Episode 1 Priceless Antiques Roadshow

We are about to unlock a bit of a treasure chest.

Inside it sit many thousands of beautiful and fascinating objects, each with a story to tell,

and it also reveals some secrets about a show that's become a bit of a national institution.

Welcome to Priceless Antiques Roadshow.

I've watched the Antiques Roadshow as long as I can remember.

I have just finished my first season and I can tell you

it's been a bit of an eye opener.

I have marvelled at the encyclopaedic knowledge of the experts

and the sheer eclectic variety of the objects brought in by the public.

With 31 years of history under our belts,

we thought it would be a good idea to take you deep inside the Roadshow.

Over the next three weeks, the team will show previously untold stories

as they come face to face with classic finds from the past.

Truly priceless moments.

Have you ever wondered what were the most expensive items ever seen on the show?

How did a mild-mannered art expert manage to outrage the women of Shropshire?

The whole reason that you've come to this WI is because of the...

-remark you made.

-It seems that today is the appointed hour of my penance.

And Roadshow veteran Henry Sandon takes us back to his on-screen debut

when the Antiques Roadshow was a toddler in the world of television.

We all love those jaw-dropping valuations

when an expert has floored us with a five-figure bombshell,

and there have been plenty of them over the years.

But from 500 hours of programmes, which were the real corkers?

Here are five finds which shocked viewers with staggering valuations.

Who could forget the time when David Battie valued a piece

that Nora Ambrose brought to the Antiques Roadshow?

What do you think this is, as an object?

Well, it's a teapot, definitely.

'Well, Nora, she brought in a large teapot.'

I think it might well have been a punch pot actually.

Whieldon ware, mid 18th century.

Why are you so sure it's a teapot?

Well, my mother-in-law told me when she was a little girl, they used to use it as a teapot.

I'd been chatting to Nora and she was wonderful. I suppose...

she was then in her 70s, and chatty and spontaneous.

When my mother-in-law gave it to me she said to me "Look after it, now," she said,

"because it's over 100 years old, it was very old when I was a little girl."

It is more than true, this is actually a very ancient pot indeed.

-Oh.

-'It was the first time, I think,'

anybody had ever teased a client over the pricing.

Do you think it might be worth several hundred pounds?

I don't know, I don't think so.

-You wouldn't have thought so.

-No.

-So, if I told you it was worth £600 to £800 you would be really shocked, would you?

-Oh, I would.

Right. What would you say if I said it was worth £2,000?

Oh, you're kidding, aren't you?

-Well, I am kidding, actually.

-Oh.

It's actually worth about £5,000 to £6,000.

'It was just perfect'

and she said, "Of course I'll never sell it."

Are you all right?

'Two weeks later,'

I went up to the department where I was working in the auction house

and there was her teapot - she had decided to sell it.

Gosh, isn't that marvellous?

Well, what a wonderful way to start our new series of the Antiques Roadshow.

'It was a life-changing event for her,'

because with that money she was able

to buy her council house in Liverpool

in which she'd lived paying rent for more than 30 years.

So, suddenly she had something that she could hand on to her family.

Well, the first item we saw of really enormous value I remember was in Barnstaple in 1986.

It's been in the family for quite a while.

My grandfather gave it to my mother in 1930 and basically it's been up in the loft a lot of the time.

It was very strange, the way it turned up.

The couple who owned it didn't know the first thing about it

and thought it was valueless and they weren't even going to bother to come

to the show but the dog needed a walk and the dog's favourite walk was in the park right by our front door.

So, as they reached for the dog's lead when leaving home, they said "Why don't we take that picture?

"We don't know anything about it - just on the off chance."

So they took the picture off the wall and brought it in with doggy.

The expert that day was Peter Nahum.

Now, it is an extraordinary painting.

I don't know who it was painted by, I know it's a wonderful painting.

I would hope,

some indications - it would be too much to hope, really, that this was a lost painting by Richard Dadd.

It was well known that Richard Dadd had painted this picture but it had been lost for about

100 years and suddenly out of the blue it turns up

completely unexpectedly in Barnstaple. It was breathtaking.

