A TREASURE hunter looks to strike more gold on ITV after a new series has been commissioned following a successful pilot show all about metal detecting.

Although keen detectorist Graeme Rushton did not find actual gold, the Roman coins him and teammate Adrian Harris found from around 260 AD was enough to see him triumph over the other four teams competing in the initial pilot episode of 'Henry Cole's Great British Treasure Hunt', broadcast on ITV4 back in December 2020.

Mr Rushton, of Unearthed UK in Dalton, said that the show has been approved for a five-part series running over the course of a week with filming starting very soon and spanning over the next few months.

It is due to air in December.

"It was a hit with ITV higher ups and has been given the go ahead for a five-episode series which is great," he said.

"We are well represented in the show as well as we will have four people out of eight coming from Cumbria, including myself.

"We will be doing some of the filming in Cumbria as well, the plan was to do different locations across the UK."

This was the best bit of news for Mr Rushton as he has found success in recent months detecting in the county with many Bronze Age finds. He believes Cumbria is a 'lost county' when it comes to archaeology and digs.

Mr Rushton said he was 'over the moon' with their 'academically important' finds which were valued at £50 and will be hoping for more success in the series released later this year.

Last year, the show was dubbed as 'the Antiques Road Trip meets the Detectorist' by the Radio Times.

Mr Rushton said it was tough with all the cameras.

"I think that we showed the hobby in a really positive light and proved it isn't all about finding gold and silver all the time," he said.

They visited Sudeley Castle, a Grade I listed castle located in the Cotswolds, near to the medieval market town of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.

This was the first time metal detectorists were allowed in to scour the gardens, which cover 15 acres within a 1,200 acre estate nestled within the Cotswold hills.

Produced by the team behind Shed & Buried and Find It Fix It Flog It, it challenged five teams to find the most valuable and most historically significant artefacts in just 48 hours.