Mackenzie Crook based new sitcom on his own hobby

Pirates Of The Caribbean star Mackenzie Crook based his new sitcom Detectorists on his own love of treasure hunting. The British actor, who writes and stars in the new BBC comedy, owns two metal detecting machines but hesitates to call himself a “genuine detectorist” because he doesn’t “spend the time out there that most of (the genuine enthusiasts) do.”
He explains to Britain’s Daily Express, “I think it’s like any hobby people get obsessive about. You’re either into it or you’re not. And if you’re not into it, it probably seems like a very dull way to spend an afternoon… I’ve always been interested in the idea of discovering treasure. When I was a kid, my family had a farm in Africa. One time my cousins and I were out for a walk and hacking back some bushes and found these ancient cave paintings. As far as I know we were the first people to find them.”
However, Crook admits he has yet to discover any important relics during his metal-hunting missions.
He adds, “The first time I took a detector out, I found a Victorian sixpence and a Tudor buckle from a horse’s bridle. But since then, it’s basically been shotgun caps.”