Antiques Roadshow

Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow opening title card
Starring	Bruce Parker (1979) Angela Rippon (1979) Arthur Negus (1979–83) Hugh Scully (1981–2000) Michael Aspel (2000–07) Fiona Bruce (2008–present)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	32
No. of episodes	(list of episodes)
Production
Producer	BBC
Running time	50 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	18 February 1979 (1979-02-18) – present
Related
Flog It! (2002–present) Dickinson's Real Deal (2006–present)

Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally abroad) to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979. There are also international versions of the programme.

History

Paul Atterbury examines an antique cricket bat

The series began as a 1977 BBC documentary 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 presented by Badgerwatch presenter Bruce Parker and Going for a Song antiques expert Arthur Negus. The pilot was so successful that it was transmitted and the format has remained almost unchanged ever since. (Negus appeared on Antiques Roadshow until 1983). In the original BBC series, 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. These specials aired 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.

A spin-off series, 20th Century Roadshow, focusing on modern collectables, aired between April and June 2005. It was hosted by Alan Titchmarsh.

Two other spin-off series, 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.

In the 1980s, a young girl wrote in to Jim'll Fix It to ask if Jimmy Savile, would "fix it" so she could "accidentally" drop and smash a seemingly-valuable vase on an episode of Antiques Roadshow. This was broadcast as part of a regular edition of Antiques Roadshow (as well as in the Jim'll Fix It episode), with many of the crowd at the Roadshow looking on, horrified, until the antiques expert, David Battie, explained the ruse.

The most valuable item to ever appear on the show featured on 16 November 2008. This was an original 1990s maquette of the Angel of the North sculpture by Antony Gormley, owned by Gateshead Council, which was valued at £1m by Philip Mould. Glassware expert Andy McConnell later valued a collection of chandeliers at seven million pounds (their actual insurance value), noting as he did so that this beat Mould's record; however these were fixtures of the building in which the show was being filmed (Bath Assembly Rooms) rather than an item that had been brought in. Conversely, many items brought before the experts are worthless. However, these are seldom shown in the broadcast episodes, in order to spare embarrassment for the individuals involved. Value is not the only criterion for inclusion; items with an interesting story attached, or of a provenance relevant to the show's location, will often be featured regardless of value, and counterfeit objects are sometimes included to give experts an opportunity to explain the difference between real and fake items.

Format

Local people bring along their possessions to be evaluated for authenticity and interest (especially related to the venue) and an approximate valuation is given. Often, the professional evaluators give a rather in-depth historical, craft, or artistic context to the antique, 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. At the core though, the focus of the production is on the interplay between the owner and the evaluator.

Hosts

Fiona Bruce on reception at the Antiques Roadshow

Antiques Roadshow has been hosted by Bruce Parker (1979), Angela Rippon (1979), Arthur Negus (1979–1983), Hugh Scully (1981–2000) and Michael Aspel (2000–2007). Fiona Bruce took over at the beginning of the 2008 series.

Experts

Many experts in the various antiques fields appear on the show either regularly or intermittently. Among the best known are:

• Marc Allum, miscellaneous category expert since 1998.
• Paul Atterbury, is a journalist with an interest in art and design of the 20th century
• Jon Baddeley, an expert on nautical antiques
• David Battie, has a particular interest in and knowledge of Japanese and Chinese artifacts.
• John Benjamin, gemmologist and jewellery expert
• John Bly, one of the experts who deal with furniture
• Penny Brittain, furniture and miscellaneous expert
• Simon Bull, clocks, watches and scientific instruments
• Bunny Campione, is one of the "miscellaneous" experts
• Alastair Dickenson, a regular expert in silver
• Dendy Easton fine art
• Clive Farahar, is the books and manuscripts expert
• Bill Harriman, arms and militaria specialist
• Hilary Kay, an expert on all types of toys
• Eric Knowles, ceramics
• Graham Lay, an expert on militaria and military history

Henry Sandon, porcelain expert (seated, centre)

