Not quite a

A VINTAGE car famed for its appearances on a classic TV series has been sold at auction.

The canary yellow Rolls-Royce 20hp Landaulette, which was regularly seen by millions of viewers in ITV’s The Darling Buds of May, went under the hammer at HandH Classics’ car auction in Warrington last week.

The car, which has strong links to both Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, appeared in every episode of the much-loved series, but Rolls-Royce didn’t quite meet expectations on the day.

When last up for sale more than a decade ago, the Rolls-Royce was bought for £100,000, but estimates were not so high this time round.

The car was being sold with its original order confirmation letter, bill of sale and logbook. HandH believed it would fetch about £70,000.

Even at that, it fell a little short, with the car going for £63,000 when the hammer finally went down.

Andreas Hicks, from HandH, said the auctioneers encountered many prewar Rolls-Royces, but ones like the 20hp Landaulette didn’t come up very often.

“We don’t tend to see cars with this provenance, known by so many people,” he said.

Built in 1926, the car stayed with its first owner, FR Claye of Nottingham, for 10 years.

It stayed in the family when it was passed on to Hannah Claye, who owned it until 1955, when she sold it to Richard Edward Derington Fenning, the owner of Ashby’s Royal Hotel.

The canary yellow car stayed in his possession for 38 years - a time which included the 20hp’s appearances in The Darling Buds of May in the early 1990s and saw it driven by legendary actor Sir David Jason.

Set in rural 1950s Kent, the comedy drama series was a huge hit from 1991 to 1993.

It followed the life of the Larkin family, with Only Fools and Horses star Jason as Pop Larkin alongside Pam Ferris as Ma Larkin.

The sitcom star’s stint as the character popularised his catchphrase “perfick”, which has since become part of the British lexicon.

The show also launched the career of Catherine Zeta-Jones, playing eldest daughter Mariette.

TV FAVOURITE WITH LINKS TO LEICESTERSHIRE FETCHES BELOW ITS ESTIMATE