Antiques Roadshow has been a mainstay of British television, airing continuously for over 40 years since it was first broadcast in 1979.
And it is back on the road this summer to film the 47th season.
The show has been a goldmine for participants for nearly have a century, with some people even walking away as millionaires after flogging their phenomenal finds.
And a number of strange items have appeared on the show over the years.
From a 300-year-old ‘creepy doll’ to a Monopoly board owned by the robbers who committed the Great Train Robbery, read on below for some of the most bizarre items to have ever been seen on the show.
300-year-old ‘creepy doll’
The strangest Antiques Roadshow items to ever appear on the BBC One show included a 300-year old ‘creepy doll’ (pictured), which belonged to the owner’s family for more than 50 years
A ‘creepy’ doll was presented on the show after it had belonged to the owner’s family for more than 50 years.
Giving a verdict on a piece that left viewers in shock, the expert said the item was likely to have been made more than 300 years ago, in 1715.
They explained: ‘I must admit this is the most interesting and unusual doll I’ve seen in 36 years of doing Antiques Roadshow, but it’s not a doll. I think his body shows he’s not a doll and I’m going to show you why, because this is a very different form of body.
‘It’s not a doll at all, it’s an effigy body. I believe it’s a funeral effigy.’
The guests only paid a small amount for the item they brought onto the show, so were understandably left stunned by how much it was said to be worth by the expert.
The expert said: ‘If we can prove this is correct and it is 1715, I think should we should put [a price tag of up to] £20,000 on it. It’s historical.’
Monopoly board owned by the Great Train Robbers
Owners Ronnie Biggs and co., who were famed for carrying out the Great Train Robbery in 1963, had this Monopoly board in their possession as a way to pass time while on the run from the police
In 2013, the Antiques experts were presented with an intriguing item when an old Monopoly board was brought onto the show.
Owners Ronnie Biggs and co., who were famed for carrying out the Great Train Robbery in 1963, had the board in their possession as a way to pass time while on the run from the police.
Playing with real money instead of fake notes, the board later became evidence used by Thames Valley Police in the famous heist.
However, due to its origins, Roadshow expert George Archdale valued the item at between £100 to £200, thinking it would be wrong for money to be made from a crime.
One of the ‘strangest’ items to feature on the show
In 2021, the BBC show was embroiled in controversy when specialist evaluator Marc Allum refused to value a strange item
In 2021, the BBC show was embroiled in controversy when specialist evaluator Marc Allum refused to value a strange item.
Marc was perplexed by a carved figure that would not look out of place in a Stanley Kubrick picture.
Explaining how he came across the bizarre, alien-looking object, the guest revealed that they had dug it up from an old coal shed while excavating his property.
Sharing his thoughts on the item, Marc said: ‘This is the strangest, most enigmatic little object I’ve seen for a long time.’
Elaborating on how it was found, the guest said: ‘We were excavating out the back of our property and when the builders got close to the house, they uncovered what we think is an old coal shed.
‘We found what looked like just a strangely shaped pebble just sitting in the rubble.’
Marc later said he was unable to accurately value the item because he could not be sure what it actually was.
Small emblem that sold for £1million
In 2018, a small regimental emblem caused shockwaves on the show and became one of the most valuable items ever featured on the programme
In 2018, a small emblem shocked regular viewers of the show when it unexpectedly became one of the most valuable items to ever feature in the history of the programme.
The item sees a gold twig resting in a rock crystal vase that was cleverly carved to look like water – and went on to receive an enormous valuation.
The item’s owner Stamford Cartwright told Radio Times: ‘We had an inkling that it was something very valuable, but when [Antiques Roadshow jewellery expert] Geoffrey Munn said the words, ‘I think it’s probably a million plus’ it completely bowled me over.’
Expert Geoffery Munn said: ‘A million pounds is a spectacular sum, even in this crazy world, so the revelation, when the crowd gasps, is a real one.
‘I had known about the piece – it’s one of the masterpieces of Fabergé – but I had absolutely no idea it was coming to the Roadshow.’
Titanic memorial teddy bear
In 2016, the owner of a teddy bear was lost for words when the item she brought onto the show was said to be worth thousands of pounds by an expert on the show
In 2016, the owner of a teddy bear was lost for words when the item she brought onto the show was said to be worth thousands of pounds by an expert on the show.
The owner said the bear had spent years on top of a cupboard in her home, so was shocked to learn that it was a rare commemorative bear produced by Steiff in 1912 as a memorial to the children who lost their lives on the Titanic.
Only around 600 of the small black teddy bears were made after the occurrence of the infamous disaster.
When asked to value the item, the expert stunned its owner by saying it could be worth a staggering £200,000.
Photos of fake fairies
More than a century ago, in 1917, cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths took five photos in an attempt to convince people fairies existed
More than a century ago, in 1917, cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths took five photos in an attempt to convince people fairies existed at the bottom of their garden in Cottingley, West Yorkshire.
Even though they were taken over 100 years ago, many were wise to their tricks and thought it to be a hoax at the time.
However, renowned author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – who was a spiritualist – was convinced that the story was true and used them to illustrate his belief that fairies existed in an article on for the Christmas 1920 edition of The Strand Magazine.
Frances’ daughter and granddaughter appeared on Antiques Roadshow in 2008 with both the pictures and the camera they were taken on.
Even though they were prized photographs used by Conan Doyle, the pair were still left shocked when their items were valued at £25,000.