Antiques Roadshow

Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom and appraise antiques brought in by local residents. It has been running since 1979. There are also international versions of the popular programme. The series began as a 1977 BBC documentary about a London auction house doing a tour of the West Country in England. The pilot roadshow was recorded in Hereford on 17 May 1977 presented by Badgerwatch presenter Bruce Parker and Going for a Song antiques expert Arthur Negus as well as the cabaret dancer Lily Brazier.

The pilot was so successful that it was transmitted and the format has remained almost unchanged ever since. In the original BBC series, various towns or famous places are advertised as venues. The show has since visited a number of other countries (including Canada in 2001 and Australia in 2005) and has been imitated by other TV production companies around the world.

In the United Kingdom, annual children's Christmas specials aired from 1991 until 2006. These specials aired under the title Antiques Roadshow: The Next Generation (except for the 1991 edition, which was titled Antiques Roadshow Going Live) and used a specially reworked version of the regular theme music. However there was no children's special in 2007; instead an edition was given over to "antiques of the future" dating from the 1950s to the present day.