The Bidding Room
Nigel Havers helps sellers pitch to dealers in a new antiques show
THE BIDDING ROOM Monday-friday, 3.45pm BBC1 Entertainment
Nigel Havers is a master at playing charming cads, but in his latest TV project, the veteran actor gets the chance to be the nice guy by helping members of the public!
From the makers of The Repair Shop, antiques show The Bidding Room sees Nigel welcoming people with possessions they want to sell, who are given advice by an evaluation expert before they haggle with five experienced antique dealers.
Since, off-screen, 68-year-old Nigel loves to acquire beautiful things, presenting the new daytime
BBC1 show is a dream job.
‘I’ve been collecting antiques for years,’ says Nigel, who played Audrey’s boyfriend Lewis in Corrie. ‘And as a result my house is far too full of stuff! I could make a whole series just about that!’
Collector
Not surprisingly, a few of the objects for sale caught his eye.
‘But I’m not allowed to bid,’ he smiles. ‘In any case, my wife told me, “You’re not to buy anything!”’
The items and their owners often arrive with an unusual backstory, and Nigel reveals there were a few that touched him.
‘I did get emotionally involved with some of the items,’ he admits. ‘Someone came in with a Hornby train set that was identical to the one I had as a kid, and I nearly burst into tears!’
So does he have anything of his own that might fetch a good price on the show?
‘I have a letter from
Princess Diana – that would be worth selling, wouldn’t it?’ he says. ‘And my grandfather, who was a high court judge, got me the Beatles’ signatures. I also met the Rolling Stones, but I didn’t have the guts to ask them for theirs!’