Obviously I've only had a few minutes to look at this

and it needs some investigation.

So, what I would like to ask you to do, is if we may take it to London

on your behalf and investigate it further.

Oh, certainly, we'd be interested as well.

So, with the owner's permission we took the picture back to London, took it to the expert and we said,

"Look, is this the long-lost Richard Dadd?" And she said "Yes, it certainly is."

So, then we had to go back to the couple in Barnstaple,

to their bungalow with a film crew and that's when Peter gave them the good news and the valuation.

It is an international... lost picture and I feel that it could possibly...

make somewhat over £100,000.

He had just retired from his job. He was a driver for the Royal Air Force.

So, £100,000 for them would have been very useful and they decided to sell it

and the buyer, appropriately, was the British Museum.

So, that painting set the bar. It was the highest valuation we had ever had to that point.

But the record didn't last very long, because in Crawley, just a few years later,

we found something of even greater value.

Now, Crawley.

You know, I'm asked about Crawley

probably more than anything else I've ever done on the Roadshow.

It was the most extraordinary day.

This chap arrived and produced the stag's head out of his bag.

Now, my heart leapt at that moment.

The stag's head stirrup cup, a wonderful object, absolutely stunning.

Gilded inside and of course these are very collectible.

Actually, one of the production team said it was at that moment that I just lit up like a Christmas tree.

It would suggest you think in terms of £10,000.

-I'm not sure what to say, These are little things but they seem to be worth...

-You've got more.

What on earth have you got here?

I'm a bit flabbergasted by that.

Now this one.

Ah, Oh, gosh.

I think this could be an early wine taster.

1607, in this case, so that's King James I.

Now that is exceptionally rare.

It was kind of hard to take in, really, at the time,

to think we had a little James I

wine tasting cup that was...

You know, I think it was the fact that it was that old

that to me

rocked my boat.

I would say one should be thinking in terms of what - at least £12,000 to £15,000.

In fact we never saw all of the silver.

We did a rough sort of guesstimate of what the total value was, which

we thought was probably approaching a quarter of a million pounds, but it is an extraordinary thing because

one can actually say that you changed somebody's life.

That family had been struggling and suddenly by selling

a few of the items in that collection, which they subsequently did,

their lives literally changed, simply because the son,

that morning, had brought those pieces in to the Roadshow.

It took another ten years to eclipse that find but in Dumfries,

books expert Clive Farahar knew he was about to make Roadshow history.

It is so detailed, a mouse reading a newspaper on a stool.

And I notice it is signed HBP, Helen Beatrix Potter, and 1890.

The collection of Beatrix Potter had the most wonderful provenance.

They came through Beatrix Potter's brother,

who farmed in the Borders and there they were.

Some finished, some unfinished. I love this one, actually.

I don't know if you've got a favourite among them but I think this is my favourite.

"Squintina Tabby, licensed dealer in tea."

And there she is looking very, very cross, squinting at these two other

cats who are obviously children, or kittens rather, looking in through the window.

I think that is absolutely fantastic.

-I would have thought that would have been worth well, £12,000 probably or more.

-Gracious.

I can hardly believe this it just goes on.

All exquisite and done long before Beatrix Potter had any fame.

Last, but not least, are the ones that you've had framed.

And these are absolutely stunning.

I would say £50,000 for those, each.

So, you've got 23, you've got the best part of a quarter of a million pounds' worth of goods.

Which I thought was an incredible amount of money and the owner was not particularly plussed by it.

One hopes when one says a large sum of money that somebody will sort of jump out of their chair, you know,

say wild things or whatever, have a wonderful reaction but he was very tame.

I'm so delighted. Thank you for bringing them in.

But the Roadshow record books were re-written in 2008.

Art specialist Philip Mould broke the news.

This is the bronze maquette for the Angel of the North, the preparatory work

that Gormley, the sculptor, Antony Gormley, used to persuade you and the council

to commission this great object.

How do you value something like this?

