Armed with his trusty metal detector and optimistic, can-do attitude, Gary Drayton first appeared in the second season of History’s long-running reality TV series “The Curse of Oak Island.” A full-fledged, integral member of the show’s intrepid Fellowship of the Dig by Season 5, Drayton lends his expertise to Lagina brothers Marty and Rick and their dogged quest to unearth the rumored wealth said to lie beneath the surface of this tiny island off the coast of Nova Scotia.
Long the focus of real-world treasure-hunters and the arm-chair adventurers who follow their exploits, Oak Island’s topography is alleged to conceal everything from pirate booty to long-lost Templar riches, Viking loot, and even shocking details about the actual author of all those plays scurrilously attributed to William Shakespeare (water-logged Bacon, anyone?). For Drayton’s part, as a beach and shallow-water metal detecting specialist (via Monsters and Critics) he can lay claim to uncovering a number of actual, physical relics during his time probing the sands and swamps of the island. While not quite in the wealth-beyond-mortal dreams category, his finds include a scattering of old coins, semi-precious stones, and a battered lead cross that some of the show’s experts claim dates to the fourteenth century.
So, in light of his long-time association with the determined diggers of “The Curse of Oak Island,” why does Drayton feel the treasure-seeking on the show is truly special?
Gary Drayton says The Curse of Oak Island’s teamwork defines the show for him
Ever since the series launched on the History network in 2014, “The Curse of Oak Island” has maintained a tenacious grip on its TV audience by offering a steady succession of intriguing but minor discoveries. And while the fabled “money pit” has resisted discovery so far, Drayton and others have come across some tantalizing finds over the series’ multiple seasons (per Oak Island Mystery).
The fact is, though, that while no one has gotten rich off the spoils found so far, Gary Drayton appears to be having a great time working with the Laginas on the show. As quoted on History.com, the British-born Drayton feels that his work on the show differs in a major way from his usual solo efforts with metal detectors.
“The fellowship of the dig to me is kind of different because metal detection isn’t really a team activity,” he explained. He went on to note that for him the series’ team effort “was a new concept and new to get used to it, and I love it.” Adding that he’s always learning something useful about his craft on the show, Drayton concludes that the cooperative nature of the process on “The Curse of Oak Island” makes being on the show like working with your best friends. It’s nice to know how much the team values working with one another. In a similar vein, on one of his Facebook Reels posts Drayton states simply, “Random Curse of Oak Island fact, I have fun at work!”