Antiques Roadshow

Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow title logo
Created by	BBC Studios
Starring	Bruce Parker (1979) Angela Rippon (1979) Arthur Negus (1979–1983) Hugh Scully (1981–2000) Michael Aspel (2000–2008) Fiona Bruce (2008–present)
Theme music composer	Paul Reade Tim Gibson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	46
No. of episodes	866 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	BBC Studios Factual Entertainment Productions
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	18 February 1979 (1979-02-18) – present

Antiques Roadshow is a

The series has spawned many international versions throughout Europe, North America and other countries with the same TV format. The programme is hosted by Fiona Bruce and in 2024 was in its 46th series.^[2]

History

The programme began as a BBC documentary that aired in 1977, about a London auction house doing a tour of the West Country in England. The pilot roadshow was recorded in Hereford on 17 May 1977 and presented by contributor Bruce Parker, a presenter of the news/current affairs programme Nationwide, and antiques expert Arthur Negus, who had previously worked on a similarly themed show, called Going for a Song. The pilot was so successful that it was transmitted and the format has remained almost unchanged ever since, though fewer and fewer antiques are featured in recent series, being replaced with Lego, Barbie Dolls, modern ceramics, Star Wars and other film memorabilia. Negus appeared on Antiques Roadshow until 1983. In the original BBC programme, various towns or famous places are advertised as venues. The show has since visited a number of other countries (including Canada in 2001 and Australia in 2005) and has been imitated by other TV production companies around the world.

In the United Kingdom, annual children's Christmas specials aired from 1991 until 2006, under the title Antiques Roadshow: The Next Generation (except for the 1991 edition, which was titled Antiques Roadshow Going Live) and used a specially reworked version of the regular theme music. However, there was no children's special in 2007; instead an edition was devoted to "antiques of the future" dating from the 1950s to the present day. Since then individually themed specials have been aired, though not every year.

A spin-off programme, 20th Century Roadshow, focusing on modern collectibles, aired between April and June 2005. It was hosted by Alan Titchmarsh. Two other spin-off programmes, Antiques Roadshow Gems (1991) and Priceless Antiques Roadshow (2009–10), revisited items from the show's history and provided background information on the making of the show and interviews with the programme's experts.

The most valuable item to ever appear on the show featured on 16 November 2008. This was an original 1990s

Some significant items have been acquired by museums after being sold once their owners were appraised of their true value. An example is the watercolour painting The Artist's Halt in the Desert by Richard Dadd, discovered and shown by Peter Nahum in 1986 and purchased the next year by the British Museum^[6] for £100,000.^[7] Another such item, later dubbed "Ozzy the Owl", is a Staffordshire slipware jug, valued by Henry Sandon on a 1990 show at £20,000 to £30,000,^[7] and subsequently acquired by Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.^[8]

The original theme music was

In March 2023, for an edition from Eden Project in Cornwall, the guest was Camilla, Queen Consort.^[10]

Format

Visitors (predominantly from the area being visited by the show) bring along their possessions to be evaluated for authenticity and interest (especially related to the venue) and an approximate valuation is given. The production team selects the items whose appraisal is to be televised. Often, the professional evaluators give a rather in-depth historical, craft, or artistic context to the item, adding a very strong cultural element to the show. This increases the show's appeal to people interested in the study of the past or some particular crafts, or certain arts, regardless of the monetary value of the objects.^{[citation needed]} At the core, however, the focus of the production is on the interplay between the owner and the evaluator.

Presenters

Antiques Roadshow has been hosted by:

Programme experts for 2021/2022

Antiques Roadshow has a team of experts numbering over 60. Many have areas of speciality, some of them are long tenuring experts on the programme.^[12]

Arms and militaria

Books and manuscripts

Ceramics and glass

Clocks and watches

Furniture

Jewellery

Miscellaneous

Pictures and prints

Silver

Locations

Episodes

Episodes are usually filmed during the spring and summer and aired the following autumn and winter (into the following year). Each location visited is covered by one or two (exceptionally even three) episodes.

