As the new series of Wheeler Dealers hits screens tonight – this time set in Europe – Vijay Pattni sneaks a quick chat with the two hosts, and finds out about their strange fan mail…

Edd China brings his motorised sofa to a halt – with Mike Brewer sat next to him – as the sun sets on his zany garage, nestled in a secluded farm on the outskirts of Surrey.

As one of Edd’s mechanics adjusts a motorcycle and sidecar shaped on a toilet seat and laundry basket, Mike clears his throat…

View our EXCLUSIVE Wheeler Dealers image gallery – including Edd’s motorised toilet…

“We still get requests – from all over the world – for Edd to find a sump for a 1972 Cortina and fit it to a car in say, South Africa.”

Stomach stapling?

“There was a chap I met in the street once”, Edd recalls, “and he started talking to me about having his stomach stapled.

“I think he was so flummoxed he just didn’t know what else to say!”

Mike chips in with a strange request of his own. “People are watching Wheeler Dealers all across the globe.

“I’ve got people asking me where I shop, what my shoe size is, and where I get my underwear!”

Hidden treasures

And the new series of Wheeler Dealers – which screens on Discovery Real Time tonight at 9pm – looks set to be one of the very best yet.

Mike sets off in search of budget bangers with classic-car status, and whisks them back to Edd’s garage for some much-needed TLC.

Once Edd has given the cars a thorough rework, Mike will use his expertise as a former car dealer to flog the motors… but will it all come together?

Mike snaps into life: “I’m immensely proud of this new series.

“And my highlight has to be uncovering a Citroen DS – quite possibly one of the most evocative cars ever designed by man.”

View our EXCLUSIVE Wheeler Dealers image gallery – including Edd’s motorised toilet…

Little and large

But while Mike was busy uncovering gems across the continent – including an old Porsche 356 in a German barn – Edd had to deal with some heartbreak…

“I couldn’t believe it”, says Edd, “when Mike brought back a Lotus Esprit – my absolute dream motor, and I couldn’t fit into it.”

Mike chimes in: “But he could fit into this lovely little Fiat 500 – which is the same size as a roller-skate!”

And the 500 was one of the team’s favourite classic motors.

“Not only did we have great fun buying the 500”, Mike says, “but it broke down on the way back from Turin too, so it became a sort of adventure getting the car back.

“And this is one of the best cars Edd has ever made over. Every time he changed something on the 500, the car got a little bit cheekier!”

View our EXCLUSIVE Wheeler Dealers image gallery – including Edd’s motorised toilet…

California dreamin…

So how did the team start out in their motoring careers?

“I am the son of a car customiser”, explains Mike. “My dad was one of those guys from the 1970s with a long beard, and a tight t-shirt living the Californian dream doing radical conversions on cars like Ford Populars, Mustangs – whatever.

“I was brought up in a house where the kitchen had V8 engines lying around on the floor – grease runs through my veins.”

But it could have been a different story for the TV star…

“I rebelled in my youth – I was into the ‘mod’ scene and wanted my own scooter.

“But then I realised you could only get one girl on the back of a scooter, and I liked to hang around with a lot of girls!

“I needed a set of wheels, and fast. So my first car was a little Mini 850cc. We were inseparable – we went everywhere together.

“And yes – you can in the back of a Mini!”

View our EXCLUSIVE Wheeler Dealers image gallery – including Edd’s motorised toilet…

Sofa, so good

And Edd’s love of motors was brought about by function too. “My first car was a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, and about a week after I bought the car it failed its MOT test.

“So I bought myself an Imperial socket set, and tried to fix it – even though all the bolts were in Metric! I learned the hard way, started building motorised sofas, and the rest, as they say, is history…”

Edd’s motorised sofa currently holds the Guinness World Record as the ‘Fastest Furniture’, when he took it to 92mph on Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome last year.

“My dream would be to put my motorised sofas into production”, Edd says.

View our EXCLUSIVE Wheeler Dealers image gallery – including Edd’s motorised toilet…

Wheeler Dealers – in Space?

“I really want to go into Space”, Mike chips in.

“I’ve had loads of fantastic experiences in my life – including being in an F1 car – but nobody has invited me into space yet. Maybe me and Edd could go into space together – not naked of course.”

Edd glances over with concern. “We’d really like to take Wheeler Dealers to the US – there are loads of cars over there we’d love to do, such as the Buick, Mustang…”

Watch this space.

Wheeler Dealer hits screens tonight on Discovery Real Time at 9pm.

Check out the exclusive preview of the new series: