0:00:01 > 0:00:03We are about to unlock a bit of a treasure chest.
0:00:03 > 0:00:09Inside it sit many thousands of beautiful and fascinating objects, each with a story to tell,
0:00:09 > 0:00:14and it also reveals some secrets about a show that's become a bit of a national institution.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Welcome to Priceless Antiques Roadshow.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I've watched the Antiques Roadshow as long as I can remember.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46I have just finished my first season and I can tell you
0:00:46 > 0:00:48it's been a bit of an eye opener.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51I have marvelled at the encyclopaedic knowledge of the experts
0:00:51 > 0:00:55and the sheer eclectic variety of the objects brought in by the public.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57With 31 years of history under our belts,
0:00:57 > 0:01:02we thought it would be a good idea to take you deep inside the Roadshow.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Over the next three weeks, the team will show previously untold stories
0:01:05 > 0:01:09as they come face to face with classic finds from the past.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Truly priceless moments.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Have you ever wondered what were the most expensive items ever seen on the show?
0:01:21 > 0:01:26How did a mild-mannered art expert manage to outrage the women of Shropshire?
0:01:26 > 0:01:31The whole reason that you've come to this WI is because of the...
0:01:31 > 0:01:36- remark you made.- It seems that today is the appointed hour of my penance.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41And Roadshow veteran Henry Sandon takes us back to his on-screen debut
0:01:41 > 0:01:46when the Antiques Roadshow was a toddler in the world of television.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54We all love those jaw-dropping valuations
0:01:54 > 0:01:58when an expert has floored us with a five-figure bombshell,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00and there have been plenty of them over the years.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05But from 500 hours of programmes, which were the real corkers?
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Here are five finds which shocked viewers with staggering valuations.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Who could forget the time when David Battie valued a piece
0:02:14 > 0:02:17that Nora Ambrose brought to the Antiques Roadshow?
0:02:17 > 0:02:21What do you think this is, as an object?
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Well, it's a teapot, definitely.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28'Well, Nora, she brought in a large teapot.'
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I think it might well have been a punch pot actually.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Whieldon ware, mid 18th century.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Why are you so sure it's a teapot?
0:02:35 > 0:02:43Well, my mother-in-law told me when she was a little girl, they used to use it as a teapot.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45I'd been chatting to Nora and she was wonderful. I suppose...
0:02:45 > 0:02:52she was then in her 70s, and chatty and spontaneous.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56When my mother-in-law gave it to me she said to me "Look after it, now," she said,
0:02:56 > 0:03:02"because it's over 100 years old, it was very old when I was a little girl."
0:03:02 > 0:03:06It is more than true, this is actually a very ancient pot indeed.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09- Oh.- 'It was the first time, I think,'
0:03:09 > 0:03:12anybody had ever teased a client over the pricing.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Do you think it might be worth several hundred pounds?
0:03:16 > 0:03:17I don't know, I don't think so.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19- You wouldn't have thought so.- No.
0:03:19 > 0:03:25- So, if I told you it was worth £600 to £800 you would be really shocked, would you?- Oh, I would.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Right. What would you say if I said it was worth £2,000?
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Oh, you're kidding, aren't you?
0:03:32 > 0:03:35- Well, I am kidding, actually.- Oh.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38It's actually worth about £5,000 to £6,000.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42'It was just perfect'
0:03:42 > 0:03:45and she said, "Of course I'll never sell it."
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Are you all right?
0:03:47 > 0:03:48'Two weeks later,'
0:03:48 > 0:03:52I went up to the department where I was working in the auction house
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and there was her teapot - she had decided to sell it.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Gosh, isn't that marvellous?
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Well, what a wonderful way to start our new series of the Antiques Roadshow.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03'It was a life-changing event for her,'
0:04:03 > 0:04:05because with that money she was able
0:04:05 > 0:04:08to buy her council house in Liverpool
0:04:08 > 0:04:13in which she'd lived paying rent for more than 30 years.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18So, suddenly she had something that she could hand on to her family.
0:04:21 > 0:04:29Well, the first item we saw of really enormous value I remember was in Barnstaple in 1986.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31It's been in the family for quite a while.
0:04:31 > 0:04:38My grandfather gave it to my mother in 1930 and basically it's been up in the loft a lot of the time.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41It was very strange, the way it turned up.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44The couple who owned it didn't know the first thing about it
0:04:44 > 0:04:48and thought it was valueless and they weren't even going to bother to come
0:04:48 > 0:04:55to the show but the dog needed a walk and the dog's favourite walk was in the park right by our front door.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00So, as they reached for the dog's lead when leaving home, they said "Why don't we take that picture?
0:05:00 > 0:05:02"We don't know anything about it - just on the off chance."
0:05:02 > 0:05:07So they took the picture off the wall and brought it in with doggy.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09The expert that day was Peter Nahum.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Now, it is an extraordinary painting.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16I don't know who it was painted by, I know it's a wonderful painting.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17I would hope,
0:05:17 > 0:05:25some indications - it would be too much to hope, really, that this was a lost painting by Richard Dadd.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30It was well known that Richard Dadd had painted this picture but it had been lost for about
0:05:30 > 0:05:34100 years and suddenly out of the blue it turns up
0:05:34 > 0:05:38completely unexpectedly in Barnstaple. It was breathtaking.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43Obviously I've only had a few minutes to look at this
0:05:43 > 0:05:45and it needs some investigation.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49So, what I would like to ask you to do, is if we may take it to London
0:05:49 > 0:05:52on your behalf and investigate it further.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Oh, certainly, we'd be interested as well.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00So, with the owner's permission we took the picture back to London, took it to the expert and we said,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04"Look, is this the long-lost Richard Dadd?" And she said "Yes, it certainly is."
0:06:04 > 0:06:08So, then we had to go back to the couple in Barnstaple,
0:06:08 > 0:06:16to their bungalow with a film crew and that's when Peter gave them the good news and the valuation.
0:06:16 > 0:06:22It is an international... lost picture and I feel that it could possibly...
0:06:22 > 0:06:25make somewhat over £100,000.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33He had just retired from his job. He was a driver for the Royal Air Force.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37So, £100,000 for them would have been very useful and they decided to sell it
0:06:37 > 0:06:41and the buyer, appropriately, was the British Museum.
0:06:41 > 0:06:48So, that painting set the bar. It was the highest valuation we had ever had to that point.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52But the record didn't last very long, because in Crawley, just a few years later,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56we found something of even greater value.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Now, Crawley.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00You know, I'm asked about Crawley
0:07:00 > 0:07:04probably more than anything else I've ever done on the Roadshow.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06It was the most extraordinary day.
0:07:06 > 0:07:13This chap arrived and produced the stag's head out of his bag.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Now, my heart leapt at that moment.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22The stag's head stirrup cup, a wonderful object, absolutely stunning.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Gilded inside and of course these are very collectible.
0:07:26 > 0:07:32Actually, one of the production team said it was at that moment that I just lit up like a Christmas tree.
0:07:32 > 0:07:40It would suggest you think in terms of £10,000.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44- I'm not sure what to say, These are little things but they seem to be worth...- You've got more.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47What on earth have you got here?
0:07:47 > 0:07:48I'm a bit flabbergasted by that.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52Now this one.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Ah, Oh, gosh.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I think this could be an early wine taster.
0:07:58 > 0:08:021607, in this case, so that's King James I.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07Now that is exceptionally rare.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10It was kind of hard to take in, really, at the time,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14to think we had a little James I
0:08:14 > 0:08:17wine tasting cup that was...
0:08:17 > 0:08:22You know, I think it was the fact that it was that old
0:08:22 > 0:08:23that to me
0:08:23 > 0:08:25rocked my boat.
0:08:25 > 0:08:33I would say one should be thinking in terms of what - at least £12,000 to £15,000.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36In fact we never saw all of the silver.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42We did a rough sort of guesstimate of what the total value was, which
0:08:42 > 0:08:48we thought was probably approaching a quarter of a million pounds, but it is an extraordinary thing because
0:08:48 > 0:08:53one can actually say that you changed somebody's life.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58That family had been struggling and suddenly by selling
0:08:58 > 0:09:02a few of the items in that collection, which they subsequently did,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06their lives literally changed, simply because the son,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10that morning, had brought those pieces in to the Roadshow.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18It took another ten years to eclipse that find but in Dumfries,
0:09:18 > 0:09:23books expert Clive Farahar knew he was about to make Roadshow history.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28It is so detailed, a mouse reading a newspaper on a stool.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34And I notice it is signed HBP, Helen Beatrix Potter, and 1890.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38The collection of Beatrix Potter had the most wonderful provenance.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40They came through Beatrix Potter's brother,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44who farmed in the Borders and there they were.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Some finished, some unfinished. I love this one, actually.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52I don't know if you've got a favourite among them but I think this is my favourite.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56"Squintina Tabby, licensed dealer in tea."
0:09:56 > 0:10:01And there she is looking very, very cross, squinting at these two other
0:10:01 > 0:10:05cats who are obviously children, or kittens rather, looking in through the window.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07I think that is absolutely fantastic.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12- I would have thought that would have been worth well, £12,000 probably or more.- Gracious.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14I can hardly believe this it just goes on.
0:10:14 > 0:10:20All exquisite and done long before Beatrix Potter had any fame.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25Last, but not least, are the ones that you've had framed.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29And these are absolutely stunning.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33I would say £50,000 for those, each.
0:10:33 > 0:10:40So, you've got 23, you've got the best part of a quarter of a million pounds' worth of goods.
0:10:40 > 0:10:46Which I thought was an incredible amount of money and the owner was not particularly plussed by it.
0:10:46 > 0:10:54One hopes when one says a large sum of money that somebody will sort of jump out of their chair, you know,
0:10:54 > 0:10:59say wild things or whatever, have a wonderful reaction but he was very tame.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02I'm so delighted. Thank you for bringing them in.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15But the Roadshow record books were re-written in 2008.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Art specialist Philip Mould broke the news.
0:11:18 > 0:11:24This is the bronze maquette for the Angel of the North, the preparatory work
0:11:24 > 0:11:28that Gormley, the sculptor, Antony Gormley, used to persuade you and the council
0:11:28 > 0:11:29to commission this great object.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32How do you value something like this?
0:11:32 > 0:11:38Well, it's easier to value than a lot of things of this stature, of this iconic resonance, because another
0:11:38 > 0:11:43version did sell very recently, admittedly it was taller and it wasn't of bronze
0:11:43 > 0:11:47and that made about £2 million, or rather a little bit over that.
0:11:47 > 0:11:55So, I think on the basis that this is half the size, I would comfortably value it at £1 million.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Amazing.
0:11:57 > 0:11:58Absolutely amazing.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I was there when Philip Mould made the first ever £1 million valuation
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and it caused quite a bit of a stir.
0:12:06 > 0:12:12Some people thought the item didn't belong on the Antiques Roadshow, including some of our experts.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14More on that debate later in the series.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21For me it was great to be present for a real Roadshow first and Philip Mould prepared
0:12:21 > 0:12:25carefully to deliver that valuation in front of eight million viewers.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29And that's not something that always comes naturally. It can take years for experts
0:12:29 > 0:12:35to polish their bedside manner, to deliver a relaxed chat when there's lots of cameras and people watching.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Well, they all had to start somewhere.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42In this series we are asking some of our smoothest operators to relive their very first moment
0:12:42 > 0:12:48in front of the cameras and we are starting with a much-loved ceramics expert, Henry, of course.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51This is a very, very charming porcelain mug,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55the earliest piece of porcelain we've had brought in today so far.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Where did you acquire it?
0:12:57 > 0:12:59'I joined the programme in series two.'
0:12:59 > 0:13:03I'd seen some of the earlier ones and loved the programme very much
0:13:03 > 0:13:05and it was delightful for me
0:13:05 > 0:13:08when I was asked to do series two.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13A little cider mug, a little quarter pint cider mug. They drank little...
0:13:13 > 0:13:15drinks of cider in those days.
0:13:15 > 0:13:21Rather damaged, which would of course lessen its value, very considerably.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23'First recording was quite interesting.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26'It was the first time one...'
0:13:26 > 0:13:29had had the pleasure of meeting actual people and talking about things,
0:13:29 > 0:13:34which was rather nice and this fellow brought in a porcelain mug.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Did you know what it was when you acquired it?
0:13:38 > 0:13:42I just got interested in it, I just thought it was very nice.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46I went for a clock and ended up with the cup.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51I think I would prefer a mug like that to a clock, but that's me,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54a porcelain man who tends to be attracted to pieces of this nature.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- It's very nice.- Very, very pretty.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59It was nice and simple and easy, and I enjoyed it very much.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Can I ask how much you paid for it?
0:14:03 > 0:14:04- £30.- £30.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07I suppose I'm kind to people.
