Antiques Roadshow expert Will Farmer has revealed his favourite antique possession (Image: BBC)
expert Will Farmer, known for his profound knowledge of 20th Century ceramics and glass, has revealed the one treasure he’d cling onto if he lost everything.
The antiques expert, whose eclectic career spans television presenting and turkey farming, declared that his collection of quirky 1960s glass birds is his ultimate keep-sake.
He told the : “I’ve always said that if I lost everything, went bust and ended up under a railway arch… I’d be under a railway arch with my four silly, comic glass birds.”
Farmer’s love for antiques was kindled at the young age of four months during his first visit to an auction house. This early exposure, thanks to weekends spent with his family scouring fairs and shops, cemented his future working in the field.
By twelve years old, he was not just a spectator but a participant, running his own stall at a local antique fair. His passion led him to study Silversmithing, Jewellery and Art & Design at university before venturing into a career that would see him become a respected figure in the antiques community.
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Will declared his collection of quirky 1960s glass birds is his ultimate keep-sake (Image: BBC)
Since stepping into the Antiques Roadshow spotlight in 2004, Farmer has encountered countless incredible finds, with a Fornasetti desk in Jersey standing out among them.
However, it’s his personal collection that holds his heart, particularly the glass birds designed by Allesandro Pianon for Vistosi. Beyond his expertise on the popular show, Farmer has cultivated a reputation as a staunch defender of 20th-century designers, often challenging the dismissive attitudes toward some of the era’s most innovative creators.
He dreams of showcasing a full set of Clarice Cliff’s Age of Jazz figures on the show, hoping to highlight their avant-garde brilliance. He passionately explained: “They are so avant-garde, so amazing, that they would without question challenge all the dissenters who seem quick to knock one of the greatest designers of the 20th Century.”
It comes after former show host Michael Aspel has recently revealed the real reason he was axed from the series. The veteran host presented Antiques Roadshow from 2000 until 2007 before being replaced by Fiona Bruce.
Despite appearing very amicable, years later in 2012 he claimed he lost the job because the wanted to “get some glamour in”. Now 92, Michael said: “Fiona does a great job and looks very beautiful. That’s what they wanted, so it was entirely successful.
“I just wish I’d been a little more beautiful then I could still be doing it. They simply felt that they wanted to get away from the middle-aged to elderly English bloke plodding around and get some glamour in.”
He also confessed he struggled to find work in the aftermath of Antiques Roadshow. The presenter added: “That’s the worst thing about stopping work; you begin to feel invisible whereas you were highly visible before.”
Antiques Roadshow airs on Sundays from 7.05pm on One or catch up on iPlayer.