Behind the Scenes

The idea of Lost Treasures is to discover how ordinary people, past and present, have made extraordinary finds, many of which have increased our understanding of our ancestors. But the process of finding those people and those lost treasures is the big challenge facing us.

First of all we needed locations. Where exactly are the new lost treasures going to be discovered? Even with the onset of digital technology, you can’t make something appear out of the ground. We are not a digging programme like Team Time or Meet the Ancestors and there’s no aspiration to become one.

Mark Olly and producer, Phil Hirst have a good idea of where the team would like to visit. For example, Liverpool’s Capital of Culture is looming next year, so we thought we’d like to have a look at that city’s archaeology. But what exactly we’d find when we got there was still the great unknown. What we did find, partly underground, was nothing short of stunning.

Camera crew, Marianne and Vincent are the team’s eyes and ears. Their patience astounds all of us at times. For instance, breaching Williamson’s vast tunnels in Liverpool was a logistical challenge involving the lugging of two big cameras, lights and sound equipment not to mention lashings of ginger beer down foot wide ladders. How Vincent stayed on his feet at some of our locations is a miracle.

The beauty of this programme is that our location schedule can change when new finds come to light. Take Bidston Village for example. We hadn’t planned to go there but Keith our PR man happened to bump into one of his late aunt’s neighbours at her funeral and he revealed that he may well have found a Viking artefact in his garden. A definite positive was gleaned from a sad event.

The object was later verified by archaeologists at the University of Liverpool as a Viking hogback stone. Incredible! We had filmed one at West Kirby for LT1, and this latest find further confirmed Wirral as a haven for lost Norse archaeology.

Thanks to Granada’s unstinting support, we were able to visit Norway to verify our Viking finds and this benefited us none more so when we were told about what lies nine feet beneath a Meols pub car park. A clinker built Viking ship is the likely discovery if only in excess of £1m could be found.

Once again before filming started, we had no idea such an icon of Viking culture existed. When the story of the workers discovering the site in 1934 unfolded we knew that we had another perfect example of what we are trying to promote in this series. These are a couple examples of happy accidents which is, if Lost Treasures is rolled out to the network, exactly what we’d like to see more of.

We never lose sight of the fact that while maintaining archaeological integrity, one of our main missions is to entertain. We have a great presenter in Mark Olly who is skilled at helping us interpret a historic site. But without CGI, it’s often difficult to understand which piece of the historical jigsaw fits where. Take 27 have a distinct knack of being able to interpret a historical environment.

Editz of Manchester, just a stone’s throw from our commissioning channel, ITV Granada are integral to the production. Both companies help us bring the whole drama to life while doing justice to the viewing atmosphere we want to create.On our journey we discovered a new young treasure, our editor Matt tidmarsh who, encouraged by mentor Paul Tovee has taken to Lost Treasures like a true hero.

Eight episodes later, filming from the coast of Anglesey to the hills of Pendle, is an exhausting process but a fulfilling one. We have managed to pack in evidence from most of the known cultures who laid down their settlements in the North West and North Wales. The Romans, The Saxons, The Celts, The Vikings, the industrialists, and even the Phoenicians get a look in! There’s no better way to make a living than embarking on a true voyage of discovery around this fascinating region.

This might sound a cliche but without you watching the end result, there would be no Lost Treasures. The fact that we exceeded our audience figures last time around, meant that we might well have found a popular formula using a very simple idea. Your discoveries. Your treasure. Your heritage.We hope that you continue to enjoy the journey with us.

Phil (producer) Mark (presenter) Marianne (sound) Vincent (camera) Keith (publicity) Julian and Claire (CGI) Glenn (webmaster) Matt and Paul (editor) and Rob (post production)