I work on the Antiques Roadshow and these are the best and worst purchases I’ve ever made – including the crazy £160,000 deal

An antiques roadshow expert has revealed the best — and worst — purchases he’s ever made.

In the hit BBC One show, hosted by Fiona Bruce, members of the public bring their most prized possessions to be appraised by a panel of experts.

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And Antiques Roadshow glass expert Andy McConnell has unveiled the best buy he’s ever made.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he told how he sold two of his best decanters to a millionaire.

Andy said: “In 2004 I wrote a book on glassware, The Decanter: An Illustrated History 1650-1950. A year later, an American who bought a copy of my book invited me to put together a top-notch collection of decanters.”

“He turned out to be billionaire hedge fund manager Jim Pallotta, who owned the Boston Red Sox baseball team. I put this collection together for him over a period of five years and I have to say it was quite lucrative.”

“All the particularly good decanters that I owned that I previously decided were too good to sell were suddenly not too good to sell to a billionaire.

“In total I’ve made £160,000 buying decanters on his behalf and selling him the ones I owned.”

Andy joined the Antiques Roadshow in 2005 and became the show’s first glass specialist.

You can’t always be lucky, though, and Andy has made losses along the way.

Recalling one loss, he said: “I spent £500 on a Venetian glass bowl 20 years ago which is now only £150. This is absolutely disgusting and I have no idea why I bought them.”

Meanwhile, an Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned to learn the true value of a gold brooch on the show.

The box in question was a stunning bird motif that was gold in color.

It was a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation to each newborn daughter.

Show pundit Joanna Hardy took one look at the item and said, “This is a very special gem and I wasn’t disappointed when I opened the box and saw it.”

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