0:14:07 > 0:14:13I can winkle out of them little facts that they may not want to give, certainly about
0:14:13 > 0:14:16how much they paid for it, which sometimes they don't like to do.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21But it's nice to know how much they paid and then you can judge whether they are going to be shocked
0:14:21 > 0:14:27or surprised at what you tell them the value is, which is always rather nice.
0:14:27 > 0:14:34Well, if it had been a perfect mug it would have been in the region of I suppose, £100, to £150 but it is
0:14:34 > 0:14:39cracked under the base, which does lessen the value of any piece of porcelain.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42But congratulations on getting it. I hope it starts you off
0:14:42 > 0:14:46- on a collection of porcelain instead of clocks.- I hope so too.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52It was a nice comfortable, happy, nice little programme that nobody envisaged would go on for ever.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Almost like the Archers, I mean it's quite incredible - here it is
0:14:55 > 0:14:59still after all these years still surviving. We're shocked.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Henry Sandon, modest to the last, not surprisingly.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Henry effortlessly charms all the people he meets on Roadshow days.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13A queue even formed to kiss him once.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Picture expert Rupert Maas, on the other hand,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19had quite the opposite effect on the women of Shropshire recently.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Now, I like to think I know a news story when I see it, but I didn't see this one coming.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27It all started innocently enough at my first show at Bolton Abbey.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29It's signed Talmage 1921.
0:15:29 > 0:15:35Algernon Mayon Talmage, and he was rather an interesting artist, I think.
0:15:35 > 0:15:41Rupert was examining a painting and paid particular attention to a part of the subject's anatomy.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Well, the media frenzy started the very next day.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Well, there's uproar in Shropshire tonight.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54A TV art critic upset women there for suggesting they have, wait for it, fat ankles.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59Rupert Maas made the comments during the much-loved Antiques Roadshow.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03But she's got slightly worryingly thick ankles.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08I just can't help but notice them. It's what my mother used to call Shropshire ankles.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17It seems today is the appointed hour of my penance.
0:16:19 > 0:16:25Well, I was asked to give a comment on the Shropshire ankle,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28which has now been known as the Shropshire Ankle Debate.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33In my position as the Shropshire Federation secretary,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37of the Women's Institute, and in my remarks I just happened to mention that perhaps
0:16:37 > 0:16:45he would like to come to Shropshire to make amends for the wickedness he had done in affronting our ankles.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52It seemed to me that the lady in the hammock was suffering a little bit
0:16:52 > 0:16:57from what the Americans call a cankle, where the calf merges seamlessly
0:16:57 > 0:17:00into the ankle without any sort of visible narrowing.
0:17:00 > 0:17:08And I thought I'd heard the phrase somewhere, Shropshire ankle... would describe this condition properly
0:17:08 > 0:17:13but I reckoned without a certain amount of public backlash.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15According to Mr Maas, women of the county
0:17:15 > 0:17:18have developed thickset ankles because the hilly terrain
0:17:18 > 0:17:21requires them to stomp around in sturdy footwear.
0:17:21 > 0:17:27So, I am on my way up to Shropshire to atone for my sins.
0:17:27 > 0:17:34The grievous insult that I've given to the women of Shropshire, concerning their ankles.
0:17:34 > 0:17:40I am going up to give a talk on art and hopefully they'll be fast asleep by the end of it and won't lynch me.
0:17:42 > 0:17:50# And did those feet in ancient time
0:17:50 > 0:17:54# Walk upon England's mountain green? #
0:17:57 > 0:18:01"Come to Shropshire and see some Shropshire ankles attached to Shropshire ladies."
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Ladies, would you please welcome Rupert Maas?
0:18:29 > 0:18:30Good evening, ladies.
0:18:30 > 0:18:31Good evening.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35I feel already so much happier.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40I can't tell you what it's been like upstairs, this deadly silence,
0:18:40 > 0:18:45on my own just waiting and worried that you were going to do to me what you did to Tony Blair.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49LAUGHTER So, we'll begin, if that's OK.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54This is Flaming June by Frederic Lord Leighton. Anyone recognise it? SOME PEOPLE: Yes.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57It's a very famous picture, isn't it?
