FIONA BRUCE THE TV PRESENTER ON CONQUERING HER NERVES, COLLECTING ANTIQUES… AND BEING A FESTIVAL VIRGIN AT 53!
Fiona Bruce talks to Charlotte Williamson about conquering her nerves, collecting antiques – and being a festival virgin at 53
FIONA BRUCE’S VOICE – DEEP, AUTHORITATIVE – ENTERS THE ROOM BEFORE SHE DOES. YOU CAN HEAR HER DISTINCTIVE TONES AS SHE CLIMBS THE STAIRS TO THE STUDIO, APOLOGISING FOR BEING LATE (EVEN THOUGH IT’S ONLY A COUPLE OF MINUTES). SHE APPEARS UNAFFECTED BY THE MIDSUMMER HEAT IN HEAD-TO-TOE WHITE, HER EYEBROWS IMPECCABLY ARCHED, HER HAIR NEWSREADER-PERFECT. IT IS INSTANTLY CLEAR WHY THE 53-YEAR-OLD HAS QUITE SO MANY MALE FANS – AND WHY SHE WAS ORIGINALLY DEEMED “TOO SEXY” TO PRESENT Antiques Roadshow (HER PREDECESSOR WAS MICHAEL ASPEL). THIS YEAR, THE BBC SHOW CELEBRATES ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY – AS WELL AS FIONA’S 10TH AS A PRESENTER – AND SHE LOVES ROAMING THE COUNTRY LOOKING AT ANTIQUES. “I’M PROFESSIONALLY NOSY, AND THE SHOW GIVES ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO PEER INTO PEOPLE’S LIVES AND HEAR THEIR STORIES.”
THE W&H SHOOT QUICKLY TURNS INTO A BRUCE FAMILY AFFAIR AS NEIL, ONE OF FIONA’S TWO BROTHERS, ARRIVES ALONG WITH HER SON, SAM. HERS IS A VERY CLOSE FAMILY, PARTLY BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH MOVING AROUND WHEN THEY WERE CHILDREN. “WE HAD TO FALL BACK ON OURSELVES QUITE A LOT.”
FIONA WAS BORN IN SINGAPORE WHERE HER FATHER WORKED FOR UNILEVER. GROWING UP, THE FAMILY LIVED ON THE WIRRAL AND IN MILAN BEFORE SETTLING IN SOUTH-EAST LONDON. SHE WENT ON TO STUDY FRENCH AND ITALIAN AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY, AND WORKED IN MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY
AND ADVERTISING UNTIL A CHANCE
ENCOUNTER AT A PARTY WITH THE EDITOR OF Panorama (AND MUCH PESTERING ON HER PART) LED TO HER FIRST JOB IN JOURNALISM.
SHE HAS WORKED AT THE BBC SINCE 1989, AND IS NOW BEST KNOWN FOR PRESENTING THE Six O’Clock AND Ten O’Clock News, AS WELL AS Antiques Roadshow.
SHE LIVES IN NORTH LONDON WITH
HER HUSBAND, NIGEL, AN ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE, AND THEIR TWO CHILDREN,
SAM, 19, AND 15-YEAR-OLD MIA. IT’S NOT OFTEN THAT YOU GET TO WORK ON A PROGRAMME YOU WATCHED AS A CHILD.
I REMEMBER SITTING ON THE SOFA WATCHING Antiques Roadshow WITH MY PARENTS, AND I WAS SO THRILLED WHEN I WAS ASKED TO PRESENT IT. WHEN I STARTED AS A RESEARCHER ON Panorama, I WOULD NEVER HAVE DREAMT THAT I’D END UP WHERE I AM. MY PART IS ALL ABOUT TELLING A STORY – I CAN’T EVALUATE ANYTHING BUT I RECOGNISE A STORY WHEN I SEE ONE.
SAYING THAT, I DID ONCE SPOT A VAN
DYCK! A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, A PRIEST BROUGHT ALONG A PORTRAIT. HE WAS JUST ABOUT TO LEAVE AND WAS ASKING FOR MY AUTOGRAPH, WHEN I SAID, “LET’S HAVE A LOOK AT THE PAINTING” – WHICH HE SAID HE’D BOUGHT IN AN ANTIQUES SHOP FOR £400. I WAS MAKING A PROGRAMME ABOUT VAN DYCK AT THE TIME AND THOUGHT IT LOOKED LIKE ONE. I TOOK SOME PHOTOGRAPHS AND SHOWED THEM TO THE EXPERT PHILIP MOULD WHO I WORK WITH ON [THE BBC ART SERIES] Fake or Fortune?. HE THOUGHT I COULD BE RIGHT – AND IT TURNED OUT I WAS! IT ENDED UP BEING VALUED AT £400,000.
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A MEDIUM-TO-LONGTERM INVESTMENT, BUY BROWN VICTORIAN FURNITURE. YOU CAN GET BEAUTIFUL BOW-FRONTED CHESTS OF DRAWERS FOR NEXT TO NOTHING SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT
“IN”. NOBODY WANTS THEM – BUT THEY WILL. OTHERWISE, BUY WHAT YOU LIKE. THAT’S WHAT I DO. I BUY PAINTINGS FROM ONLINE AUCTION SITES. I OFTEN SHOW THEM TO PHILIP MOULD AND SAY, “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” IT’S QUITE FUNNY – HE’S USED TO LOOKING AT SOMETHING WORTH MILLIONS, AND I’M SHOWING HIM SOMETHING FOR A COUPLE OF HUNDRED QUID.
THERE WAS A DEFINITE TURNING POINT IN MY CAREER. ONE SUMMER IN THE EARLY >>