Antiques Roadshow has seen a host of famous faces front the programme since it first hit our TV screens back in 1979.
The popular BBC show travels across Britain with specialists in antiques and fine arts assessing items brought in by local residents, who are hoping to bag some cash in return for their goods.
Whether they’re an esteemed collector looking to turn trash into treasure, or someone who stumbled upon something of value in their attic, the show has been a gold mine for families for nearly half a century.
The celebrity hosts also make the programme what it is, with the likes of Bruce Parker and Angela Rippon stepping into the role over the years.
Here, MailOnline looks at all of the previous hosts of Antiques Roadshow and where they are now..
Bruce Parker
Bruce Parker was one of the original hosts of Antiques Roadshow, fronting the very first episode which aired on 18 February 1979
Bruce Parker was one of the original hosts of Antiques Roadshow, alongside Arthur Negus and Angela Rippon.
He fronted the very first episode which aired on 18 February 1979 and introduced the show from Newbury, saying the decision to go on the road was in response to viewers’ letters.
He already boasted a successful career with the BBC after launching a pilot local radio station in the Channel Islands, which resulted in a string of other BBC stations being set up across the UK.
In 1967 he joined the BBC in Southampton, where he spent 37 years of his career as the main presenter for South Today. He also presented the BBC1 arts magazine Mainstream in 1979.
Bruce went on to become a well-known political interviewer and BBC South’s political editor between 1992 and 2002, before he retired a year later in 2003.
The ex-presenter and journalist also wrote books, as well as becoming an ambassador for multiple charities, including Isle of Wight Air Ambulance and Leukaemia Busters.
He was chairman of the friends of Winchester Cathedral and a cathedral trustee, as well as chairing two educational charities in Guernsey – the Elizabeth College Foundation and the Gibson Fleming Trust.
The star was awarded an MBE in December 2016 for his charity and community work in Hampshire and the Channel Islands – he is now 82 years old.
Bruce already boasted a successful career with the BBC after launching a pilot local radio station in the Channel Islands, which resulted in a string of other BBC stations being set up across the UK (pictured presenting Mainstream)
Bruce was married twice, firstly to wife Anne before they divorced in 1984, and then to his second wife Suzanne, whom he had three children with.
His youngest son Charlie also went on to become a cameraman for the BBC and heartwarmingly filmed his father’s last broadcast in 2003.
But tragically, Charlie passed away at the age of 34 in 2009. Speaking to the Southern Daily Echo at the time, Bruce said: ‘He was lovely, we adored him.
‘He always had an impish smile and he lived life to the full. For me he was not just a son but a very good friend and I was very proud that after 40 years as a BBC man, he was working with the corporation and doing so well.’
Angela Rippon
Angela Rippon was already a television icon by the time she landed the job as presenter of Antiques Roadshow back in 1979 (pictured above in April 2024)
Bruce Parker was replaced by Angela Rippon, who fronted the British show between 1979 and 1981.
She was already a television icon by the time she landed the job and even made headlines by becoming the first woman to read the national news on BBC TV regularly.
Angela was 21 when she joined the BBC, later becoming a reader on the Nine O’Clock News and hosting Antiques Roadshow and Top Gear.
She also appeared on the Morecambe and Wise Show in 1976 and dazzled viewers with a high-kicking dance routine, as well as going on to co-hosts the BBC’s Rip Off Britain in 2009.
Angela was notably the host of the BBC’s original dance competition show Come Dancing between 1988 and 1991.
She sent BBC viewers wild when she joined 90s icon Mr Motivator for an online work out at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
Now 79 years old, Angela most recently appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023 and was the eighth celebrity to be eliminated from her series – she was also the oldest contestant in the show’s history.
The former broadcaster took part in the live tour this year with her professional partner Kai Widdrington, 28.
Angela was the first woman to read the national news on BBC TV regularly
Angela was 21 when she joined the BBC, later becoming a reader on the Nine O’Clock News and hosting Antiques Roadshow and Top Gear (pictured above in 2023)
Angela most recently appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023 and was the eighth celebrity to be eliminated from her series
Angela suffered a health blow towards the end when a ‘serious asthma attack’ caused her to stop breathing.
In an Instagram post earlier this month, she said she had been dancing on stage in Liverpool when she suffered the ‘major medical meltdown’.
After receiving treatment from paramedics on site, she explained that she could breathe again but was prescribed two days of bed rest by the doctor, causing her to miss shows in Leeds.
Angela later confirmed she was ‘dancing fit’ again and rejoined the tour at Manchester’s AO Arena with her dance partner Kai.
Arthur Negus
Arthur Negus briefly presented the programme between 1979 and 1983, alongside Bruce, Angela and Hugh
Pictured: Hugh Scully and Arthur Negus on Antiques Roadshow back in 1981
Arthur Negus briefly presented the programme between 1979 and 1983, alongside Bruce, Angela and Hugh.
Unlike the two stars who came before him, his broadcasting career didn’t begin until he was 62 years old.
He was the resident expert and antique valuer on the British gameshow Going For a Song between 1965 and 1977 and knowledge and enthusiasm made the programme a hit with viewers.
The TV star quickly became a household name and also appeared on other shows including Arthur Negus Enjoys and The Generation Game while it was presented by Bruce Forsyth and Larry Grayson.
He wrote two books about antiques during his lifetime and went on to be appointed an OBE in 1982.
The broadcaster died at his home in Cheltenham just one week after his 82nd birthday in April 1985.