Well, it's easier to value than a lot of things of this stature, of this iconic resonance, because another

version did sell very recently, admittedly it was taller and it wasn't of bronze

and that made about £2 million, or rather a little bit over that.

So, I think on the basis that this is half the size, I would comfortably value it at £1 million.

Amazing.

Absolutely amazing.

I was there when Philip Mould made the first ever £1 million valuation

and it caused quite a bit of a stir.

Some people thought the item didn't belong on the Antiques Roadshow, including some of our experts.

More on that debate later in the series.

For me it was great to be present for a real Roadshow first and Philip Mould prepared

carefully to deliver that valuation in front of eight million viewers.

And that's not something that always comes naturally. It can take years for experts

to polish their bedside manner, to deliver a relaxed chat when there's lots of cameras and people watching.

Well, they all had to start somewhere.

In this series we are asking some of our smoothest operators to relive their very first moment

in front of the cameras and we are starting with a much-loved ceramics expert, Henry, of course.

This is a very, very charming porcelain mug,

the earliest piece of porcelain we've had brought in today so far.

Where did you acquire it?

'I joined the programme in series two.'

I'd seen some of the earlier ones and loved the programme very much

and it was delightful for me

when I was asked to do series two.

A little cider mug, a little quarter pint cider mug. They drank little...

drinks of cider in those days.

Rather damaged, which would of course lessen its value, very considerably.

'First recording was quite interesting.

'It was the first time one...'

had had the pleasure of meeting actual people and talking about things,

which was rather nice and this fellow brought in a porcelain mug.

Did you know what it was when you acquired it?

I just got interested in it, I just thought it was very nice.

I went for a clock and ended up with the cup.

I think I would prefer a mug like that to a clock, but that's me,

a porcelain man who tends to be attracted to pieces of this nature.

-It's very nice.

-Very, very pretty.

It was nice and simple and easy, and I enjoyed it very much.

Can I ask how much you paid for it?

-£30.

-£30.

I suppose I'm kind to people.

I can winkle out of them little facts that they may not want to give, certainly about

how much they paid for it, which sometimes they don't like to do.

But it's nice to know how much they paid and then you can judge whether they are going to be shocked

or surprised at what you tell them the value is, which is always rather nice.

Well, if it had been a perfect mug it would have been in the region of I suppose, £100, to £150 but it is

cracked under the base, which does lessen the value of any piece of porcelain.

But congratulations on getting it. I hope it starts you off

-on a collection of porcelain instead of clocks.

-I hope so too.

It was a nice comfortable, happy, nice little programme that nobody envisaged would go on for ever.

Almost like the Archers, I mean it's quite incredible - here it is

still after all these years still surviving. We're shocked.

Henry Sandon, modest to the last, not surprisingly.

Henry effortlessly charms all the people he meets on Roadshow days.

A queue even formed to kiss him once.

Picture expert Rupert Maas, on the other hand,

had quite the opposite effect on the women of Shropshire recently.

Now, I like to think I know a news story when I see it, but I didn't see this one coming.

It all started innocently enough at my first show at Bolton Abbey.

It's signed Talmage 1921.

Algernon Mayon Talmage, and he was rather an interesting artist, I think.

Rupert was examining a painting and paid particular attention to a part of the subject's anatomy.

Well, the media frenzy started the very next day.

Well, there's uproar in Shropshire tonight.

A TV art critic upset women there for suggesting they have, wait for it, fat ankles.

Rupert Maas made the comments during the much-loved Antiques Roadshow.

But she's got slightly worryingly thick ankles.

I just can't help but notice them. It's what my mother used to call Shropshire ankles.

It seems today is the appointed hour of my penance.

Well, I was asked to give a comment on the Shropshire ankle,

which has now been known as the Shropshire Ankle Debate.

In my position as the Shropshire Federation secretary,

of the Women's Institute, and in my remarks I just happened to mention that perhaps

he would like to come to Shropshire to make amends for the wickedness he had done in affronting our ankles.

