BBC Bargain Hunt - David Harper Biography

David Kingsley Harper (born 1967) is a British TV antiques expert and published writer.

He is an expert on BBC's Bargain Hunt; Put your Money where Your Mouth Is, Cash in the Attic and The Antiques Road Trip.

He has featured on Through the Keyhole, Ready Steady Cook and presented pieces for The One Show, Inside Out and Country file Summer Diaries.

Although David is from the north of England and lives in Teesdale in South Durham, he also spent several years growing up in Africa and went to school in Zimbabwe.

From the age of 18, David spent 20 years self employed in Business. In his time, he has owned and run many businesses from printing companies to property developing - in fact since the age of 18 he’s been self employed.

In this time he has in fact had one job in the corporate world, where, because of his antique expertise was offered the position of sales director of a Thai/UK PLC company which imported antique style rubber wood furniture from the far east.

At 25, David was one of the youngest sales directors of a PLC in Britain.

David found his way into TV through his lifelong passions for antiques and classic cars. His first TV role was in 2005 as presenter of Channel 4's Natural Born Dealers.

Since then David has presented shows for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 including Country file, Inside Out, Bargain Hunt, The Heaven & Earth Show, The One Show, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is and Natural Born Dealers. He’s also appeared on Celebrity Ready Steady Cook and has been featured on Through the Keyhole.

Antiques have always been David’s passion and he has been an antique dealer for more than 20 years, working with collectors, dealers and designers from all over the world, exhibiting at international top end fairs, writing for newspapers and magazines and buying for private and corporate clients.

He’s bought and sold individual items from a few pounds to tens of thousands of pounds. David has over 40 internationally published antique articles to his credit and has an antique shop in the historic market town of Barnard Castle in County Durham (home of the Bowes Museum)

David Harper Antiques.

BBC Bargain Hunt - Anita Manning Biography

Classy Scot Anita Manning is a long term expert on BBC's Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road trip and Flog it.

Her infectious enthusiasm for her subject has made her an ambassador for the antiques profession.

Anita's always been interested in antiques, and has been buying and selling them for forty years. She runs an auction house in Scotland with her daughter Lala.

Anita's specialist area is paintings, and her favourite era is 20th Century Scottish contemporary artists.

Anita Louisa Manning was born on the 1st December in Glasgow.
Growing up in the 50s and 1960s Anita Manning was not a fan of the contemporary design and trends and preferred the Victorian look and feel of her grandparents’ house.

As a child her father used to take her to the auctions. She grew to love this environment with its treasures, excitement and its sense of theatre

Anita enjoyed finding and wearing stylish 20, 30,s and 40,s clothes to go out in at the weekends,

Anita Says: “I need colour in my life”.

In 1988 her skill at both buying and selling antiques led her to establish Great Western Auctions Ltd in Glasgow and was probably Scotland’s first female Auctioneer.

Anita was made for this stage; she has not been labelled the 'Golden Gavel' without cause. The toast of the Fred McAuley Show (every morning on Radio Scotland) she puts her talents to good use.

Anita Pulls in the punters and makes the auction user friendly and pure theatre.

Anita says:
“There has been an elimination of the rarefied atmosphere of the bigger auction houses”. You can relax and enjoy the sale and bid for anything from a box of pots from a house clearance to a Georgian Bureau”.

Spend a fiver or five thousand - you will always go away happy and be back for more.



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This handy-sized guide is the most accurate and up to date on the market. and has been the bible for for scholars, dealers and collectors, selling in hundreds of thousands.

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BBC Bargain Hunt - Tim Wonnacott Biography

Tim started attending auctions from a very tender age, watching his father conduct sales for the family firm during the school holidays.

His first experience of auctioneering (selling the contents of a kitchen at the end of a farm sale) when aged around 16 or so, led him to pursue a career as a professional in the auction and property business.

Qualifying as a Chartered Auctioneer and Chartered Surveyor enabled him to gather considerable experience in the provinces, but in order to further his interest in the field of Fine Art auctioneering; he was inevitably drawn to London.

Following a post-graduate course at the V & A’s study centre for the Fine and Decorative Arts, he joined Sotheby’s in London in 1978, becoming a junior Director in 1983 and full Director in 1985.

In September 1998, he was appointed Chairman of Sotheby’s South saleroom in Sussex and in 2001, became Chairman of Sotheby’s new saleroom at Olympia in London, dual roles which he held until January 2003.

Tim started his career at Sotheby’s nearly 25 years ago in London, working principally in the Furniture Department.

His main area of expertise lies in this field, but over the last twenty years with Sotheby’s, he developed a considerable breadth of experience throughout the decorative arts, including clocks, barometers, 19th century sculpture and works of art, ceramics and silver. He has conducted auction sales throughout the United Kingdom, North America and such far flung places as India!

Tim is now very well known as master of ceremonies and expert on BBC's Bargain Hunt.

Tim has helped many Charities over the years to raise money at auction, the most successful of which was the London ‘Cow Parade’ auction held in autumn 2002, which raised over £400,000 for Childline!