Meet the experts

Marc Allum
Marc joined the Roadshow in 1998 and works as a freelance writer, lecturer and broadcaster, as well as running art and antiques courses with his AR colleagues from his chateau in south-west France.
 

George Archdale
George has been examining ceramics and miscellaneous items for the Antiques Roadshow for 27 years. He joined the team while he was working in the insurance industry, and has since spent time at a number of auction houses before ending up with Cheffins in Cambridge. Since 1985, he has worked with local radio, given talks and written occasional articles.

Paul Atterbury
Since beginning his career as a ceramics specialist in the late 1960s, Paul has become known for his prolific writing as well as for his Roadshow appearances. Graphic design is a particular interest of Paul's.  
John Axford

John joined Woolley & Wallis Fine Art Auctioneers, Salisbury in 1993 and is now a director of the company, as well as an expert in ceramics and glass for the Antiques Roadshow. Earlier this year john made headlines when he sold a Qianlong jade water buffalo for £3.4m.

Jon Baddeley
Jon began his career in fine art and antiques as a porter at Sotheby’s, and later as an auctioneer. He is now the director of collectables at Bonhams and is also a freelance writer, broadcaster and lecturer.


David Battie

David has appeared on the Antiques Roadshow since its very first programme in 1977. He became a director of Sotheby’s in 1976 and, since retiring in 1999, has developed a lively lecturing career, specialising in oriental ceramics and works of art.
John Benjamin

Qualified gemmologist and Antiques Roadshow jewellery expert, John is an independent jewellery advisor, valuer and lecturer specialising in the Renaissance, 18th- and 19th-century periods.
 
Elaine Binning
A miscellaneous expert for the Antiques Roadshow, Elaine joined Sotheby's in 1992, before leaving to work for Dreweatts in Newbury, where she is a consultant specialising in furniture.

John Bly
In addition to being one of the Antiques Roadshow's furniture experts, John is also an antiques dealer and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. For two years he was elected a chairman of the British Antique Dealers Association (BADA). The Bly family have been antique dealers since the 1800s and John's son Julian also now works on the show.
 
Penny Brittain
Roadshow expert Penny is an independent fine art consultant whose specialism is 18th and 19th-century furniture and objects, along with the decorative arts of the 20th century.


Bunny Campione
Bunny has run her own antiques and fine art consultancy since 1988. Although she’s known for her expert knowledge in the field of antique dolls and teddy bears, Bunny’s first love is actually English furniture.

Lennox Cato

Lennox Cato has been dealing for almost 30 years and is a regular contributor to the Antiques Roadshow. His passion is for fine quality 18th & 19th century English furniture. A regular exhibitor at all the major London Fairs he also has showrooms in Edenbridge, Kent. He recently became Country Vice Chairman of the BADA.
 

 

 

Justin Croft

Justin has worked with rare and antiquarian books for 20 years. He started as a porter at Phillips Auctioneers, going on to complete a PhD in the study of medieval manuscripts, and is now proprietor of his own firm based in Faversham. He works closely with museums and libraries around the world, helping to build collections of exceptional books and manuscripts.   

Alistair Dickinson
A former director of Asprey, Alastair set up his own business in Jermyn Street in 1996, specialising in fine and important silver from the 16th to 19th centuries. He is a freeman of the Goldsmiths Company and the City of London and has a passion for electric guitars. 

Dendy Easton

Dendy began his career in fine art in 1971 and spent 30 years working for Sotheby's, where he was a director, specialising in 19th and 20th-century pictures. He is now a fine art consultant for Bonhams.
 
Clive Farahar

Clive has been an antiquarian bookseller for nearly 40 years. He was the first specialist in books and manuscripts to appear on the Antiques Roadshow over 20 years ago, and since then it has become a popular subject. He lives in Wiltshire where he works with his wife. He is also a writer, lecturer and broadcaster.

Will Farmer

A self-confessed ‘obsessive’ collector (with a particular interest in 1930s Poole Pottery) and an expert in 20th-century ceramics, Will co-founded the West Midlands auction house Fieldings in 2001.
 
Grant Ford

Grant has worked for Sotheby’s since 1986 and has over 20 years’ experience in valuing pictures. As a boy, he fell for Cecil Aldin's charming pictures of dogs and he is now a senior specialist in 19th and 20th-century British and Irish Art. 

Fergus Gambon

A lover of ceramics since boyhood, Fergus trained as a lawyer and surveyor but realised his true passion when he joined Phillips Auctioneers (now Bonhams) in 1994, where he is a valuer and cataloguer.

Joanna Hardy
Trained as a goldsmith, Joanna is a former director in the jewellery department at Sotheby’s London. She has a keen interest in contemporary jewellery and was behind the landmark London Rocks exhibition in 2006. She is also something of a ‘petrolhead’ and is frequently seen driving around the Kent countryside on a 1500cc Harley Davidson motorbike.
Bill Harriman
Bill has 25 years experience as an arms and militaria specialist on the Roadshow. Having previously worked as an auctioneer in Birmingham, he is now an independent firearms forensic examiner and freelance journalist. He writes a weekly column on antique guns for Shooting Times magazine.
Ian Harris

Ian began his career at the age of 16, selling antique silver, Sheffield plate and jewellery at N Bloom & Son, which was established by his grandfather in 1912. Ian joined the Antiques Roadshow 30 years ago, and prior to that appeared on ‘Going for a Song’ with Arthur Negus.
 
