TWO of Britain's favourite characters from the classic television comedy Only Fools and Horses will be at Malvern Theatres this month.

John Challis, who played wheeler-dealer Boycie, and Sue Holderness, who was Marlene, will again be playing man and wife in Alan Ayckbourn's How the Other Half Loves - and John is delighted to be coming back to Malvern.

"It's one of my favourite places to work," he said.

He discovered the area when he was performing in Malvern five years ago and went for a drive in the countryside.

As a result he bought a house near Leominster,where he still lives.

How the Other Half Loves is typical Ayckbourn; disastrous dinner parties and infidelity. John plays the well-meaning Frank, who is having marriage problems with wife Fiona.

"I enjoy working with Sue because we understand the way each other works and enjoy each other's performances," he said. "We've been good chums ever since she joined the cast of Only Fools and Horses in 1985."

The on-stage couple return to Malvern following their superb performance last year in another Ayckbourn classic, Time and Time Again. John said he enjoyed Ayckbourn's work because it was well written and he wrote "terrific words".

"Like John Sullivan, who wrote Only Fools and Horses, he's just brilliant at putting across people as they are," he said, adding that Ayckbourn was an excellent student of middle England.

He said he didn't mind people recognising him as Boycie and shouting "Oi Boycie", when they saw him, because it made them happy.

"That's what I do for a living, entertain people and make them smile," he said.

But is John anything like his character in How the Other Half Loves?

"I suppose he is quite a loveable man; he's just like me but humbler," John suggested.

"He likes to get things right and help people and that gets him into trouble."

The play tells the story of two couples who hold dinner parties on consecutive nights.

John's character Frank has forgotten his wedding anniversary and is in trouble. Bob is Frank's social climbing colleague who is having problems with his wife Teresa.

Each couple invite their socially inept friends William and Mary to dinner, with hilarious consequences.

The play runs from August 18- 25 at the Festival Theatre. Tickets, (£12- £20) are available on 01684 892277.