Fiona Bruce shared her most surprising find on Antiques Roadshow (Image: BBC)
presenter has shared the most surprising item that she has ever discovered on the hit show. She said: “If I had to pick the most unusual thing that’s turned up in the time that I’ve been working on the show – could it be the man that turned up with an Attache case full of loo chains, just a small sample of his collection? Could it be the man that turned up not once, but twice with a foetal membrane dried onto a piece of A4 paper that had belonged to his great-grandfather. It’s called a “core” and it used to be a talisman against drowning and it used to have some value!
“Or could it be the lady who brought along a potty that had a picture of Hitler on the bottom and when you did a little “tinkle” into it, it played its own little tune. And because it was rare, I think it was worth over £1000 from memory.” The host also admitted that the show has improved her knowledge on antiques, and has even inspired her to start collecting for herself.
Fiona Bruce had become interested in collecting antiques (Image: BBC)
She continued: “I’ve certainly learnt more about antiques. I have my own collections. I have paintings. I collect things called “samplers” which are Victorian pieces of needlework usually done by children in a workhouse to show that they have a skill which can be used in service, stitching household linen or that kind of thing. I think they’re very humble and very beautiful.
“But our experts are like walking Wikipedias! They’re incredible. And they just fish knowledge out of their brains which is a marvel to behold.”
Fiona also said that they “continue to find amazing stuff on the show every week,” as she added she thought it was “amazing” that the show is the same as it has been for 40 years and still so popular.
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She continued: “What makes it eternally popular is probably what I love about it – that we all hope that we could have something gathering dust on the mantelpiece or in the attic that either turns out to be very valuable, or has an amazing story. It happens week-in, week-out and you’d think that the world would begin to run dry and it hasn’t. We still find amazing things every week.”
Antiques Roadshow airs on Sundays at 8pm on BBC1.