You can keep Morse's rotten Jag, says John

INSPECTOR Morse star John Thaw was offered his famous red Jaguar as a Christmas present...and turned it down because it's "terrible to drive".

The Mark II classic has featured in every episode of the TV series, which ended last month after 14 years when Morse collapsed and died from a heart attack.

Afterwards the show's producers Carlton TV offered Thaw the car as an early Christmas gift.

They were stunned when the actor - who drives a pounds 55,000 supercharged Jaguar XJRV8 in real life - replied: "I don't need it, it's terrible to drive and it's too slow."

The car is being kept under dust covers at a secret garage in North London while its fate is decided. Carlton has already turned down a pounds 50,000 bid for it to be top prize in a competition, and a spokesman said: "It might be better in some sort of museum."

Graham Searle, of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, said: "A Mark II 2.4-litre Jag would normally be worth about pounds 8,000 in very good condition, but someone will pay silly money for a slice of TV history.

"This is probably the most famous Jag in the world - the sky's the limit."

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