Lights, camera, action for Fife's star car

Brian Sheerin’s 1936 Lanchester LA14 is no stranger to American viewers having previously featured in the hit series Outlander, which saw some of its scenes filmed on location in Falkland in Fife in 2013.

And such a hit was Brian’s four-wheel beauty – the only model of its kind thought to still exist in Scotland – that it has since featured extensively in BBC One’s recent hit drama Rillington Place, which told the story of the infamous serial murderer John Christie.

In fact, eagle eyed viewers may even have spotted Glenrothes resident Brian in one of the scenes as he drove the car past lead actor Tim Roth.

And further stardom now beckons for the vintage Lanchester after recently being used in filming for a major new film drama about Winston Churchill.

It stars Dundee-born actor Brian Cox as the wartime Prime Minister, with some of the key scenes featuring Brian’s Lanchester.

“The car is getting to have quite a screen career these days,” owner Brian told theFife Free Press.

“The Rillington Place filming was done in Glasgow’s West End and shot at night, while the scenes for the forthcoming Churchill drama were shot in Rutland Place in Edinburgh.

“It proved to be a long day and night with filming not finishing until after one o’clock in the morning, but it was worth it.”

However, keen vintage car enthusiast Brian, who has cherished the Lanchester for the past 16 years since purchasing it at an auction in Thornton, said the filming was a little less glamorous than you would expect.

“Filming can take several hours per shot as there is often a lot of waiting while camera crews set up to get the right angles, and usually just for a few seconds of footage,“ he explained.

“Though you are kept well fed in between takes.”

The film drama Churchill is now at the post-production stage and is scheduled to be released in April, 2017.