In December 2016, Club member Glenn George from
Dartmouth, Devon, alerted us to the fact that his
trusty 1973 Bay Window Devon camper “Mavis”
had been used as a getaway vehicle during the
heist of a security van during a Pirate Festival! This
was not the usual getaway that Glenn was used
to; he preferred the kind that involved camping!
However there was no need for alarm as “Mavis”
was used for filming an episode of BBC1’s
“The Coroner”, now in its second series and
with an episode titled “Pieces of Eight”, “Mavis”
provided the perfect cover for a robbery during
Lighthaven’s Pirate Festival and Glenn has given
an account of his experience below.
It started with a phone call from Adam at AJs
VW in Paignton (where Mavis has been serviced
for 43 years), Adam told me that he had been
asked if any of his customers had an old camper
and were willing to take a couple of days out for
filming in and around Dartmouth. As I work just
a few miles over the river in Brixham I thought
this sounded like an interesting proposition so I
agreed. The next few weeks I spent speculating
what would be involved, as it is BBC policy to not
give too much away. I asked around if anyone
knew of this “Coroner” series, as I must admit I
hadn’t heard of it myself

When the day finally arrived I headed off to
Bantham and was quite impressed with the
military precision that had gone into the
planning of the day. I was sent a list with details
of all 70+ people and where and when they all
had to be. I arrived at 9am and found an assistant
Director who fetched a couple of wardrobe
assistants. I got a bit nervous at this point, but
it wasn’t me they were going to dress up, it was
Mavis! At this point I was concerned with what
they might do to her, but they assured me that
they would clean her up afterwards. She was to
be dressed as a Pirate Van, she looked a bit funny
but they were very gentle.

I was asked to drive Mavis down a very steep hill
to a small sandy cove where there is a beautiful
view of the river and an old boat house. “Drive her
on to the sand a bit” I was told, whilst surveying
the green tinged last few cobbles of the socalled road, I didn’t think this was the best idea
but was persuaded by the crew. So I drove half
on and then reversed a bit to see if she’d get off
again and she wasn’t going anywhere, well and
truly stuck! This was when I realised how friendly
everyone was as they all chipped in with pushing
and pulling to get Mavis back on to firmer
ground. During the rest of the day’s shoot, Mavis
only moved about 3 feet and it took till gone
6pm to wrap the scene which lasts about 90secs
on screen! Once this shoot was finished, we had
to negotiate the very steep hill again, this proved
to be a challenging ascent which was assisted by
the 4×4 Mule usually used to transport lighting
rigs and camera equipment.

The second day of filming was eventful in a
different way, no steep slippery slopes but
filming in the centre of Dartmouth. It was here
that I learnt Mavis’ role was a getaway vehicle and
I also learnt the sense of humour underpinning
the show! When I was told that they would
hi-jack a security van and bundle someone into
the back of Mavis I laughed because I know
that all things T2 happen at their own usual
relaxed pace.
The first take was in progress when the “Pirate”
tried to quickly open the door, he used a few
nautical phrases that were heard echoing around
the Dart Valley. I offered a solution for myself to
crouch inside the van and persuade the door
to open with my foot as the handle was pulled
down. The director agreed to try this and it was a
successful 2nd take.
Our first experience with the Beeb was very
interesting and fun. I’m not sure we get to see
Mavis at her best, or any of the really fun scenes,
but I will keep my eye out for the out-take shows!