Lovejoy's Minor, 'Miriam'

Back in the late Eighties and early Nineties there was a BBC television programme called 'Lovejoy'. It was about this art collector guy, played by Ian McShane, who got into all sorts of troubles and adventures in his daily life. And his chosen mode of transport? A Morris Minor convertible, called 'Miriam', of course.

It was a poor sad old thing really. By the end of the third series it had very much seen better days; it was rusty and was covered in cowshit, chicken shit and God knows what else. The on-screen story goes that Lovejoy sold the poor old Minor to a student who obviously spent most of his hard earned university grants on doing the old Moggie up. It now sports a loud exhaust, alloy wheels and a sports steering wheel. Lovejoy just had to buy it back didn't he?

In actual fact, it's not the same car as was previously seen in Lovejoy. The old 'Miriam' was just too far gone to continue using, so the Beeb coughed up some cash and they found a fully restored car and made a few changes themselves. In fact, 'Miriam' isn't even a real convertible. It's a converted two-door saloon - telltale signs are the windscreen header rail and the silver painted rear window frames.

Ian McShane likes the Minor. "I don't like new cars. Most of them are based on wind tunnel design. I was looking at a Maserati Biturbo. It's a disaster that car, isn't it? It looks like nothing, but it should look like something with that name. When you look at a Ferrari Testearossa that's a serious car. It still looks like a glorious car, even though it's a bit of a dinosaur. It's the desginb, there'll always be a call for it. Like the Minor, too. That was designed by Issigonis, wasn't it, like the Mini. He's got real flair."

Unfortunately, Miriam's days were numbered. The Moggie's last appearance in Lovejoy was the 1992 Lovejoy Christmas Special, filmed in the sleepy Essex village of Hatfield Broad Oak. Apparently Lovejoy loses all his money and the Minor along with it.