0:18:57 > 0:18:58It has become so.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Ahead of his lecture on the female form, Rupert made
0:19:03 > 0:19:07a research trip to the Tate to build a case for the defence.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13The sitter of this painting used to be thought to be a very beautiful girl called Dorothy Dene.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17In fact, we now think it's another girl called Mary Lloyd.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20I doubt she had a thigh quite that long,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24but my word, she was a stunner and she was quite,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28if I may say, quite well built as well.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32Great artists painting the human body often make exaggerations.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Michael Angelo's David has the biggest feet you've ever seen!
0:19:35 > 0:19:41They are really absurdly large. There's a reason for it - he stands better for having big feet.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43If he didn't have big feet, he'd fall over.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47And there's a reason for this girl being slightly disproportionate.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It wouldn't work if her thigh was any shorter.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53That needs to spread across the composition
0:19:53 > 0:19:59to make the two halves of it, like a yin and yang shape, work.
0:19:59 > 0:20:06I do sometimes get into a little bit of trouble commenting on the physical attributes of,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08of figures in the paintings, particularly women.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Well, I am analysing them, trying to understand them better.
0:20:13 > 0:20:19It was bought by my father in 1962 for £1,000.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24He put it on the wall of the gallery for £2,000 and I want you to try
0:20:24 > 0:20:28and guess how much it's worth. Have a go, a wild go, someone.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- £100,000.- £100,000. Any advance on £100,000?
0:20:31 > 0:20:35- £200,000!- £200,000! More, more! Come on, more. No?
0:20:35 > 0:20:39- Three quarters of a million! - I've heard a million in the front.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Sorry, you're all beaten.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44It's worth at least £10 million. SHOCKED GASPS
0:20:44 > 0:20:49It's valued at that by Christies at the moment and it's insured for that.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54It's astonishing, isn't it? Any rate, do you think we should have kept it?
0:20:54 > 0:21:00- So, has Rupert managed to redeem himself?- Questions, anyone.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05The whole reason you've come to this marvellous new Frankwell, Littleborough WI
0:21:05 > 0:21:09- is because of the remark you made about the ankles.- Ah, yes.
0:21:09 > 0:21:16Now, having been here for some while, what are your feelings on the ankles in Shropshire?
0:21:16 > 0:21:19LAUGHTER
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Well, I've come at winter time when most ankles are well hidden,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27so I've not had the opportunities I hoped for, but upstairs,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31I was given a small private view of a particularly...
0:21:31 > 0:21:36a particularly trim ankle, I must say. I was very impressed by it.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41Perhaps whilst you're having a cup of tea, you may examine a few more.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46- LAUGHTER 'I would be absolutely delighted to. - Thank you, Rupert.'
0:21:46 > 0:21:54Well, I've had actually what turned out to be a completely lovely evening and I feel that they've let me off.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57They've actually forgiven me, so it was worth coming.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02I'm completely off the hook, free as a bird and completely full also.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04The best lemon cake in Christendom.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16Thankfully, Rupert survived his trip to the Shropshire WI, but I wonder if he really was eating humble pie.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21Now, we all know how highly treasured family heirlooms can be,
0:22:21 > 0:22:27but let me tell you whether someone is eight or 80 years old, there are some objects that are so special,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30you can barely prise them out of their owner's hands.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Two women are on the front line examining such precious pieces.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Hilary Kay and Bunny Campione are our toy team,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41but sometimes their role isn't exactly child's play.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46I have to say, Bunny and I
0:22:46 > 0:22:51do get more than our fair share of furry creatures to deal with.
0:22:51 > 0:22:57And the boys on the team breathe a huge sigh of relief when they see that either Bunny or I are there.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Can I borrow your teddy a minute? OK...
0:23:02 > 0:23:06'Children on the Children's Roadshow have got to be very special.'
0:23:06 > 0:23:10And I remember in 1991, it was wonderful,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14they all had their teddy bears, the teddy bears were great,
0:23:14 > 0:23:19but the most threadbare of all of them, that everybody thought
0:23:19 > 0:23:21I would say was worth nothing.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25I said, "This will be worth more than all the others, because it's
0:23:25 > 0:23:28"one of the first Steiff bears that could sit and stand.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31I know he's a Steiff simply by looking at him.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33He's got very long arms.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Do you see how long his arms are? Almost down to his feet.
0:23:37 > 0:23:43I think I put something like £5,000 on it and there was a great sort of, "Woo!"
