Philip Glenister - For the Love of Cars
Philip Glenister has shared the limelight with two iconic motors while playing tough copper Gene Hunt. In Life On Mars, set during the Seventies, he got to grips with a Ford Cortina, and in Ashes To Ashes, which took place a decade later, he drove an Audi Quattro. Now, Philip once again is given some mechanical co-stars in For The Love Of Cars, which sees six vintage vehicles restored to pristine condition by expert Ant Anstead and his team, before being auctioned. But it’s not just a restoration car show, the six-part series also looks at their impact on post-war Britain. TV Choice met Philip Glenister at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London hours before the restored autos were auctioned off to talk about the series…
Bearing in mind the state of these cars when you started the series, is it a bittersweet feeling seeing them restored and then sold?
Yes it’s a bit like being foster parents isn’t it? Take these poor starving children, give them a new lease of life and try and find them a good family. I guess so in that respect. I just hope that they go to people who love the cars, who will look after them and not stick them in a garage and keep them there, or stick them in a museum, but keep them on the road so people can enjoy them.
Which car was your favourite to drive in the series?
The 1964 Austin Mini Cooper and the 1972 Ford Escort Mexico. It does something to you the Escort, it changes your personality.
Which were the most comfortable and uncomfortable cars to drive?
The most uncomfortable for me was the DeLorean I have to say and the most comfortable the Triumph Stag.
What was it like driving a DeLorean?
I must admit it wasn’t my favourite car. The front is just slightly raised, it’s just really heavy and really wide and to get it round corners is a real effort. They’ve got such a tiny little window, they’re rubbish if you’re doing a drive-in McDonalds. You can’t get a Happy Meal through them that’s for sure — I tried it!
In the show I take, not our DeLorean but somebody else’s, for a spin round central London and we broke down in Soho. We had to push it round the corner because it had basically over heated, so I had to wait for it a bit and the amount of people who turned up with their cameras. We had the camera rolling and I just went round everybody saying, ‘What do you know this car for?’ and I’d say 100 per cent replied for the film Back To The Future. ‘Do you know anything about John DeLorean? Anything about the history behind the car?’ and they went, ‘No, Back To The Future.’
Has working on this series inspired you to do a car restoration project of your own maybe?
Do it up? I wouldn’t have a clue!
What are your favourite cars that you’ve owned?
Well the Mini Cooper was one. Otherwise I suppose more recently the first really nice car that I had was a BMW 330.
Did you like the Ford Cortina you drove in Life On Mars?
It’s a great looking car but we only had the one Cortina for Life On Mars. We shot the first series in 2005, it was a very hot summer and the car kept overheating. We’d throw it around a bit and they let me do a lot of the driving in the first series because we didn’t know if the show was going to be successful and it became a hit. Suddenly they started to say, ‘No, no you don’t need to do the driving,’ and I was like, ‘Why? This is fun!’ They said, ‘Shut up you’re a commodity. The insurance!’ So, they got the stunt guys in.
What sort of driver are you?
I think I’m actually a very cautious driver!
Have you had many prangs?
Touch wood no, I don’t think I’ve ever had a major accident. I’ve been in a couple of accidents. I was in a friend’s Golf GTI when I lived out in the country. We came back from the pub and I remember sitting in the back seat with half a pint of lager left, and he took the corner too fast and the car literally took off and went over the hedge and landed in a field. We drove around for half an hour trying to find a way out. When we got back to his house I realised through it all I still had my half a lager in my hand, and not a drop had been spilt! Thank God it was a hedge, had it been a wall I wouldn’t be here talking to you today quite frankly, so that was quite hairy.
For the Love of Cars - Channel 4, Easter Sunday
Bearing in mind the state of these cars when you started the series, is it a bittersweet feeling seeing them restored and then sold?
Yes it’s a bit like being foster parents isn’t it? Take these poor starving children, give them a new lease of life and try and find them a good family. I guess so in that respect. I just hope that they go to people who love the cars, who will look after them and not stick them in a garage and keep them there, or stick them in a museum, but keep them on the road so people can enjoy them.
Which car was your favourite to drive in the series?
The 1964 Austin Mini Cooper and the 1972 Ford Escort Mexico. It does something to you the Escort, it changes your personality.
Which were the most comfortable and uncomfortable cars to drive?
The most uncomfortable for me was the DeLorean I have to say and the most comfortable the Triumph Stag.
What was it like driving a DeLorean?
I must admit it wasn’t my favourite car. The front is just slightly raised, it’s just really heavy and really wide and to get it round corners is a real effort. They’ve got such a tiny little window, they’re rubbish if you’re doing a drive-in McDonalds. You can’t get a Happy Meal through them that’s for sure — I tried it!
In the show I take, not our DeLorean but somebody else’s, for a spin round central London and we broke down in Soho. We had to push it round the corner because it had basically over heated, so I had to wait for it a bit and the amount of people who turned up with their cameras. We had the camera rolling and I just went round everybody saying, ‘What do you know this car for?’ and I’d say 100 per cent replied for the film Back To The Future. ‘Do you know anything about John DeLorean? Anything about the history behind the car?’ and they went, ‘No, Back To The Future.’
Has working on this series inspired you to do a car restoration project of your own maybe?
Do it up? I wouldn’t have a clue!
What are your favourite cars that you’ve owned?
Well the Mini Cooper was one. Otherwise I suppose more recently the first really nice car that I had was a BMW 330.
Did you like the Ford Cortina you drove in Life On Mars?
It’s a great looking car but we only had the one Cortina for Life On Mars. We shot the first series in 2005, it was a very hot summer and the car kept overheating. We’d throw it around a bit and they let me do a lot of the driving in the first series because we didn’t know if the show was going to be successful and it became a hit. Suddenly they started to say, ‘No, no you don’t need to do the driving,’ and I was like, ‘Why? This is fun!’ They said, ‘Shut up you’re a commodity. The insurance!’ So, they got the stunt guys in.
What sort of driver are you?
I think I’m actually a very cautious driver!
Have you had many prangs?
Touch wood no, I don’t think I’ve ever had a major accident. I’ve been in a couple of accidents. I was in a friend’s Golf GTI when I lived out in the country. We came back from the pub and I remember sitting in the back seat with half a pint of lager left, and he took the corner too fast and the car literally took off and went over the hedge and landed in a field. We drove around for half an hour trying to find a way out. When we got back to his house I realised through it all I still had my half a lager in my hand, and not a drop had been spilt! Thank God it was a hedge, had it been a wall I wouldn’t be here talking to you today quite frankly, so that was quite hairy.
For the Love of Cars - Channel 4, Easter Sunday
Original article can be found here.
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