It seemed to me that the lady in the hammock was suffering a little bit

from what the Americans call a cankle, where the calf merges seamlessly

into the ankle without any sort of visible narrowing.

And I thought I'd heard the phrase somewhere, Shropshire ankle... would describe this condition properly

but I reckoned without a certain amount of public backlash.

According to Mr Maas, women of the county

have developed thickset ankles because the hilly terrain

requires them to stomp around in sturdy footwear.

So, I am on my way up to Shropshire to atone for my sins.

The grievous insult that I've given to the women of Shropshire, concerning their ankles.

I 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.

# And did those feet in ancient time

# Walk upon England's mountain green? #

"Come to Shropshire and see some Shropshire ankles attached to Shropshire ladies."

Ladies, would you please welcome Rupert Maas?

Good evening, ladies.

Good evening.

I feel already so much happier.

I can't tell you what it's been like upstairs, this deadly silence,

on my own just waiting and worried that you were going to do to me what you did to Tony Blair.

LAUGHTER So, we'll begin, if that's OK.

This is Flaming June by Frederic Lord Leighton. Anyone recognise it? SOME PEOPLE: Yes.

It's a very famous picture, isn't it?

It has become so.

Ahead of his lecture on the female form, Rupert made

a research trip to the Tate to build a case for the defence.

The sitter of this painting used to be thought to be a very beautiful girl called Dorothy Dene.

In fact, we now think it's another girl called Mary Lloyd.

I doubt she had a thigh quite that long,

but my word, she was a stunner and she was quite,

if I may say, quite well built as well.

Great artists painting the human body often make exaggerations.

Michael Angelo's David has the biggest feet you've ever seen!

They are really absurdly large. There's a reason for it - he stands better for having big feet.

If he didn't have big feet, he'd fall over.

And there's a reason for this girl being slightly disproportionate.

It wouldn't work if her thigh was any shorter.

That needs to spread across the composition

to make the two halves of it, like a yin and yang shape, work.

I do sometimes get into a little bit of trouble commenting on the physical attributes of,

of figures in the paintings, particularly women.

Well, I am analysing them, trying to understand them better.

It was bought by my father in 1962 for £1,000.

He put it on the wall of the gallery for £2,000 and I want you to try

and guess how much it's worth. Have a go, a wild go, someone.

-£100,000.

-£100,000. Any advance on £100,000?

-£200,000!

-£200,000! More, more! Come on, more. No?

-Three quarters of a million!

-I've heard a million in the front.

Sorry, you're all beaten.

It's worth at least £10 million. SHOCKED GASPS

It's valued at that by Christies at the moment and it's insured for that.

It's astonishing, isn't it? Any rate, do you think we should have kept it?

-So, has Rupert managed to redeem himself?

-Questions, anyone.

The whole reason you've come to this marvellous new Frankwell, Littleborough WI

-is because of the remark you made about the ankles.

-Ah, yes.

Now, having been here for some while, what are your feelings on the ankles in Shropshire?

LAUGHTER

Well, I've come at winter time when most ankles are well hidden,

so I've not had the opportunities I hoped for, but upstairs,

I was given a small private view of a particularly...

a particularly trim ankle, I must say. I was very impressed by it.

Perhaps whilst you're having a cup of tea, you may examine a few more.

-LAUGHTER 'I would be absolutely delighted to.

-Thank you, Rupert.'

Well, I've had actually what turned out to be a completely lovely evening and I feel that they've let me off.

They've actually forgiven me, so it was worth coming.

I'm completely off the hook, free as a bird and completely full also.

The best lemon cake in Christendom.

Thankfully, Rupert survived his trip to the Shropshire WI, but I wonder if he really was eating humble pie.

Now, we all know how highly treasured family heirlooms can be,

but let me tell you whether someone is eight or 80 years old, there are some objects that are so special,

you can barely prise them out of their owner's hands.

Two women are on the front line examining such precious pieces.

Hilary Kay and Bunny Campione are our toy team,

but sometimes their role isn't exactly child's play.

I have to say, Bunny and I

do get more than our fair share of furry creatures to deal with.

