Time Team is BACK! Fans resurrect beloved TV series through online fundraising as show moves to YouTube seven years after it was axed from Channel 4
Channel 4 series Time Team is making a comeback almost seven years after it went off the air.
Series creator Tim Taylor has confirmed that passionate fans of the archaeology show have raised enough money through a subscription scheme to bring the programme back.
Tim said they now have enough funds to film two new episodes for YouTube, with another two in the pipeline, according to The Mirror.
Back in action: Channel 4 series Time Team is making a comeback almost seven years after it went off the air (pictured L-R: Carenza Lewis, Mick Aston, Tony Robinson and Phil Harding)
Speaking in a YouTube video, he said: ‘The fantastic news is that Time Team is coming back and our fans on Patreon made it happen.
‘We’re heading towards our target of 5,000 subscribers by the end of March. This will mean we can do at least two sites.
‘This has been a fantastic response and we can only do it if the fans support continues so a big thank you from all of us.’
The creator also said he had kept in touch with fans of the show over the years who had been eager to see it return.
Comeback: Series creator Tim Taylor has confirmed that passionate fans of the archaeology show have raised enough money through a subscription scheme to bring the programme back
He explained: ‘We were keeping in touch with fans and getting letters from Australia and all over the place. They kept asking us why we weren’t bringing Time Team back?
‘It costs less than a cup of coffee a week for fans to subscribe at the starter level. We got a fantastic burst of people excited about it and wanting to back us.’
One of the first digs on the new series will take place at an Oxfordshire Roman villa owned by Martin Fiennes, cousin of actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes.
The other will take place at a Cornish Iron Age settlement that was voted as the most requested site by fans in a poll.
Plans: Tim said they now have enough funds to film two new episodes for YouTube, with another two in the pipeline
Sir Tony Robinson will not present the new series but he has given his backing to the show and has been made an honorary patron of the new project.
Tim confirmed they have not found a new presenter yet, however many of the original team are involved.
Sadly, one member viewers won’t see again is team illustrator Victor Ambrus who passed away in February aged 85.
Show: One of the first digs on the new series will take place at an Oxfordshire Roman villa owned by Martin Fiennes, cousin of actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes
Time Team archaeologist Professor Carenza Lewis said she thinks one of the reasons why the show was so successful was because there was nothing else on TV like it when it debuted in January 1994.
She added the show’s cast weren’t afraid to fail and there were plenty of times Tony would tell viewers they were at a site to find a Roman villa but it would end up being something completely different.
Tim also said the crew are looking forward to using new technology on the YouTube series that was not available to them before.
Success: Time Team archaeologist Professor Carenza Lewis said he thinks one of the reasons why the show was so successful was because there was nothing else on TV like it