Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the Antiques Roadshow? How much preparation goes into each valuation?
Wonder no more!
Ipswich Evening Star reporter James Marston took some of his family heirlooms along to the Antiques Roadshow when they filmed in Suffolk recently. In this article on the newspaper’s website, he gives the low down on what happens behind the scenes and what it’s like being on the receiving end of a real valuation.
The good news is that it seems a lot more genuine than some of the other programmes -at least in our experience.
Check out Marston’s article here for all the details.
You’ve got to laugh. Today’s Sun has an interview with Michael Aspel in which he reveals that “There are a lot of lustful ladies on the roadshow - they get very physical.”
The 74-year-old silver-haired presenter goes on to admit that despite having stalkers of both sexes in his younger days, he believes the secret to the longevity of his career has been his blandness, saying that as people didn’t remember him, “they didn’t get bored”.
Aspel has now handed over the reins of the Antiques Roadshow to newsreader Fiona Bruce, but does not admit to being retired, saying that “you only retire when the phone stops ringing”.
Like many of you, I’m a big fan of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. It’s informative, stylishly presented and is not overly obssessed with money and profit - unlike many other TV antiques programmes. People’s heirlooms and treasured collections are lovingly brought to the filming location for a respectful and accurate appraisal - before being taken home again.
It’s fairly rare that any items are found to be fakes - and even rarer that they are shown on television.
Not so in China, however.
Beijing TV’s new series, Collector’s World, is just like the Antiques Roadshow - up to the point where the owners take their pieces home. If your item is judged to be a fake by the show’s panel of experts, then the programme’s host will wield his hammer, smashing the item.
I’ve written about fake antiques in China before and the scale of the problem is well known. It seems that aside from the obvious (if slightly malicious) entertainment value of Collector’s World, it does have a serious purpose - to raise awareness of the number of forgeries that are in circulation in China.
In this article in The Telegraph, the programme’s creator, Bian Yiwen, said that the programme is getting lots of positive feedback:
“We get a lot of feedback - people saying we are doing a good thing by smashing up the forgeries.”
I’m not sure how the viewers of Antiques Roadshow would take to this approach, though…
It seems that Michael Aspel is standing down from presenting the Antiques Roadshow and is likely to be replaced by newsreader Fiona Bruce.
Aspel (and the BBC) insist that it has nothing to do with his age, saying that he is simply ready to “hang up his shoes” in his 50th year of television, as he is feeling “totally fulfilled”.
Fiona Bruce is already well-known as the co-host of Crimewatch and the presenter of BBC One’s 10 O’clock News.
Update: Confirmed here.