THIRTY-TWO years after it started, Antiques Roadshow has delivered its first seven-figure surprise.
Tonight viewers will see one of the show's experts deliver the first £1m valuation to a speechless member of the public.
A spokesman for the corporation last night refused to give anything away about the remarkable find, other than its astonish
ing value. "All we can say is the item was valued at a seven-figure sum," he said.
More than nine million viewers – the regular audience of Antiques Roadshow – are expected to tune in this evening to find out what family heirloom could possibly be worth so much. Show insiders have given some hints. The item, they said, was "valuable and delicate". It is also so rare that presenter Fiona Bruce will have to give a lengthy explanation of what it is and why it is so valuable.
The valuation was made by Philip Mould, an art dealer who is a leading authority on antique portraits, a fact that has prompted some speculation that the £1m find is a painting.
Mould gave the final valuation as the cameras rolled during filming at The Sage, a music venue in Gateshead.
The item's owner was said to be speechless, even though he or she suspected it was worth a lot of money. It is understood the mystery find is unlikely ever to be sold.
Mound said: "It's a great thrill to me that something produced in the last 15 years has broken the record for the most valuable item to ever have been on the show."
Simon Shaw, the series editor, said: "This is one of the most exciting moments that we've ever had on the Roadshow.
"The item is very rare and the owner knew it was valuable but they were speechless when the valuation turned out to be seven figures. This will undoubtedly become a favourite moment with viewers."
The find is sure to drive up ratings for Antiques Roadshow, which has staged a remarkable resurgence since Bruce took over as its host.
The show has been a firm favourite, however, since it was launched in 1976 by Arthur Negus. Other presenters have included Michael Aspley and – for two decades – Hugh Scully.
It has recently spawned other BBC hits, including Cash In The Attic and Bargain Hunt, but remains the most watched antiques show in the country.
There are now Antiques Roadshow spin-offs in several other countries, including a very popular US version. It was the American show that has, until now, come up with the biggest ever broadcast find, an antique blanket from the Navajo people said to be worth $500,000.
More than 80 experts on the British show routinely inspect 15,000 items for every single episode. The fast majority of things people bring into the show are said to be of little real value.
The most expensive UK discovery to date was the official silverware of the Mayor of Arundel in West Sussex. That was valued at more than £300,000.
Experts regularly uncover apparently modest pieces worth life-changing sums of money, one of the key appeals of the show. Recently a vase bought at a car boot sale in Dumfries for £1 turned out to be a Feuilles Fougères and sold at auction for £32,450. However, paintings and furniture have traditionally been the most likely items to make fortunes for their owners.
Masterpieces stumbled upon by Antiques Roadshow experts include a Richard Dadd painting thought to have been lost for more than a century before it turned up at an episode being filmed in Barnstaple, north Devon.
It has now been saved for the nation and is in the British Museum. Its owners, a retired couple, were able to entirely remodel the house with their earnings from its sale.
The Gateshead episode is understood to have been filmed this summer with BBC staff and others sworn to secrecy until tonight.
