the disease returned and spread to his pelvis and legs in 2023. In a social media post that year, he said: “Despite all the wonderful efforts by the medical and nursing teams at Medway, Guys, and Kings College hospital, the lung cancer has returned.” Still, he remained upbeat, adding: “I am feeling positive with my good wife’s awesome support.”
Fans have been paying their respects online. “RIP Patrick aka Micky Pearce was one of the best characters in OFAH,” wrote one, while another added: “He has joined Grandad, Uncle Albert, Mike, Trigger, Boycie & Sid, all OFAH legends.”
Patrick Murray appeared at conventions and kept in touch with fans even when battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. He kept showing up, reminding people why Mickey Pearce was so memorable.
