The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Antiques Roadshow to visit Dundee attraction
Popular BBC TV programme to be hosted at V&A and Slessor Gardens in June
V&A Dundee will welcome the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow to the museum this summer.
Presented by Fiona Bruce the programme, which has been running for 42 years, will be filmed at V&A Dundee and nearby Slessor Gardens on Sunday June 23.
It will be the show’s first visit to Dundee in more than a decade.
Antiques Roadshow is one of the BBC’s most popular factual programmes and is regularly watched on Sunday evenings by around six million people.
Each Roadshow event attracts around 4,000 visitors, who go along to find out the history of their antiques and collectables before receiving an expert valuation.
Fiona Bruce, who has presented the show for the past 12 years, said: “So much of what you see on the Antiques Roadshow is about the story of an object and its owner as much as about its value.
“We are never short of people bringing along items that tell a hell of a story, which can be very exciting, poignant or funny – sometimes all three. Or it can tell us something about ourselves.
“Even after all these years people still have the most amazing things tucked away in their attics and garages and I can’t wait to see what they pull out of their bags and trolleys in 2019.”
Around 15,000 items are valued at each venue by Roadshow experts, then narrowed down to 50 which are filmed for inclusion on the show.
Some of the most fascinating finds to come to light over the years include Lawrence of Arabia’s wristwatch, which went on to sell for £34,000; a chest eventually proven to have belonged to Queen Anne; and a leather jacket worn by John F Kennedy and valued at up to £300,000.
A family teapot belonging to avid Roadshow fan Norah Ambrose during the programme’s early years proved to be life changing when she went on to sell it and buy her council house with the proceeds.
The last time Antiques Roadshow was filmed in Dundee was in 2008 when the standout item was a clock brought along in a bread bin and estimated to be worth up to £10,000.
Made around 1830, the clock had been accepted as a settlement for geese during the Second World War by a farmer in Dumfriesshire.
The show has also been filmed at Scone Palace and Glamis Castle in recent years.
V&A Dundee director Philip Long said: “We are delighted that V&A Dundee will host the Antiques Roadshow this summer and are looking forward to welcoming the BBC team and thousands of guests to the museum.
“V&A Dundee is a new museum at the heart of Dundee’s rejuvenated waterfront which celebrates the very best of international and Scottish design. We are extremely fortunate to be part of a city with such an extraordinary heritage and I can’t wait to see what family treasures are uncovered here.”
Dundee City Council leader John Alexander said: “I am delighted to welcome the Antiques Roadshow to the city.
“V&A Dundee is an ideal host for what promises to be a great occasion.
“We are continuing to move from strength to strength, and people are fast becoming aware that Dundee is a really cool place to live, work and visit.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what antiques are brought along and the stories they bring with them.”
The show will be filmed throughout V&A Dundee as well as the city’s waterfront park space, Slessor Gardens.
Entry is free and everyone is welcome, with no tickets or pre-registration required.
Visitors can turn up on the day with their items or, if they wish, share their stories with the Roadshow team in advance by emailing their name, address, telephone number, a description and photograph of the item as well as how they came to own it to shareyourstory@bbc.co.uk
Alternatively, visitors can write in advance to Antiques Roadshow, BBC, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LR.
I’m looking forward to seeing what antiques are brought along and the stories they bring with them. JOHN ALEXANDER