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Secret mission kept M'lady in pank

17/ 6/2006

IT WAS a secret mission to help a member of the motoring aristocracy get back in the pink.

People were out searching for her, but the ravages of time meant she was not keen to be seen.

A Rochdale firm came to the rescue, managing to keep her under wraps until it had made sure she was ready to face the world again.

In the summer of 1990 film fans were scouring the country trying to find one of the stars of the 1968 movie 'Thunderbirds' - Lady Penelope's pink Rolls Royce.

The car, which had been specially built for the film by General Motors, had not been seen for years.

Some enthusiasts even travelled to Alton Towers, where the model car used in the puppet series was kept, in a vain hunt for information.

Unbeknown to all but a few, however, the Roller was at Mellor Coachcraft on Miall Street undergoing a complete rebuild.

Workers had been sworn to secrecy until the work was done and the 23-foot long, eight-foot wide 'Pink Lady' proudly took to the streets once again.

A spokesman for the company said: "Lady Penelope would have been proud of them because, in all this time they did not breathe a word to anyone."

When the car first arrived at Miall Street it was in poor condition, with many parts missing.

It was a huge challenge but a team of three, with a 12-strong back-up outfit, rose to it magnificently.

The Roller was stripped right down to the chassis and completely rebuilt.

The company spokesman said: "We solved the problem of missing parts, such as wheeltrims and front bumper, by photographing the model at Alton Towers and then designing and making the full-size identical parts.

"It was a real challenge which our workers relished.

"We have had some unusual orders in the past, such as building special vehicles for Arabian Royal families, so we had the necessary expertise to tackle Lady Penelope's car."

The newly-restored car left Rochdale in early August that year to join the Cars of the Stars museum in Keswick.