He may be better known for his acting skills but film and television star Philip Glenister is relishing the chance to take centre stage in another of his passions for this year’s Silverstone Classic.

Now in its 26th year, the Silverstone Classic is firmly established as the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival, attracting more than 1,100 race entries.

Harrow resident Glenister has long harboured a love for cars, and his TV character DCI Gene Hunt was also famously associated with his classic vehicles with a 1974 Ford Cortina in BBC series Life on Mars and then an Audi Quattro in the sequel Ashes to Ashes.

Since 2014, the 53-year-old has co-presented Channel 4’s For the Love of Cars alongside friend Ant Antstead, with the duo set to feature at this year’s Silverstone Classic from July 29-31 as part of a culmination of a documentary about the restoration of a Lotus Elite.

The restored car will be entered into a race against other classic cars and Glenister was looking forward to the chance to indulge in of his passions.

“We’re filming For the Love of Cars. We’re doing a one-off special where we are restoring a car before entering it into the Silverstone Classic at the end of July,” he said.

“It will probably be my colleague doing most of the work on the day – he’s the mechanic – and then me just enjoying myself

“The only time I’ve been to Silverstone was on practice day at the British Grand Prix and I had a friend whose wife worked for the Jordan team at the time. So we were in the pits watching them all do their stuff.

“It’s just so noisy, you just can’t hear yourself think.

“There will be some amazing cars there. You’ve got the Formula 1 cars to the little mini Coopers so it’s incredible.

“My love of cars came through TV shows and it was really watching those shows as a kid growing up – I would then go and buy the little toy of it.

“I’m very bitter because I was never given a Scalextric as a kid so this is my payback time a little bit.”

A must-do event for classic car enthusiasts and their families, the Silverstone Classic drew a record crowd of more than 100,000 in 2015.

The three-day festival will feature the very best of historic racing covering more than eight decades of motor sport, as well as live music from the likes of the Stranglers, Reed and The Boomtown Rats and a wealth of family entertainment including a free vintage funfair.

“It’s a real family day out. It’s a great place for kids who are into cars to come and see these motors,” added Glenister.

“I would have loved to have come and seen something like this as a kid.

“It’s a really good day out, hopefully come July the weather will be a lot warmer

“It’s the sort of thing where you can go watch for a bit and then go off and have a bite to eat, a little snooze, and then come and watch some more racing.

“There’s a whole range of vehicles. You could see it on TV but unless you’re actually here watching these classic cars race at the home of racing at Silverstone, then you can’t really get a taste of it.

Join us for Silverstone Classic 2016 – the packed three-day weekend provides classic motor racing, impressive track parades, infield displays from over 100 car clubs, plus interactive driving activities and dynamic demonstrations.  Entry is advanced ticket only and for full details – as well as hospitality packages and weekend festival camping – visit: www.silverstoneclassic.com