Katherine Higgins

Having trained at Christie’s, Katherine is one of the Roadshow’s miscellaneous experts and a regular contributor to Miller’s guides. She has a keen interest in vintage fashion and jewellery. 

Mark Hill

Mark was a specialist in the collectors departments of Bonhams and Sotheby’s before founding his own company. He has co-authored a number of Miller’s Guides as well publishing his own titles including 'Hi Sklo Lo Sklo' on Czech glass.

Hilary Kay

A Roadshow expert since 1979, Hilary is also an independent consultant and writer on antiques and collectables.
She worked for Sotheby’s for more than 20 years as an auctioneer and senior director and left to establish Antiques Roadshow Lecture and Conference Services.
 
Eric Knowles

Eric started as a porter at Bonhams in the 1970s, working his way up through the ranks to head of the ceramics department in 1981. He now has an enviable knowledge of European and oriental ceramics and lectures widely both here and abroad. Lalique glass is one of his specialities.
Deborah Lambert
Having studied English literature and art history, Deborah joined Christie's Fine Arts Course as a tutor, specializing in furniture. She was appointed international academic director in 2000 and lectures widely in the UK and America.
Rupert Maas
Fine art dealer specializes in Pre-Raphaelite and English Romantic pictures. Rupert has organized a number of important exhibitions at the gallery including John Ruskin and his circle; Pre-Raphaelites and Romantics; Victorian Paintings and British Illustrators. Last year he made headlines when he upset the Shropshire WI having commented on the thickness of ladies' ankles in the county. 
Andy McConnell

Glass authority Andy and his wife Helen run Glass Etc in Rye, selling antique and 20th-century glass. He is also the author of Miller’s 20th-Century Glass and The Decanter: An Illustrated History of Glass.
 
Judith Miller
Judith began collecting in the 1960s. In 1979 she co-founded the international best-seller Miller’s Antiques Price Guide and has written more than 120 books, which are much-loved by collectors and dealers. She is a regular lecturer and contributor to many newspapers and magazines, and appears regularly on TV and radio.

Steven Moore
By 21, Steven had already curated his first exhibition and written his first book. One of the AR’s ceramics team, he is also curator for C.T. Maling & Sons and a senior specialist at Newcastle auctioneers Anderson & Garland. 
 
Philip Mould

With an OBE in recognition of his services to portrait heritage and an expert valuer for the Heritage Lottery Fund, Philip is one of the country's foremost authorities on British art.

Geoffrey Munn
Now managing director of leading West End jeweller Wartski, Geoffrey originally joined the company as a junior. He's a resident of the Suffolk town of Southwold, about which he has written a book.
 
Christopher Payne

Christopher Payne is the third generation of his family to have a career in antique furniture. Christopher spent 25 years at Sotheby's as a Director of the furniture department and since 1994 has been curator of a private collection. He has been on the Antiques Roadshow for over 20 years and has written four books.

Ian Pickford

Ian has been an independent lecturer and writer since he left S.J. Shrubsole’s silver dealers in the 1970s. He is also freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and a freeman of the City of London.

 
Susan Rumfitt
Susan started her career at Christie's Auctioneers in Glasgow in 1996, having obtained a Master of Philosophy degree in the Decorative Arts. In 1998, working for Phillips, she moved to London as an international jewellery specialist and ran one of the jewellery dpartments until 2002. The following year brought another move, this time to Harrogate where she now runs her own jewellery consultancy business.

Henry Sandon

An authority on Worcester porcelain, Henry Sandon has written many books on the subject and was the curator of the Dyson Perrins Museum in Worcester. He’s been with the Antiques Roadshow since its earliest days and is one of the show’s best-loved experts. In 2002, Henry was presented with the red book on This is Your Life.


John Sandon

Henry's son John is now the director of British and European ceramics at Bonhams. He began his antiques career when he joined Phillips straight from school.
 
Adam Schoon

Adam's career in antiques began when, instead of going to university, he became a valuer at an auction house in Retford, Nottinghamshire. He is currently a consultant for Tennants auctioneers.
 
Clive Stewart-Lockhart

Clive has 15 years experience on the Antiques Roadshow, where he deals with pictures, books and miscellany. Now deputy chairman of Dreweatts, Clive has been in the business since 1974 and also lectures on a number of cruises with fellow Roadshow colleagues.
Philip Taubenheim

Philip entered the world of antiques and auctions through his parents who ran a successful antiquarian bookshop in Burford, Oxfordshire. He is now both director and auctioneer with the Wotton Auction Rooms, a busy rural sale room in Wotton Under Edge, Gloucestershire, handling a large variety of antiques and collectables.
 

Lars Tharp

Lars joined AR in 1986 and is a specialist in ceramics and Oriental works of art. Born in Copenhagen, he started his career in the antiques world at Sotheby’s in 1977 and has also presented BBC 4’s Inside Antiques.
 

 

Paul Viney
Chairman of Woolley & Wallis, Paul has worked for a number of respected institutions, from >the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford to the National Trust's Waddesdon Manor and the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers, of which he is now chairman.  He lectures extensively and holds annual auctions on BBC Radio 2 in aid of Children in Need. 


Ben Wright
Ben Wright joined Christie's auctioneers as a porter in 1986, he then joined the Clock and Watch Department which he subsequently ran for 14 years. He is an accomplished auctioneer having taken sales in London, New York, Ansterdam and Hong Kong. He left Christie's in 2006 to join forces with his business partner and together they buy and sell top quality clocks from their base in Gloucestershire under the name Carter Wright Ltd.