• Rupert Maas is an art critic with a particular interest in Impressionist and Pre-Raphaelite painting
• Andy McConnell, glassware expert
• Judith Miller, antiques expert and author
• Philip Mould, a specialist in British portraiture
• Geoffrey Munn, features regularly looking at jewellery
• Peter Nahum, art expert, appeared on the show from 1981 to 2002
• Christopher Payne, furniture expert
• Ian Pickford, silver expert
• Mark Poltimore, an expert on paintings
• Henry Sandon, an expert on ceramics of all periods
• John Sandon, an expert on ceramics and glass, son of Henry Sandon
• Lars Tharp, looks at pottery of all ages
• Tim Wonnacott, fine and decorative arts (also presenter of the BBC's Bargain Hunt)

Episode locations

Main article: List of Antiques Roadshow episodes

Episodes are usually filmed during the spring and summer and aired the following autumn and winter (into the following year). Each episode is filmed at a different location, although some locations feature in two episodes.

International versions

United States

Main article: Antiques Roadshow (U.S.)

American public broadcaster PBS created a similar show in 1997. (PBS also airs the original BBC series, though it is called Antiques Roadshow UK to differentiate it from its own version.) The American version of Antiques Roadshow is produced by WGBH, a broadcast station in Boston, Massachusetts.

Australia

In 2005 part of the BBC team visited Australia and produced six one-hour episodes in conjunction with The LifeStyle Channel (XYZnetworks). These were titled Antiques Roadshow Australia. A special was also made about the visit to Australia, entitled Antiques Roadshow Australia: Behind the Scenes.

Canada

A Canadian version — called Canadian Antiques Roadshow — debuted in January 2005 on CBC Television and CBC Newsworld. It is hosted by Valerie Pringle. The show has also been aired on CBC Country Canada.

The most expensive item featured was O’Neil's "Eastward Ho!" oil on canvas. Recommended insurance: $500,000 CDN, later sold at Sotheby's in London for £164,800 ($412,000 CDN).

Finland

The Finnish version, known as Antiikkia, antiikkia has been running on YLE TV1 since 1997. The main host is Wenzel Hagelstam.

Germany

In Germany, various versions are broadcast regularly on the public regional channels of Das Erste, notable the eldest being the BR production Kunst und Krempel (in English: Art and Junk), which came into being in 1985. Other formats include Lieb & teuer (in English: Near & Dear), shown on NDR, Kitsch oder Kunst?, shown on HR (in English: Kitsch or Art?) or Echt antik?!, shown on SWR (in English: Genuinely Antique?!).

Netherlands

Since 1984 a version has also been aired in the Netherlands under the name Tussen Kunst & Kitsch, (in English: Between Art & Kitsch). Also shown on the public broadcaster, the programme is usually set in a museum in the Netherlands or sometimes in Belgium and Germany. It has become so popular through the years that even specials have been made. The experts take the viewers on a "cultural-art-trip" to places of great importance in the history of art. On regional broadcast stations there also have been new spin-offs. Best known is "Schatgraven" (in English: "Treasure digging") which runs since 1996 on TV Gelderland. It is the longest running and most popular TV show on this channel. In 2011 a painting of Joost van Geel with the title 'Het Kantwerkstertje' was discovered with an estimated value of 250,000 euro.

Sweden

The Swedish version started out as co-production between SVT Malmö and the BBC where the Antiques Roadshow would visit Scandinavia for two programmes. Antikrundan, its Swedish title, premiered in August 1989 on TV2. Since then, Antikrundan has been shown on SVT every year.

As of 2010, 21 seasons have been shown and most of the experts have been with the programme since the start. Jesper Aspegren and Anne Lundberg were the original hosts. Aspegren left in 1999.

DVD

A DVD entitled Priceless Antiques Roadshow, presented by Fiona Bruce and featuring highlights from 30 years of the series, was released by Acorn Media UK on 5 October 2009.

Magazines

The BBC publishes a monthly Home & Antiques magazine, which offers behind-the-scenes insights into the Antiques Roadshow, as well as offering tips and advice on buying and evaluating antiques.

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 series itself.

Further reading

• Hugh Scully, Fiona Malcolm, and Paul Atterbury (1998). Antiques Roadshow: A Celebration of the First 21 Years. Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 1-84000-072-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

• Antiques Roadshow at BBC Online
• Antiques Roadshow at IMDb