Antiques Roadshow expert Gordon Foster left one of his younger guests gobsmacked during a classic episode – which is set to air again on BBC Two on Sunday – revealing the estimated price of a gift she was supposed to give to her grandmother.
During the episode, Fiona Bruce and the experts saw items come to the tables which included a jewelled locket that was a gift from Queen Victoria, an ashtray that was designed by Picasso, a collection of nearly 1,000 keys, and a box of silver gambling tokens used for making debt demands.
Alongside the abundance of treasures, Foster was met with a silver tortoise brought in by a young girl who had found its hidden secret.
Welcoming the young girl to the show, Foster asked: “You have brought along a strange creature, what have we got?”
She explained: “It’s a tortoise. We got it at a Christmas fate to give to my granny. It was really bronze when we got it so it was only £1.50.
“We cleaned it up and we saw the marks there and we thought it might be expensive so we didn’t give it to granny we kept it.”
The tortoise was bought at a fate for £1.50
BBC
Laughing, Foster added: “You didn’t give it to granny! Poor granny, so what do you think it might be made from?” leaving the girl to guess silver.
Applauding her knowledge, Foster teased: “Absolutely right, you are going to get a job on this show! So, what attracted you to the tortoise, everyone likes tortoises?”
Pointing to her younger brother, the girl added: “Well it was Charlie, he got it. He must have thought it was nice because of the bell.”
“I was going to say it does something else. You’ve got exactly that, so it is not just a tortoise, it is a bell. So if you ring that bell does Charlie come running to help you?” Foster teased.
Gordon Foster valuated the model between £800 to £1000
BBC
The girl quickly revealed that this wasn’t the case before Foster explained that the bell would often be used to connote that someone wanted or needed something.
Recalling the times that she and her brother would ring the tortoise, the girl expressed: “Mum got too annoyed at us ringing it all the time so she put it in the safe.”
Having a chuckle, Foster explained the history and said: “Good idea. Well, you saw the silver marks and I can tell you that it is definitely silver and it is made by a firm called Green and Company who specialised in making novelty silver items just like this.
“What do you think it might be worth?” she asked to which the young girl pondered: “£80?”
After telling her to add on another zero, Foster revealed: “No you would get more! £800 to £1,000.”
Left a little lost for words, the girl quipped: “Oh! She (granny) did get a bell but not that one!”
Gordon Foster left the young girl stunned
BBC
Thanking her for joining him on the show, Foster concluded: “Oh well, I am so glad that you brought it along. I am so glad that you kept it and I am so glad that you shared it with everyone today, well done.”
The BBC often repeats classic episodes of the Sunday night staple but last weekend, managed to irk viewers with a special edition of the show.
Bruce and the team fronted a Nursing Special of Antiques Roadshow where they delved into historic items linked to nursing and explored the history of the NHS.
While some praised the show for highlighting the trials and tribulations nurses have faced for centuries, some were left perturbed by the fact there were no valuations during the episode.