And the boys on the team breathe a huge sigh of relief when they see that either Bunny or I are there.

Can I borrow your teddy a minute? OK...

'Children on the Children's Roadshow have got to be very special.'

And I remember in 1991, it was wonderful,

they all had their teddy bears, the teddy bears were great,

but the most threadbare of all of them, that everybody thought

I would say was worth nothing.

I said, "This will be worth more than all the others, because it's

"one of the first Steiff bears that could sit and stand.

I know he's a Steiff simply by looking at him.

He's got very long arms.

Do you see how long his arms are? Almost down to his feet.

I think I put something like £5,000 on it and there was a great sort of, "Woo!"

Which is lovely when you've got children doing that.

-Did you hear that?!

-Yeah.

I tell you, on that next generation children's roadshow,

not only did I have a little cutie pie child to deal with -

who kept jumping out of his box, but I also had this stuffed puppet to deal with and I mean,

they say you should never work with animals and children. I had the lot!

Do you ever go to toy fairs?

-Yeah. >

-You do?

-Have you got any here?

-We have got some here.

-There are some very good displays with some of the older ones on. Are you interested in toy cars?

-Yes.

Well, you ought to have a chat with Gordon,

because he's a real enthusiast in toy cars as well.

Now, he's the wrong side for me,

so I'm going to just do it this way round. Is he wound up?

'I think it was Kentwell Hall

'in Suffolk in 2007, the most delightful gentleman

'came in with his toys that he had played with.'

They were unusual toys and they were the sort of toys that make the Roadshow,

because they have action and they move and they make a noise

and he had this tiger which was pouncing and nobody knew it was going to pounce

until we actually showed it and filmed it, and it's doing this...

You wind it up and suddenly...

Everybody went, "Ooh!" So that's what it's all about.

And then, the skating bear that he also had,

which I have never seen a skating bear, smoking at the same time.

And he's got a muzzle on as well.

God knows how he could smoke and have a muzzle on.

But there again, it was very unusual. And I put £2,000 on it,

but I don't think they were interested in the money,

because they were interested in the actual pieces.

He's opening his mouth now. >

Perhaps the cutest of finds came Bunny's way one very damp day in Scotland.

In 2007, we went up to the very north, the Castle of Mey,

the lovely Queen Mother's house and it was so exciting to go up there.

But my goodness, talk about weather.

I just couldn't believe the weather.

'When I was filming this milk churn, you can actually hear the noise of the rain outside.'

-Is this yours?

-Yes, I inherited from my great granny.

'The young girl that brought in this milk churn didn't tell me anything.'

She just put it on the table and I thought, "I wonder what on earth this is!"

Shall I have a try?

'And I knew it was an automaton. But it was such an unusual one.'

Ooh! Hello, how are you?

And the delightful way it comes out

and it's been licking the cream in the milk churn.

-LAUGHTER

-Absolutely enchanting!

It certainly made people laugh, which they weren't laughing before.

Just goes to show every cloud has a silver lining.

And if you think you have an even cuter keepsake from your childhood,

bring it along to our new recordings of Antiques Roadshow? We'll save a spot in the queue for you.

That's it for today.

I'll be back at the same time tomorrow for more revelations,

when we travel to the battlefields of the Somme with Paul Atterbury

and learn why his annual pilgrimage has become a family affair

and we reveal some of the most amazing bargain buys the Roadshow has ever seen.

Do you have an idea how much your mother's 50 shillings has gone up?

Absolutely none.

Before we end tonight, it's worth pointing out things don't always run smoothly.

Ceramics expert David Battie came a cropper with a very innocent looking plate,

which turned his face the same shade of pink. Bye-bye.

This is a very icing-sugar pink,

one would almost - dare I say it? - knicker pink.

LAUGHTER

The first impression is it doesn't kind of work too well.

When you start looking at it, it's absolutely fantastic, very clever.

Then we've got the VR monogram.

Vagina...

LAUGHTER

I think you'll have to try that one again!

That's got to be the greatest outtake of all time!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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