No cold feet for this classic resto!
TV star James Nesbitt joins Car SOS’s Tim and Fuzz for a poignant MG revival
The next series of car restoration show, Car SOS, will be its most emotional yet and will star actor James Nesbitt in one particularly poignant episode. Tim Shaw, who has been presenting the show since its first season, says: ‘ This series is going to be an emotional one, the most emotional one in fact. The Hobbit and Cold Feet star, James Nesbitt, is taking part in the series premiere, which follows the restoration of an MGA owned by Northern Irishman, Billy Rodgers. The car had sat partly disassembled in a barn for decades.’ Billy had planned to restore the MG with his son, John, when he returned from his honeymoon, but tragically, he and his newlywed wife, Lynette, drowned during their trip to South Africa. Nesbitt says: ‘Billy’s brother, Ian, works in my facilities company in Northern Ireland. He contacted me and asked if I would get involved. I could sense this was something special.’ The MGA has had almost its entire body replaced or repaired. Presenter and CCW master mechanic, Fuzz Townshend, says: ‘I went to look at the car on my own first and I actually told the show’s producers we couldn’t do it, or at least not with the budget we usually have – it was just so far gone.’ Fortunately, the show has been able to make an exception in this case. James says: ‘Seeing Billy’s reaction when the restored car was revealed, you couldn’t help but be moved – and I’m sure audiences will feel the same. ‘We live in cynical times, but that felt like a very pure and true moment.’
Shaw says: ‘It became very real for everyone involved. Sometimes we’re asked whether we dramatise things or engineer in jeopardy – the answer is no, we don’t, and on this occasion, it got a bit too real.’
The series also features a rally-spec Lancia Delta Integrale Evo II, whose owner tragically passed away during the team’s restoration.