We talk to the presenter and the experts of the much-loved BBC One perennial Antiques Roadshow... What is it like presenting such a much-loved show? “This certainly is unlike any other job I’ve done. It’s really fun because I’m professionally nosy and get to look in people’s bags and hear their stories.” How has it affected you? “Well, I’ve just bought a new house and now I’ll be furnishing it almost entirely with antiques. I don't know if they’ll actually be antiques, they’ll probably be more of the second-hand furniture variety!” Is there anything special happening today? “A class from my son’s school are coming along, that’ll be anarchic I imagine. And I know someone has brought along a witches’ jar containing nail clippings, human hair, navel fluff and traces of urine. That’ll be coming my way!” And the experts: What’s the earliest somebody has started queuing for an Antiques Roadshow? “At midnight on the day of the show. They camped outside in a camper van. They were a bit smelly!” Bunny Campione (Miscellaneous expert) Has there been a rise in people bringing in ‘vintage’ pieces to be valued? “Yes. I was born in 1953 and people come down and say, this is quite old, it was made in the Sixties and I’m thinking, I was made in the Fifties!” What’s so special about filming the show at Greenwich’s Old Naval College? “This is an historic building of incomparable beauty and history. It’s not only an historic venue but people are bringing their historic objects here to be valued.” Geoffrey Munn (Jewellery expert) People have to queue for a long time. How does that affect the atmosphere at the Roadshow? “It’s day out for a lot of people and I think they just relax when they know they’re going to be here for a long time. We don’t then say, off you go, they can stay and make the most of it.” Have you found anything extraordinary today? “Personally I haven’t seen anything that’s going to change my life today, but it doesn’t matter. What always amazes me is the diversity of things people have. What I want to know is, what happens next – does it go back in the attic?” Paul Atterbury (Art and Design expert)
