Durbie becomes Herbie for
the day!

Kat Sleeman, has her 64' Deluxe filmed for the Discovery Channel, July 2004

For those of you that use the forums, I'm sure that you will have noticed the odd post here and there requesting various VWs for filming, whether it be for TV adverts, programmes or films. Trevor Wilson, the club Media and PR representative often gets such requests and back in March Trevor contacted me, as a 1960s stock beetle was required for the making of a TV programme for the Discovery Channel. I contacted the Production Company (attaboyTV) and sent them some photos of my bug and told them a little bit about the car. About two weeks later I was contacted and told that they would like to use my big Durbie for part of the programme.

The programme is called Wheeler Dealers and is presented by Mike Brewer. The idea behind the programme is that Mike Brewer picks a modern day classic, buys an example of that particular car and then his co-presenter restores it on a budget and the vehicle is then sold on for a small profit. For this particular episode the guys brought an early unmodified 1960's bug, but due to its state of disrepair it was decided that it was uneconomical to repair the body shell. It was therefore transformed into a buggy and Dave Fisher from Kingfisher Customs was also there on the day to have one of his buggies filmed.

The actual filming of Durbie only lasted 2 hours, but only 1 minute or so of the footage will actually be used for the opening sequence of the programme! The filming took place at Kemble Airfield near Cirencester and the programme should be aired on the Discovery Channel in August. So keep your eyes peeled for my bug on the telly…………………

Kat Sleeman (64Deluxe)