Antiques Roadshow viewers ‘screaming at the telly’ after expert damages ‘precious’ and ‘rare’ heirloom during valuation

ANTIQUES Roadshow viewers were left ‘screaming at the telly’ after one expert damaged a ‘rare’ heirloom.

A repeat episode of the long-running BBC show from Salisbury Cathedral aired on Sunday night.

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But Antiques Roadshow viewers noticed something new when expert Fuchsia Voremberg was tasked with inspecting a ‘precious’ family heirloom.

One woman brought along an old scrapbook to be valued by Fiona Bruce‘s team of specialists on BBC One.

The contributor confirmed it had belonged to her great-great uncle, as the rare book dealer was amazed at the unusual collages inside.

“He sent it as a Christmas present to his mother and it was passed down to me through the family,” the guest admitted.

She also told a story of how the item was sent back home from India when her relative served in the army.

After guessing that it was sent in 1890, she also told the antiques expert that her great-great uncle would have been about 19-years-old when the book was first curated.

This was two years before he sadly died.

Fuchsia then took a further look at the pages inside as she explained that the images were made of Victorian scraps and ferns that were printed.

“This is an interesting example of a Victorian phenomena called Fernmania or Pteridomania,” she remarked.

“They collected them, they painted them, they printed with them and in this case, they pressed them and put them in this beautiful book.”

However, BBC viewers were left utterly enraged as they noticed supposed ‘mistreatment’ from one of the protective layers.

They saw that the paper had been folded back, which they felt could have led to damage.

Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – one viewer wrote: “Anyone else just see her fold a page down when she turned to look at another page,” along with two aghast emojis.

Another fan echoed: “I gasped.”

While a third user replied: “Yes and it made me think ffs!”

Meanwhile, a fourth stated: “Yes, very upsetting. Mind you, I thought she should just have closed the book as the wind was blowing everything about.”

And a fifth viewer added: “Yes, we were screaming at the telly, careless!”

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Antiques Roadshow presenters through the years

Antiques Roadshow launched all the way back in 1979 and has become a staple BBC programme. Here is a look at those who have hosted the show over the years.

• Bruce Parker (1979): Journalist and presenter Bruce Parker was the original host of Antiques Roadshow when the programme debuted.
• Angela Rippon (1979): Broadcaster and former newsreader Angela Rippon briefly took up the hosting reins in 1979.
• Arthur Negus (1979-1983): The first long-term presenter, the television personality and antiques expert had a four-year stint with the show. He died in 1985, two years after leaving Antiques Roadshow.
• Hugh Scully (1981-2000): Hugh, a journalist, radio and television presenter, is the longest-serving presenter of Antiques Roadshow. He died in 2015, at the age of 72.
• Michael Aspel (2000-2008): Retired presenter and newsreader Michael Aspel hosted Antiques Roadshow for eight years. He is also known for his work on shows including This Is Your Life and Crackerjack.
• Fiona Bruce (2008 – present): The current host, journalist, newsreader and presenter Fiona joined the BBC show in 2008. She remains the ongoing presenter to this day.

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