Rodney Trotter appears in Serbian election campaign

Images of Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Rodney Trotter have appeared in a bizarre election campaign in Serbia. Pictures of the actor as Rodney Trotter, Del Boy's hapless brother in the British comedy have been used in the campaign to embarrass a mayoral election candidate. The pictures have been plastered all over Novi Sad in Serbia to humiliiate current Town Hall leader Igor Pavličić. Local critics have dubbed the mayor 'Rodney' because they claim he has carried out a number of dodgy deals like his namesake.



One crictic said: "He looks like him and he acts like him too. The show is very popular over here so everyone knows who we mean." The posters feature Rodney actor Lyndhurst and the caption 'He's over' or 'He's finished' in Serbian cyrillic script. But Mayor Pavličić has hit back at critics, accusing them of making a fool of him. "It's too personal. I've had to move my family out of the city because of all this pressure," he told said. He added: "It is not just political pressure, but personal threats to me and my family. They have created a lynch mob atmosphere and it is very hard for us to function normally in such an atmosphere.



"I am sure that the citizens of Novi Sad will recognize this as a lynch mob atmosphere and will support me. Therefore I want to tell the opposition I am not as much of a plonker as they claim I am." The posters featuring Rodney actor Lyndhurst were put up all over the city centre including outside the mayor’s headquarters. Pavličić said: "I am sure the whole of Novi Sad will recognise the pictures, the series is very popular here. Everybody knows the character’s. It has run for many years on our TV’s and the repeats are always on. It is one of the most cult series’ in the country."



He added: "The series is not only popular in Serbia but throughout the whole Balkan region. They are just trying to humiliate me." It is not the first time Nicholas Lyndhurst has been used in a campaign. Two years ago a picture of Lyndhurst were posted by the opposition with the caption ‘Igor Pavličić’ emblazoned over the photograph. For the last two years comparisons have repeatedly been made between Pavličić and Rodney Trotter. He said: "This has been going on for years now. I am fed up with all the threats and public humiliation."