As driven by Lance in Detectorists

Mackenzie Crook has sold his 1977 Triumph TR7, as featured in his TV hit Detectorists.

The classic car featured in at three series of the comedy, driven by Toby Jones’s character Lance.

Crook, 51, brought the car after the first series in case it got a second, so its sale suggests there will be no further episodes.

The car’s sale is shown on this week’s episode of Yesterday series Bangers & Cash – where it went under the hammer with a £4,000 reserve.

Crook explained how he bought the car in an article for the Daily Mail in 2014.

He said: 'I wrote in the script that Lance drives a yellow Triumph TR7. I assumed that I would have to compromise on this one.

'But Sam Harley, our designer, found a 1977 yellow TR7 in pristine condition . . . and it was cheaper to buy it than hire it for the duration of the shoot.

'This left the problem of what would happen to it after we finished. I bought it. I told my wife that I had to safeguard it in case we were commissioned for a second series.

'So now I have a TR7 in a colour that could only be described as "yellow". If we do get another series, I might write in that Andy [his character] flies a helicopter a bit like Blue Thunder.'

The car – which featured all the cast’s signatures on the inside of the boot – was sold by Derek Mathewson and his sons Paul and Dave, who are based in the picturesque North Yorkshire village of Thornton-le-Dale.

On the show, Derek says of the vehicle: ‘Every now and then there’s a car that causes a frenzy of excitement…'

Find out how much it fetched on Bangers & Cash on Yesterday at 8pm on Thursday. 

Published: 4 May 2024