Finding inspiration
DQ tracks down Finders Keepers creator and writer Dan Sefton to talk about the making of the Channel 5 series, which introduces two characters who hope their discovery of buried treasure will solve all their problems – only to find it brings them a host of new troubles. For three seasons, BBC comedy Detectorists followed the exploits of two metal-detecting enthusiasts hoping to find a fortune. Channel 5 thriller Finders Keepers now takes that idea and adds a dark twist, as the central characters do discover buried treasure but decide to try to sell it without alerting the authorities – and anyone else who might try to claim it as their own. “In one way, it’s the anti-Detectorists,” explains creator and writer Dan Sefton, “in the sense that Detectorists is fantastic, but it’s so warm and I thought, ‘What’s the cold-hearted, cynical version of this?’ Then there was some inspiration from a newspaper article I picked up and saw some guys not a million miles away from where I live had tried to sell some silver coins in London. “I thought, ‘That’s an interesting story.’ It just felt very British, and I was looking to do something that reflected where I live at the moment, in rural Somerset, with people I recognise.” It was an idea that also piqued the interest of Channel 5, which has built a reputation for commissioning four-part thrillers with a simple premise in common: what would an ordinary person do in an extraordinary situation? Sefton … Continue reading Finding inspiration
