He spoke to\u00a0Radio Times\u00a0<\/strong>about the stunning note on which this latest \u2013 and\u00a0probably <\/em>final \u2013 episode concludes. Be warned that\u00a0full spoilers\u00a0<\/strong>follow for a reveal you don\u2019t want to miss out on.<\/p> The latest episode focuses on a sizeable and as-yet-undetected plot of land that Andy and Lance get permission to search, which brings out a selfish streak in the latter when he discovers gold.<\/p>\n Lance tries to keep this under wraps for as long as possible \u2013 after all, the best that Andy had found was a dirty old clay cup \u2013 but inevitably, word gets out and a full professional survey ensues.<\/p>\n At a press conference in London some time later, Lance hears that his gold fragments are suspected to have belonged to an ancient box used to transport an item of unimaginable importance: the Holy Grail.<\/p>\n The historian leading the briefing remarks that the long sought after artefact would most likely have been a \u201csimple clay cup\u201d, sending Andy and Lance into a sudden state of panic.<\/p>\n Could it be that the cup they had so carelessly abandoned in the scout hall \u2013 since cleared out and renovated \u2013 is arguably the most famous missing treasure in human history?<\/p>\n Though he doesn\u2019t view himself as religious, Crook has always been \u201cfascinated by the story of Jesus\u201d, he tells Radio Times<\/strong>, and that long-standing curiosity is where this mad idea came from.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe there was a man, historically, that did some of those things, so I have always had in my head the idea of the Holy Grail and that was obviously just a cup, any old cup,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if it had somehow survived and ended up in a charity shop or something? That was the incentive to do it. It\u2019s about treasuring history rather than faith and religion.\u201d<\/p>\n At a press event for the episode\u2019s launch, Crook said that for \u201c20 years or more\u201d he has imagined a story for how the Grail could have \u201csurvived and got to England\u201d \u2013 a journey that begins with the intervention of an innkeeper\u2019s daughter in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s something I\u2019ve been wanting to do for a long time, and I was able to crowbar it into a Detectorists plot,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n As for whether it is the real deal, Crook said that \u201cit might not have been\u201d but also referenced a moment of \u201cmagic realism\u201d in which Russell (Pearce Quigley) turns up to the club rejuvenated after drinking from the cup.<\/p>\n The signs are certainly there, if you\u2019re looking.<\/p>\n This feature-length special also marks the first time that Detectorists has filmed scenes outside of the UK, with the crew travelling to Bulgaria for a sequence set in biblical Jerusalem.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got a big standing set \u2013 a whole Roman city \u2013 that various productions go and film at, so we were able to find backstreets within this set that could double for old Jerusalem,\u201d explained Crook.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough audiences love the familiarity of Detectorists \u2013 because this is a special, I wanted this to be lifted at least in some way to make it stand apart from the rest; to make it a bit more cinematic and a bit bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n Detectorists is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Comedy<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Christmas double issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now<\/b><\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/b>subscribe now<\/b><\/span><\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0<\/b>Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/b><\/span><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By David Craig Published: Monday, 26 December 2022 at 12:00 am After a long hiatus, Detectorists has returned to our screens for a feature-length Christmas special, which ends on such a staggering twist that viewers might be left shellshocked. That was very much the plan, anyway, with star Mackenzie Crook telling the audience at a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27865,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/detectorists-mackenzie-crook-unpacks-christmas-specials-big-twist.jpg",1280,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/detectorists-mackenzie-crook-unpacks-christmas-specials-big-twist-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/detectorists-mackenzie-crook-unpacks-christmas-specials-big-twist-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/detectorists-mackenzie-crook-unpacks-christmas-specials-big-twist-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/detectorists-mackenzie-crook-unpacks-christmas-specials-big-twist-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/detectorists-mackenzie-crook-unpacks-christmas-specials-big-twist.jpg",1280,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/detectorists-mackenzie-crook-unpacks-christmas-specials-big-twist.jpg",1280,853,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By David Craig Published: Monday, 26 December 2022 at 12:00 am After a long hiatus, Detectorists has returned to our screens for a feature-length Christmas special, which ends on such a staggering twist that viewers might be left shellshocked. That was very much the plan, anyway, with star Mackenzie Crook telling the audience at a…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/11\/405998-copy-53c4681.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/detectorists-special-2022-1-05c185f.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"