Sandi Toksvig and Eric Knowles begin the search for the Antiques Master 2010

Host Sandi Toksvig launches the search for Britain’s Antiques Master in this brand-new series which pits the country’s leading amateur antiques enthusiasts against each other. As contenders battle through a series of challenges in a bid to be crowned the first-ever Antiques Master, Antiques Roadshow expert Eric Knowles is on hand with the key facts and figures to test their knowledge.

In the first of 12 programmes from Towneley Hall in Lancashire, four contestants step up to compete in four challenging rounds as they fight it out to prove that they have the know-how to secure a place in the final.

Antiques Master has scoured the country’s leading museums, antique shops and private collections to provide unparalleled access to the best and most varied artefacts ever seen on British television.

Contestants will have to use all their experience, in-depth knowledge and intuition to spot the priceless from the worthless. They’ll need to brush up on their hallmarks and be up to speed on all the latest auction prices – or face being eliminated.

Each show climaxes in a head-to-head quick-fire question round between the final two antiques enthusiasts to decide who wins a chance to play in the final and become crowned Antiques Master.

According to lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

ERIC Knowles felt like he had ‘come home’ during the filming in Burnley of a new BBC2 antiques show.

Producers picked Grade I listed Towneley Hall as the backdrop for Antiques Master, a fledgling programme hosted by Sandi Toksvig with Eric as the resident expert.

And the boy who grew up down the road in Nelson the setting could not have been more apt.

Antiques Roadshow veteran Eric said: “I have been coming here since I was six years old. Every time I come here it feels like home.

“We have managed to capture the ambience of Towneley, which we could never have done in a television studio.

“It is just so obvious that we are in a great house, beautifully furnished.”

Antiques Master aims to find Britain’s antiques ‘mastermind’, and in a marked departure from the current glut of attic sale shows, it showcases the technical aspects of the trade.

“It has been fascinating meeting the contestants, because antique people quite like meeting other antique people.”

He hopes that the series has echoes of the much-missed Going For A Song, in which he also appeared and ran until 1977: “We celebrate the objects rather than the value. People have got to know their chronology and recognise different styles.”

Series producer Darrell Olsen said: “It is a cross between Mastermind and Masterchef.”

BBC2 has secured comedian and actress Sandi Toksvig to front a primetime series touted as MasterChef for antique lovers.

Antiques Master will see heirloom lovers from around the country compete in a string of challenges designed to test their knowledge of different collections, periods and the value of antiques.

The 12 x 30-minute series will be produced by BBC’s in-house team at Manchester and is expected to debut in a weekday slot over the summer.

The programme is the latest
antiques show being trialled by BBC2, including the primetime Cracking Antiques from Silver River and new daytime series Antiques Road Trip and Restoration Roadshow.

Janice Hadlow, controller of BBC Two  said: “We know antiques is a hugely popular subject. We’ll be exploring this territory for peaktime by taking very different approaches in Antiques Master and Cracking Antiques.”

Are you an amateur antiques aficionado with the knowledge and know-how to win the title of Antiques Master 2010?

Antiques Master is a brand new prime time quiz show and we’re looking for passionate, knowledgeable amateur antiques experts.

You’ll be battling it out over a series of challenges and questions to prove that you have the all-round knowledge to become Antiques Master 2010.

All amateur antiques enthusiasts are invited to apply.

Antiques hunters, collectors, society members, etc – all are welcome as long as you don’t earn your living in the antiques business.