Former Antiques Roadshow host Michael Aspel has said he ‘fell on [his]sword’ before his exit from the BBC programme. The 91-year-old, who began his TV career hosting the likes of Come Dancing and Ask Aspel, joined Antiques Roadshow in 2000 and left in 2008, before Fiona Bruce took over. The This Is Your Life star has now recalled his exit, saying: ‘I fell on my sword, because I knew they wanted me to go.
‘It’s ironic being eased out of an antiques show because of your age.’ He went on to admit that he still misses aspects of the long-running show, which began in 1979, telling RadioTimes how he missed the travel, and would often arrive at some of the destinations and think: “I’d like to live here” and then think exactly the same at the next place.’ In the same interview with RadioTimes, Strictly Come Dancing star Angela Rippon recalled her own stint on the programme and how much she loved it.
The 79-year-old joined in 1979 and left in 1983, before moving on to TV-am which she presented and co-founded. ‘People would bring huge pieces of furniture in great lorries, but now you just can’t shift brown furniture, it’s just not valuable,’ the Eurovision star shared, speaking of the change in Antiques Roadshow over the years, with ‘toys’ now including Barbies and technology rather than Steiff teddy bears. ‘I just loved Antiques Roadshow,’ she added.
‘It was like reaching back into the past, through people’s stories and the objects.’ Echoing h.