Hugh Scully
Hugh Scully joined the Antiques Roadshow in 1981 and kept his position for almost 20 years, making him the longest-serving host of the programme
The journalist had a successful freelance career, which included newsreading on BBC radio and working on BBC News magazines
Hugh Scully joined the Antiques Roadshow in 1981 and kept his position for almost 20 years, making him the longest-serving host of the programme.
The broadcaster originally fronted the show alongside Arthur Negus, but continued as the only presenter after he retired.
He already worked at the BBC and was offered the job when a producer discovered he had a love for antiques.
The journalist had a successful freelance career, which included newsreading on BBC radio and working on BBC News magazines.
He was also a presenter on the BBC South West news programme Spotlight from 1965, as well as the network news show Nationwide.
His antiques career took off in 1967 when he became chairman of a radio show called Talking about Antiques, followed by joining Collector’s World in 1970.
Hugh was also the first host of Watchdog, which he fronted between 1980 and 1984.
He was married to his wife Barbara Dean from 1966 and the pair had two children before she sadly died in 2009.
Hugh passed away six years later at his home in Cornwall, aged 72 years old.
Michael Aspel
Michael Aspel replaced Hugh Scully in 2000 after he retired from the programme – he kept the position for seven years until 2007
In 2000, Michael Aspel replaced Hugh Scully after he retired from the programme – he kept the position for seven years until 2007.
His journalism career began in Cardiff where he worked as a newsreader for the BBC from 1957, establishing himself as one of the four regular newsreaders on the channel nationally by the early 1960s.
As his BBC career flourished, he manned a number of other popular programmes including Come Dancing, Crackerjack, Miss World, This Is Your Life, and Ask Aspel.
His talents spanned across both TV and radio, as he presented programmes on Capital Radio, LBC, and BBC Radio 2.
He also played the role of narrator in The Rocky Horror Show and was later awarded an OBE for his work in broadcasting in 1993.
Michael is now 91 years old and when it comes to his personal life, he revealed last year that he is racked with remorse over the failure of his three marriages.
The broadcaster said he was ‘full of regrets’ after leaving wives Dian Sessions, TV scriptwriter Ann Reed and actress Elizabeth Power.
‘When I look back at my life it is mostly with disappointment,’ he said in an interview in October 2023.
His talents spanned across both TV and radio, as he presented programmes on Capital Radio, LBC, and BBC Radio 2 (pictured in 2023)
Michael also played the role of narrator in The Rocky Horror Show and was later awarded an OBE for his work in broadcasting in 1993 (pictured in 2019)
‘Not about my working life, although I do wish I had remained an actor, but my regret is that I left three wives. Sometimes I wake up in the night and sit bolt upright and think, ‘It was utter madness.’
‘I can’t find excuses. I just felt this awful need to wriggle out of my marriages. To have done it three times must be a flaw in my personality.’
He had two sons with his first wife, Ms Sessions, one of whom, Greg, died from cancer aged just 29.
Of his son’s death, he said: ‘The grief is all mixed up in one huge kind of regret. It’s all part of the loss. Some of it is self-inflicted and some of it is just terrible.’
Aspel and Ms Reed had twins before divorcing in 1967, and he and his third wife, Ms Power, had a further two sons. A third sadly died at just three days old.
Michael has been in a relationship with Irene Clarke, a producer on This is Your Life, since 1994.
Fiona Bruce
Moving into the present day, Fiona Bruce, 60, has been the host of Antiques Roadshow since 2008
Fiona took over as moderator on BBC Question Time, which first started in 1998, in December 2018
Hilariously, she was also the winner of the 2010 Rear of the Year competition, after shots of her walking away from the camera in Antiques Roadshow scored her an ‘avalanche of votes’ (pictured filming the show in July 2023)
Moving into the present day, Fiona Bruce, 60, has been the host of Antiques Roadshow since 2008.
She first joined the BBC as a researcher for Panorama in 1989, before working as a journalist for BBC South East and presenting BBC Breakfast News.
Fiona went on to become the first female newsreader on BBC News at Ten.
Alongside her work on Antiques Roadshow, she has also appeared on a number of other shows including Fake or Fortune, The Queen’s Palaces, Crimewatch, and The Money Programme.
She also presented the BBC One current affairs series, Real Story, and Fiona took over as moderator on BBC Question Time, which first started in 1998, in December 2018.
Hilariously, she was also the winner of the 2010 Rear of the Year competition, after shots of her walking away from the camera in Antiques Roadshow scored her an ‘avalanche of votes’.
During her acceptance speech, she said: ‘This award has caused some hilarity among family, friends, and colleagues, as you might imagine.
‘What I tell them, when they’ve picked themselves up off the floor, is that if someone had told me I’d been nominated for this 20 years ago, I’d have poked them in the eye. Now I’m just flattered anyone’s still looking.’
It comes as the BBC confirmed there will be new series of Antiques Road Trip, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, and The Travelling Auctioneers.
Antiques Road Trip has been recommissioned for a twenty-ninth series which will air on BBC One, while the thirteenth series of its celebrity version will air on BBC Two.
Celebrity Antiques Roadshow has had the likes of Sir Terry Wogan, Deborah Meaden, Craig Revel Horwood, Gemma Collins, and Melvin Odoom.
The programmes see auctioneering experts join forces with masters of restoration to uncover neglected treasures in family homes which, with a little bit of TLC, can be hopefully turned into winning lots at auction.
