Michael Aspel visits Bexhill

FINDING something decent to watch on today's TV can be like searching for a needle in a haystack but thankfully, amidst all the trash there is the treasure known as the Antiques Roadshow and, the shows host Michael Aspel along with his team of experts were in Bexhill last week to film two programmes which will be broadcast later in the year.

Now in it's 30th year it's popularity is as strong as ever judging by the 2,000 or so people who flocked to the De La War Pavilion - all hoping that the contents of their carrier bags would turn into treasure trove's.

A wealth of diverse things were brought along such as a collection of Ladybird books (valued at 2,000) to tapestries, paintings, jewellery and armour to a beautifully restored Austin 7 car.

One hopeful lady, Ms Blue Hewitt, took along what she had hoped was an ancient, bronze chinese dragon. However, unfortunately it turned out to be fake and still only worth around the 30.00 she paid for it at a London market.

Michael said that the reason the show continues to be so popular is because, "It has stayed true to it's roots. It started off as it is today and has kept the same format. It's a detective story, a game show and a history lesson all rolled into one, yet it's still as fresh today as it was 30 years ago." He went on to say that the beauty of the show is that no two days are ever the same and, "we never know what we will see or how many people will turn up on the day; it could be 200 or 2,000."

But, it doesn't matter how many people turn up or how late the team have to stay, they make sure that everyone gets a chance to have their items seen and valued by an expert, whether it's a 5 cup and saucer or a 100,000 painting.

Many will be sad to see Michaels departure from the show but, after seven years with the series he feels it's time to leave. Taking his place will be newsreader Fiona Bruce.

Boasting an envious regular audience figure of over six million, many similar programmes have attempted to copy the Antiques Roadshow but, as with all fine art there can only ever be one original.