International versions

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Australia

In 2005, part of the BBC team visited

In Flanders, VTM has been broadcasting a local version,^[17] called Rijker dan je denkt? (Richer than you thought?) since 2012, which is hosted by Staf Coppens.

Canada

In

The most expensive item featured was Henry Nelson O'Neil's "Eastward Ho!" oil on canvas. Recommended insurance: CDN$500,000, later sold at Sotheby's in London for £164,800 (about CDN$300,000 at the 2008 exchange rate).

Finland

The

Germany

In Germany, various versions are broadcast regularly on the public regional channels of the ARD, the oldest being the BR production Kunst und Krempel (Art and Junk), airing since 1985. Other versions include Lieb & teuer (Near & dear), shown on NDR, Kitsch oder Kunst? (Kitsch or Art?), shown on HR, and Echt Antik?! (Genuinely antique?!), shown on SWR.

Netherlands

The show Tussen Kunst & Kitsch (Between Art & Kitsch) has been running in the

In 2011, a painting of Joost van Geel with the title Het Kantwerkstertje (The Little Lacemaker) was discovered with an estimated value of 250,000 euros, the highest-appraised item on the show.^[21] The programme has been presented by Cees van Drongelen (1984-2002), Nelleke van der Krogt (2002-2015), and Frits Sissing (2015-), and it celebrated its 30th series in 2014.

Sweden

The Swedish version started out as a co-production between SVT Malmö and the BBC, whose Antiques Roadshow visited Scandinavia for two programmes.^[22] Antikrundan (Antiques Round), its Swedish version, premiered in August 1989 on TV2, and SVT has produced a new season every year since.

As of 2019, 30 seasons have been shown and most of the experts have been with the programme since its start. Jesper Aspegren was the original host. He left in 2000, and from the 2001 season onwards, Antikrundan has been hosted by Anne Lundberg.

The BBC original is also run on Swedish television, under the name Engelska Antikrundan ("English [sic] Antiques Round").

United States

PBS also airs the original BBC programme, though it is called Antiques Roadshow UK to differentiate it from the PBS version. Values of items in United States dollars are often superimposed over the pound sterling values given in the original broadcast.

Related shows

Specials

Overseas specials

Hugh Scully hosted a Beaulieu based show on 3 January 1993,^[24] a Jamaican based show on 14 February 1993,^[25] a Cork based show on 13 February 1994^[26] and a Brussels based show on 16 April 1995,^[27] all on the BBC.

Antiques Roadshow Detectives

Fiona Bruce together with individual Antiques Roadshow appraisers investigate the history of significant items, uncovering the stories that form the history of family heirlooms and finding out about their origin and authenticity.^[28]

Broadcasts

This one-season programme was broadcast in 2015 and comprises 15 episodes.^[29]

In Sweden it was shown on SVT in Autumn 2018 under the name of Engelska Antikrundan: Arvegodsens hemligheter ("English Round of Antiques: The Secrets of the Heirlooms").^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Ellen E Jones of The Independent called the first episode, about a Cromwellian escutcheon, "a welcome addition to the schedules".^[30]

Literature

Magazines

The BBC published a monthly Homes & Antiques magazine until 2011, which offered behind-the-scenes insights into Antiques Roadshow, as well as offering tips and advice on buying and evaluating antiques.^[31] This magazine still exists, now published by Immediate since 2015.^[32]

There is also a spin-off magazine of the American version of the show called Antiques Roadshow Insider, which gives fans an inside look at the show as well as offering special features about antiques and collectibles from the programme itself.

Further reading

• Roadshow experts (2000).
  ISBN 0-7522-1790-9
  .
• Hugh Scully; Fiona Malcolm; Paul Atterbury (1998). Antiques Roadshow: A Celebration of the First 21 Years.
  ISBN 1-84000-072-4
  .
• Antiques Roadshow: Experts on Objects. Edited by Christopher Lewis. Authors include Eric Knowles, David Battie,
  ISBN 0-5632-0628-4
  .

• Bargain Hunt (2000–present)
• Cash in the Attic (2002–2012)
• Flog It! (2002–2020)
• Dickinson's Real Deal (2006–present)
• Antiques Road Trip (2010–present)
• Fake or Fortune? (2011–present)

References