Bergerac’s lead star Damian Moloney revealed the all new meaning Jim’s car has for him in the revamped series. John Nettles drove Jim Bergerac’s iconic Triumph Roadster, when he portrayed the titular role in the original series from 1981 to 1991. More than three decades later, Begerac has made its triumphant return to screens, and so has the red car. Not only is it the original car from the classic series, but it has the same registration plate, connecting the new Bergerac to the one beloved by so many.
Irish actor Damien, 40, admitted the car was the first thing on people’s minds when they discovered he’d landed the role of Jim Bergerac. “When I first got the job, my friends and family who had watched the original, the first thing they said to me was about the car,” he said at the premiere of the series.
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John Nettles played Jim Bergerac from 1981 to 1991 (Image: BBC)
He continued: “And what Toby [Whitehouse] has done so brilliantly is he’s made the car a character in its own right.”
In the original series, Bergerac is an alcoholic, partly because of his unpleasant divorce from his wife. He is also attempting to recover from having major surgery on his leg following an accident caused by his heavy drinking.
However, the new six-part series, out now on U, features the troubled detective trying to cope following the death of his wife. Damian revealed the car now has a particularly poignant meaning, as it was left by Bergerac’s wife as a project for him before she died.
The star explained: “As the series develops, you realise that the car is actually a gift from his wife, who’s passed away, as a project for him. It’s a way for him to deal with his grief and that’s why he sleeps in the car.
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Damien Molony now stars as Bergerac (Image: UKTV)
Damien added: “It’s a way for him to sleep with his wife at night time which I think is just a brilliant stroke of genius.”
A few weeks before the premiere, Damien revealed he had lunch with John, now 81, and shared the heartwarming sentiment he received from the actor.
He recalled: “We had lunch about three weeks ago in Torquay which was lovely. We just talked about our experiences in Jersey and all the great restaurants we used to go to and all the same beaches.
“And then he said this lovely thing at the end. He said, ‘Bergerac has been so good to my career, I hope it’s as good to yours’. That was a really lovely sentiment. He’s seen the first episode and he really liked it.”