Detectorists BBC FOUR, 10.00PM
Long-term
Detectorists fans will find their heads in a spin after a cold opening set in an anonymous glass and steel office and featuring a group of ambitious suits straight out of the Alan Sugar school of business planning. Hold fire, though, because things swiftly settle down as we find ourselves back in the pastoral idyll of Danebury where Andy Stone (Mackenzie Crook) and Lance Stater (Toby Jones) are continuing to spend their spare time searching for the precious secrets hidden deep within England’s soil.
Such simple pleasures are increasingly under threat, however – and not just because the duo may soon find themselves warned off their green and pleasant land. Lance is discovering that his newfound closeness with daughter Kate (Alexa Davies) has drawbacks, while poor beleaguered Andy has taken to vaping in the garden at night to escape the demands of viperish mother-in-law Veronica (Diana Rigg).
As ever the show’s joy comes from its celebration of a very English way of life: nowhere else would the line “Can’t you bring your mandolin over to mine?” be uttered with such conviction. It may be the third series but Detectorists remains a
gem. Sarah Hughes