Detectorists follows the fortunes of two friends, Lance (Toby Jones) and Andy (Crook), and their fellow members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club (DMDC). Andy lives with his partner Becky (Rachael Stirling), working cleaning jobs and studying for an archaeology degree, while Lance pines after his ex-wife Maggie (Lucy Benjamin), who left him for the manager of a Pizza Hut. We are introduced to their world by inductee club member Sophie (Aimee-Ffion Edwards), who joins Lance and Andy detecting on a local farm where they believe a Saxon hoard may be buried.
The search is jeopardised, however, when the DMDC’s loveably pompous club president, Terry (Gerard Horan), decides to investigate the mystery of the farmer’s missing wife; and events are further complicated by the continued presence of a rival metal-detecting pair who want the turf for themselves.