PENARTH-BASED actor William Thomas featured in one of the best-loved comedy moments ever screened on British TV.

Most people know the scene - in Only Fools and Horses - where Del Boy is about to make a move on some girls in a cocktail bar when he falls sideways through an open bar hatch.

Will played the barman in that infamous scene, but is perhaps better known for as gangster Bryn Cartwright in the Welsh cult comedy film Twin Town.

Will said: "I didn't think anything of it at the time, but that scene in Only Fools and Horses has turned out to be a classic and I am chuffed to have been involved.

"I remember that David Jason only did one take of that fall - perhaps that's what gave it the spontaneity it needed."

Will, 60, a Welsh speaker from Clydach in the Swansea valley, has been living in Penarth with his wife and two sons for the past eight years.

He said: "I love the convenience of living here. I have to travel to London a lot and can be there in just over two hours.

"I love Swansea too, but it's a bit out of the loop."

William Thomas was just one of three actors shortlisted for a Welsh BAFTA this year for his work in S4C drama Con Passionate.

Will said: "The award went to Brian Hibbard, but I was delighted to have received the recognition."

The actor is currently working on a movie called The Baker which is being filmed near Grosmont in Monmouthshire, starring Damien Lewis.

The Baker - a black comedy - is the story of a hitman who decides to settle down to a more conventional lifestyle in rural Wales and takes over a village bakery.

Will plays the part of a villager who, in a sub-plot, becomes entwined in a fierce rivalry with his neighbour.

Will started his acting career as a member of the Glamorgan Youth Theatre before gaining a place at the Guildhall Drama School in London.

He said: "After the course I went to the Mermaid Theatre in 1971 for nine months. I understudied people in various plays, in tiny parts.

"While there, I did The Molecule Club - a children's science pantomime. Then I went to do theatre in places such as Coventry and Leicester where I worked with people like Simon Cadell and John Hirt."

William Thomas is currently on our screens in the new series of Belonging, in which he plays namesake character Will.

He said: "I think Belonging was unfortunate not to have been networked. It is difficult to find slots for 30-minute programmes.

"If the running time had been longer perhaps it would have stood a better chance.

"The scripts are superb, so well written, the dialogue is very true to what you'd hear in the Valleys."

In a 35-year career, Will has also featured in BBC drama The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, in which he played the prime minister's brother. He was also the vicar in S4C soap Pobol y Cwm, and has appeared in Doctor Who.