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Which is lovely when you've got children doing that.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48- Did you hear that?!- Yeah.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52I tell you, on that next generation children's roadshow,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56not only did I have a little cutie pie child to deal with -
0:23:56 > 0:24:02who kept jumping out of his box, but I also had this stuffed puppet to deal with and I mean,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06they say you should never work with animals and children. I had the lot!
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Do you ever go to toy fairs?
0:24:08 > 0:24:10- Yeah. > - You do?
0:24:10 > 0:24:14- Have you got any here? - We have got some here.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19- There are some very good displays with some of the older ones on. Are you interested in toy cars?- Yes.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Well, you ought to have a chat with Gordon,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26because he's a real enthusiast in toy cars as well.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28Now, he's the wrong side for me,
0:24:28 > 0:24:33so I'm going to just do it this way round. Is he wound up?
0:24:33 > 0:24:35'I think it was Kentwell Hall
0:24:35 > 0:24:40'in Suffolk in 2007, the most delightful gentleman
0:24:40 > 0:24:43'came in with his toys that he had played with.'
0:24:43 > 0:24:48They were unusual toys and they were the sort of toys that make the Roadshow,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52because they have action and they move and they make a noise
0:24:52 > 0:24:56and he had this tiger which was pouncing and nobody knew it was going to pounce
0:24:56 > 0:25:01until we actually showed it and filmed it, and it's doing this...
0:25:01 > 0:25:04You wind it up and suddenly...
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Everybody went, "Ooh!" So that's what it's all about.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13And then, the skating bear that he also had,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17which I have never seen a skating bear, smoking at the same time.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19And he's got a muzzle on as well.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22God knows how he could smoke and have a muzzle on.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26But there again, it was very unusual. And I put £2,000 on it,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29but I don't think they were interested in the money,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31because they were interested in the actual pieces.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33He's opening his mouth now. >
0:25:37 > 0:25:42Perhaps the cutest of finds came Bunny's way one very damp day in Scotland.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50In 2007, we went up to the very north, the Castle of Mey,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54the lovely Queen Mother's house and it was so exciting to go up there.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58But my goodness, talk about weather.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01I just couldn't believe the weather.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06'When I was filming this milk churn, you can actually hear the noise of the rain outside.'
0:26:06 > 0:26:11- Is this yours?- Yes, I inherited from my great granny.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15'The young girl that brought in this milk churn didn't tell me anything.'
0:26:15 > 0:26:20She just put it on the table and I thought, "I wonder what on earth this is!"
0:26:20 > 0:26:21Shall I have a try?
0:26:24 > 0:26:29'And I knew it was an automaton. But it was such an unusual one.'
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Ooh! Hello, how are you?
0:26:33 > 0:26:36And the delightful way it comes out
0:26:36 > 0:26:39and it's been licking the cream in the milk churn.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43- LAUGHTER - Absolutely enchanting!
0:26:47 > 0:26:53It certainly made people laugh, which they weren't laughing before.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Just goes to show every cloud has a silver lining.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11And if you think you have an even cuter keepsake from your childhood,
0:27:11 > 0:27:15bring it along to our new recordings of Antiques Roadshow? We'll save a spot in the queue for you.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16That's it for today.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20I'll be back at the same time tomorrow for more revelations,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24when we travel to the battlefields of the Somme with Paul Atterbury
0:27:24 > 0:27:27and learn why his annual pilgrimage has become a family affair
0:27:27 > 0:27:32and we reveal some of the most amazing bargain buys the Roadshow has ever seen.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Do you have an idea how much your mother's 50 shillings has gone up?
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Absolutely none.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42Before we end tonight, it's worth pointing out things don't always run smoothly.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47Ceramics expert David Battie came a cropper with a very innocent looking plate,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50which turned his face the same shade of pink. Bye-bye.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55This is a very icing-sugar pink,
0:27:55 > 0:28:00one would almost - dare I say it? - knicker pink.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02LAUGHTER
0:28:02 > 0:28:06The first impression is it doesn't kind of work too well.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10When you start looking at it, it's absolutely fantastic, very clever.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Then we've got the VR monogram.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Vagina...
0:28:15 > 0:28:17LAUGHTER
0:28:18 > 0:28:22I think you'll have to try that one again!
0:28:22 > 0:28:25That's got to be the greatest outtake of all time!
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:38 > 0:28:40E-mail: subtitling@bbc.co.uk