Former Antiques Roadshow host says they 'fell on own sword' before exit

Michael Aspel has spoken about his exit from Antiques Roadshow (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock)

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.

‘I fell on my sword, because I knew they wanted me to go,’ Michael said (Picture: BBC)

Angela Rippon joined Antiques Roadshow in 1979, and left four years later (Picture: Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

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 how the valuables brought into Antiques Roadshow have changed, Michael said: ‘Since I left, people bring along items from the 1970s, which for me seems like only a few days ago.’

Giving examples, the Crackerjack host that they sometimes included autographs of people he’d met during his career, including Elizabeth Taylor, who the star once revealed he won a kiss from.

Michael presented Antiques Roadshow between 2000 and 2008 (Picture: BBC)

Michael has previously addressed his exit, saying he left ‘while it’s still going well’.

At the time, Antiques Roadshow was celebrating its 30th anniversary, whilst he was marking his 50th year in broadcasting.

‘So it seemed like a very neat tie-up,’ he continued back in 2012, in quotes obtained by The Standard.

At the time, he said: ‘It’s the first time that I will have left a job without having another one to go to but it was absolutely my own idea. There was never any mention of me being too old for the series.

‘Everyone tried to talk me out of it and there were times when I did seriously worry if I had done the right thing.

‘But the truth is that after clocking up 200,000 miles and 200 shows, I’ve reached a point where it is getting harder to keep going.’

‘I’ve still got plenty of energy left and I’m hoping to keep working,’ he added.

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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