There is a special broadcast on BBC Two this Christmas and fans are excited

Everyone's favourite metal detecting series is back: after a five-year break, a Detectorists Christmas special will air on BBC Two on Boxing Day.

Fans were predictably excited by the news and shared their joy on Twitter – but in true, understated Detectorists style.

One replied: “Yippee, a little cheer,” and another said: “Well, isn’t that nice?”

A third tweeted: “Such good news that @Detectorists is coming back! I've seen them all countless times and they really are full of laughter, tears and lots of wonderful pathos every time.” A fourth said: “The Detectorists is one of the best things the BBC or any other broadcaster has ever produced so this is brilliant.”

Few other details have been revealed about the upcoming special. We do know that it will be 75 minutes long, that Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones (who play best friends and detectorists Andy and Lance) and Rachael Stirling (who plays Becky, Andy's wife) will be reunited on-screen, and that it really is a one-off thing.

Speaking to Radio Times in November, Crook, who wrote and directed the series, said: “Five years have passed since the third series of Detectorists aired – at the time I thought it would probably be the last. I had left the characters in a good place with a bright future and decided I would only disturb them again if I came up with a really good story.

“Then, about a year ago, I came up with a really good story. It was a story that I thought was more suited to a single, feature-length episode than a series.” After making sure Jones – who apparently gasped when Crook revealed the twist of the special – was on board, “Crook called the band back together one last time and headed off to the beautiful Suffolk countryside at the end of August.”

Detectorists follows the lives of the two metal detecting enthusiasts. It really is as sweet as it sounds: they live in the fictional town of Danebury in north Essex and are part of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club. The show (which aired in 2014, 2015 and 2017) won a BAFTA in 2015 and Jones won a BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2018 for his portrayal of Lance.

In recent years, Detectorists' fan base has grown. Crook said: “It seems like the initial love for Detectorists has only grown as more and more people have discovered the show.”

In an interview with the Guardian published this week, Jones said: “Many people have contacted me and [Crook] during lockdown about how comforting and reassuring the show was for them. The script is virtually flawless.”

In a 2015 New York Times review, Mike Hale said The Detectorists was “part of a long tradition of British comedies about silly eccentrics,” adding, “Rather than heading toward noisy farce, the series is dreamy and shot through with melancholy, with a touch of charm.”

“It's a unique creation,” he said. “It's not for everyone, but it will certainly be loved by those who surrender to its rhythm.”

In 2019, Detectorists was listed in Radio Times' roundup of the 20 best British TV sitcoms of all time, alongside classics such as Fawlty Towers, The Office, Blackadder and Absolutely Fabulous.

Jones seems to have a knack for picking great roles. He began his career in 1992 as an actor in Sally Potter's historical drama “Orlando” and has since had a varied career as an actor in series and films, including “Harry Potter,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Dad's Army,” “Journey's End” and “Sherlock.”

And 2022 was a particularly busy year for the actor: In addition to his return to The Detectorists, he had roles in the BBC series The English, in Sam Mendes' romance film Empire of Light, in the Netflix gothic thriller The Pale Blue Eye starring Christian Bale, in the Netflix historical drama The Wonder (alongside Florence Pugh) and in the short film A Moral Man directed by Paul Wade and Simon Wade.

The Detectorists Christmas special will air on BBC Two on 26 December at 9pm.