Antiques Roadshow to film at Castle Ward

The long-running BBC programme brings together a team of the country’s leading authorities on arts and antiques to offer free valuations for your family heirlooms or car boot bargains.

Each Roadshow event attracts around 4,000 people and around 15,000 items are valued by experts from which around 60 are filmed for inclusion in the two shows made at each location.

Robert Murphy, the series producer of Antiques Roadshow, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing the Roadshow to Castle Ward and we can’t wait to see what treasures and cherished objects will emerge from the attic.

“It’s a free, entertaining family day out and a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes and be a part of one of the BBC’s most popular programmes.”

Fiona Bruce, who has presented the show for the past 12 years, said: “So much of what you see on the Antiques Roadshow is about the story of an object and its owner as much as about its value. We are never short of people bringing along items that tell a hell of a story, which can be very exciting, poignant or funny, sometimes, all three. Or it can tell us something about ourselves.

“Even after all these years people still have the most amazing things tucked away in their attics and garages and I can’t wait to see what they pull out of their bags and trolleys in 2019.”

Antiques Roadshow is one of the BBC’s most popular factual programmes and around six million people regularly watch on Sunday evenings.

Over the past 41 years, Antiques Roadshow has visited 594 different venues and around 10 million objects have been brought to be valued.

Some of the most fascinating finds to come to light over the years include a wristwatch owned by Lawrence of Arabia, which went on to sell for £34,000, a chest which was eventually proven to have belonged to Queen Anne and a leather jacket worn by John F Kennedy and valued at up to £300,000.

Entry to the show at the National Trust property in Downpatrick is free and no tickets or pre-registration is required.

In advance of the show people can share their stories about the special items they are bringing along by emailing [email protected] with your name, address, phone number, a description of the item and how you come to own it and a photo.