Swamped by Antique hunters in Derby

In 1979 Paul was a producer at BBC Radio Derby in charge of “Line Up,” the morning show beginning, each weekday at 10 am

Being in charge of a two-hour daily radio show was like feeding a giant furnace. No sooner had you finished that day’s programme but the next loomed up, waiting to be filled. Of course, there was always music but two-thirds of the programme had to be speech, and the hunt for new and exciting items was a never-ending challenge.

We were a young, enthusiastic team, pleased to be part of the British Broadcasting Corporation and even more committed to local radio. However, we often looked to national programmes to give us new ideas for our local audience, but without the budget or staff!

“This is a winner” said Lesley our programme secretary. “I watched it last night and it’s fantastic.” Lesley was referring to a brand-new television series called “Antiques Roadshow.” Totally new, it was a simple idea; people would bring their old items which they had found at home, and an expert would tell them if it was an antique and more importantly if it was worth money. Today as I watch this show still running more than 45 years later it is a long-running classic, but then, in 1979, we had never heard of it and more importantly no one knew whether it would be a success.

“Why don’t we do the same thing here?” I said to the team at our morning ideas meeting. It could fill a whole morning and be easy to set up, a winner all around.

Firstly, we set about finding “experts.” We approached local antique dealers and museum staff with local knowledge if they would take part. I explained that I didn’t expect there would be many people to turn up and at least one of the experts would surely know something.

Then we had to find a venue. The Derby assembly rooms (now burnt down) had been opened a couple of years before. Built in the brutalist style, it was huge. At least 600 people could be accommodated in its vast hall. We worked out that we might, with clever advertising, get about 50 people and they would all but disappear in the vast space, but it was the only venue that would work for us, and more importantly, we would get it for nothing which on our budgets was a vital consideration.

Transmitting the programme was easy. The station had its own radio car, the assembly rooms had links to send the material back to base and the whole team could operate the equipment.

So, full of youthful enthusiasm we advertised like mad and within a few days our experts and the team gathered in the assembly rooms.

To be fair we hadn’t actually worked out how we would lay out the venue However the caretaker showed us where to find tables and chairs and in the huge hall we set out six tables with chairs, randomly trying to fill the space. Obviously being local radio, we didn’t have enough microphones for each expert but with two handheld mics we could manage and I would present along with our regular host to help out

The first inkling that all was not well was when one of the team grabbed my arm unable to speak. “What?” No answer. “Have you a problem?” “Outside” they croaked. “Look”

As I looked from the first-floor window my heart stopped and I felt sick with sheer terror. Below me were hundreds of people, and I mean hundreds. Not only that, each person was carrying an item. One person was standing by a desk!  No, No, No this wasn’t happening, it can’t be that popular, but it was.

We had no choice but to let them in just before 10 o’clock. Quickly the experts became isolated desert islands surrounded by a sea of people each clutching their precious objects. We had no crowd control, no line barriers and no way of sorting the people into interesting items or junk.

We fought through the sea and did find some interesting items. The experts took it in good part as did most of the people who turned up. The team were brilliant but to be honest we were so used to “flying by the seat of our pants” and to be honest we had experienced worse.

Today as I watch the modern “Antiques Roadshow” with dozens of staff and orderly, happy, quiet people sitting patiently waiting their turn I think back to those far-off days and wonder what on earth made me think my plan (or lack of it) would work. I suppose we had never seen the power of antiques in broadcasting and more importantly the deeply rooted desire in the British public to know how much their old items were worth.

Hopeful Traveller is taking a break for summer and will “hopefully” be back in the Autumn.