Sunshine and surprises as BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow films at Forty Hall

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Sept. 21, 2020, 1:54 p.m.

Fiona Bruce and the Antiques Roadshow team have been filming at Forty Hall in Enfield, valuing family heirlooms and missing masterpieces.

The show which has been running for more than four decades, was filmed over three days earlier this week on a closed set with a small invited audience only, to ensure the safety of guests, production and the wider public.

Presenter Fiona Bruce, who is filming her 13th series of Antiques Roadshow, said she was delighted to be at Forty Hall.

"Normally we welcome around 5,000 people to each Antiques Roadshow, but of course in these extraordinary times we will have to do things very differently. We've come up with a new way to safely film the show yet still bring you amazing items and stories.

"We’ve had a wonderful time in North London filming some stunning items in the blazing sunshine. Our experts have seen some really intriguing and valuable objects and I can’t wait to see the finished programmes.”

Series editor Robert Murphy said: “Forty Hall is an incredible Grade 1 listed Jacobean manor house and has been a fantastic backdrop to our filming.

“We will make three programmes from Forty Hall and expect the first one to be broadcast early next year.”

First broadcast in 1979 the Roadshow remains one of the most popular factual programmes on BBC One with some six million people regularly watching on Sunday evenings.

Some of the Roadshow's most fascinating finds include a Faberge flower ornament worth £1m, a handwritten document signed by Elizabeth I, a ring containing a lock of author Charlotte Bronte's hair, a wristwatch owned by Lawrence of Arabia, a 17th Century miniature book reviewing Shakespeare's plays and a leather jacket worn by John F Kennedy.

Many objects featured on the Roadshow are found in some extraordinary places. Winston Churchill's hat and letters were discovered in a dump near London, diamond jewellery sewn into a sofa and a vanity set from Donald Trump’s yacht, which was found in a charity shop.

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