BBC Antiques Roadshow guest refuses to sell 'priceless' item - despite expert reeling off huge sum
BBC Antiques Roadshow: Eric Knowles failed to convince one guest to sell his wooden duck
BBC
On Sunday evening, the Antiques Roadshow team headed to Lake Windermere for the second time in a classic episode of the long-running BBC show.
Fiona Bruce accompanied the team to Cumbria to see what unearthed treasures guests had in store, with the likes of Ronnie Archer Morgan, Eric Knowles and several others on hand to lend their expertise.
In quite the turn-up for the books, however, it was Knowles who was unable to convince a husband and wife duo to depart with an item held close to their hearts.
The pair had brought in an old wooden duck and a "funeral note" for Knowles to analyse.
"Well just before now, I've spent a bit of time checking out the wildfowl out on Lake Windemere and I've got to say, I can't find a duck that looks anything like this one," he began.
"This duck has been on Lake Windemere for the best part of 100 years or more, is that right?" he asked to which the woman replied: "120 years!"
BBC Antiques Roadshow: Eric Knowles was the expert on hand to look at the wooden duck
BBC
Alongside the duck was a photo that caught Knowles' eye as he asked: "You brought along this photograph of two handsome men there, the one on the left is your father, and the gentleman on the right?"
"Is my grandad," the husband replied before he delved into the backstory: "The gentry at that time used to stop at the Old England [the hotel]... and they would go out duck shooting.
"So my grandfather went out to one of the islands where the ducks are and took his decoy duck with him and planted it in with the ducks."
"So they'd been out there shooting at this thinking it was the real thing?" Knowles said as he smirked at the guest's grandfather's hijinks.
BBC Antiques Roadshow: The guests' wooden duck was branded 'priceless'
BBC
The man then pointed out the pellet holes on the duck to prove it'd been fired at by unsuspecting members of the gentry.
He continued: "Anyway, my grandfather took it back to the Old England. He knew the chef and they put it in a silver platter.
"Of course, the gentry would be having duck for their dinner and they would lift it up and hence the duck was there."
The guest then pointed out the wooden duck came with a "funeral card" which had etched upon it: "In memory of a wooden duck."
As Eric read aloud the rest of the funeral note, his guest began to laugh as he saw the funny side of his grandfather's prank.
Knowles also chuckled and as their chat came to a close, he revealed he knew he'd never be able to put a worthy value on the item.
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BBC Antiques Roadshow: The guests would not part with the wooden duck
BBC
"It's a bit of a cliché when people say, 'He's priceless', but the tales you're telling about this duck are equally priceless," Knowles said.
He added: "If I offered you £50, would you sell him? If I offered you £1,000, would you sell him? If I offered you £5,000?"
The guest refused in response to each question, firmly telling Knowles: "No, it wouldn't go to anybody but the family and I'd make sure he was looked after."
"Exactly, and that it didn't end up on anybody's dinner plate again," Knowles signed off with a chuckle.
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