For the Love of Cars: Is Philip Glenister revving up for Top Gear role?
In TV, timing is everything - and actor Philip Glenister and car designer and mechanic Ant Anstead couldn't really have picked a better time to launch the second series of their show For the Love of Cars.
After all, a certain well-publicised incident means there's currently a gap in the market for a Sunday night motoring show.
But relief from Top Gear withdrawal symptoms isn't the only reason to tune into the programme, which sees the duo scouring the barns, garages and locks up of Britain, looking for old motors in need of a new lease of life.
It seems the format has also undergone a bit of tune-up since the first run. For a start, instead of just focusing on classic British cars, the duo will also be checking out international models.
That's not the only modification. Anstead explains: "Now each episode isn't just on an individual car, but a family of cars. So we've widened the net in that respect as well. And we've tweaked the format in that we're no longer buying a car, fixing it up and selling it, we actually take someone's pride and joy, someone's stalled restoration that they can't go any further on, and we finish it for them.
"So there are a few changes, and I think series two is better for it."
Glenister adds: "We look at the car's history through people we meet, the restorations we do, the stories that we tell, and we do a few road trips on this one to test the cars out. It's sort of a combination of three shows rolled into one, in many respects. And we hope that people will come along for the ride."
Cars featured in this second series include a Mk1 Golf GTi, a 1958 VW Beetle, and a Mk1 Fiat 500, but the duo begin by trying to work their magic on an Aston Martin DBS that's been rotting on a driveway in Hertfordshire.
It seems fitting that it's the model driven by George Lazenby's James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, as Glenister admits his own love of motors "sort of started off from seeing cars on TV. And being on two shows where the cars were very heavily featured, and were almost stars in their own right - the Cortina in Life on Mars, and then the Audi Quatro in Ashes to Ashes. I've always had a fascination with the role that cars play in TV and film."
So he should be in his element this week, as he explores the history of the Aston Martin DBS, and gets to take a spin in the very car Roger Moore drove in the classic 1970s TV show, The Persuaders.
However, it's not all about living out their James Bond fantasies. Only 790 DBS models were ever made and it's rare for one to come up in need of restoring. So, the pressure is on for Anstead as he attempts to complete this one in just 10 weeks, in time for an auction where he'll discover just how much value he has added.
After all, a certain well-publicised incident means there's currently a gap in the market for a Sunday night motoring show.
But relief from Top Gear withdrawal symptoms isn't the only reason to tune into the programme, which sees the duo scouring the barns, garages and locks up of Britain, looking for old motors in need of a new lease of life.
It seems the format has also undergone a bit of tune-up since the first run. For a start, instead of just focusing on classic British cars, the duo will also be checking out international models.
That's not the only modification. Anstead explains: "Now each episode isn't just on an individual car, but a family of cars. So we've widened the net in that respect as well. And we've tweaked the format in that we're no longer buying a car, fixing it up and selling it, we actually take someone's pride and joy, someone's stalled restoration that they can't go any further on, and we finish it for them.
"So there are a few changes, and I think series two is better for it."
Glenister adds: "We look at the car's history through people we meet, the restorations we do, the stories that we tell, and we do a few road trips on this one to test the cars out. It's sort of a combination of three shows rolled into one, in many respects. And we hope that people will come along for the ride."
Cars featured in this second series include a Mk1 Golf GTi, a 1958 VW Beetle, and a Mk1 Fiat 500, but the duo begin by trying to work their magic on an Aston Martin DBS that's been rotting on a driveway in Hertfordshire.
It seems fitting that it's the model driven by George Lazenby's James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, as Glenister admits his own love of motors "sort of started off from seeing cars on TV. And being on two shows where the cars were very heavily featured, and were almost stars in their own right - the Cortina in Life on Mars, and then the Audi Quatro in Ashes to Ashes. I've always had a fascination with the role that cars play in TV and film."
So he should be in his element this week, as he explores the history of the Aston Martin DBS, and gets to take a spin in the very car Roger Moore drove in the classic 1970s TV show, The Persuaders.
However, it's not all about living out their James Bond fantasies. Only 790 DBS models were ever made and it's rare for one to come up in need of restoring. So, the pressure is on for Anstead as he attempts to complete this one in just 10 weeks, in time for an auction where he'll discover just how much value he has added.
Philip Glenister and Ant Anstead appear in the new series of For the Love of Cars, which starts on April 19 at 8pm on Channel 4
Original article can be found here.
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