THE man who produced Only Fools and Horses and put the hippo into the Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin has been made an OBE in the Queen’s 2013 Birthday Honours list.

Gareth Gwenlan, aged 76, of Putley, is well known as the producer of Only Fools and Horses, and he was there when David Jason performed – for a live audience and for the first time – the famous stunt of calmly leaning back with his drink only to fall through an open bar hatch.

Mr Gwenlan, who was the BBC’s head of comedy from 1982 to 1990 said: “David timed it to perfection and it literally stopped the show!”

He revealed that up to 60 per cent of the Only Fools and Horses shows were filmed live, usually in Bristol, not in London, because of the high risk of IRA attacks at the time and the crowds that filming would attract in the capital.

John Challis, who played Boycie in Only Fools and Horses, paid tribute to the producer and his OBE.

He said: “Gareth was as surprised as anyone about it,” said Challis, who now lives in north Herefordshire and worked with Mr Gwenlan on the smash-hit comedy plus Green Green Grass.

“But he deserves it. His track record is just amazing.

He’s got such a legacy as a producer and is just brilliant at his job.

“He was head of comedy at the BBC which a lot of people forget.

“I’ve known him for about 30 years and we still meet up every now and then. He only lives about 45 minutes away from me.”

It was Reginald Perrin that gave Mr Gwenlan his big break as a young producer, and he took delight in finding the film clip of the waddling hippo – for whenever Reggie thought of his mother-inlaw – and he commissioned the rude-sounding music for whenever the celebrated clip was screened.

He said: “I did ‘Rise and Fall’ in 1975, and it was my first big break, working with the wonderful Leonard Rossiter. It was a success, and the rest of my career sort of fell in behind it.”

Always on the lookout for new talent, and new writing in particular, Mr Gwenlan was responsible for commissioning a series of comedy classics, including Yes Prime Minister, Black Adder, ‘Allo ‘Allo and One Foot in the Grave.

He said: “You keep an eye out for anything new.

At the moment, there is a bit of hiatus with comedy, to be honest; not that everything was good in the past, but you would have half a dozen good programmes every year.”

Mr Gwenlan said the OBE honour was “very unexpected” but “very welcome”. He will go to the Palace within the next three or four months to receive it.

Mr Gwenlan is married to Gail Evans, also a producer, and his wife of 20 years.