Antiques Road Trip tragedies from expert’s death to star’s ‘undoing’
Britons adore Antiques Road Trip, where BBC experts travel across the UK, preferably in a vintage car, searching local shops for hidden treasures to sell for profit at an auction. The show has been on air since its debut in 2010 and has featured some iconic experts over the years, but sadly the programme has met with tragedy.From a beloved star's sudden death to one expert's heartbreaking confession, Express.co.uk takes an inside look into the tragedies on Antiques Road Trip.David BarbyOne of daytime TV's much loved antiques expert, David Barby, sadly died in 2012. The BBC favourite was an ambassador for antiques TV and appeared in the very first episode of Flog It! in January 2002. He went on to appear in several episodes of Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip.The antiques expert sadly died on July 25, 2012, in hospital following a short illness, with his family at his bedside. In a heartbreaking tribute at the time of his death, Wendy Rattray, Creative Director at STV Productions who produce Antiques Road Trip commented, "I first met David when he did the pilot episode of Antiques Road Trip three years ago.His enthusiasm, knowledge and enormous sense of fun was utterly captivating and he became a huge favourite of the teams who have worked with him over the years. We were all very shocked and saddened to hear the news that he had so suddenly passed away. He will be greatly missed but perhaps his legacy will have been his ability to make everyone in his company laugh. Thank you David". (Image: BBC)Angus AshworthAntiques Road Trip expert Angus Ashworth was forced to "hold back tears" as he made a heartbreaking confession. The BBC antiques expert admitted that emotions often run high when dealing with clients going through a difficult period.Speaking to the Express, he reflected: "On the telly, a chap's wife was badly ill [with cancer] and he wanted to raise enough money to get a second-hand stairlift put in to help her mobility."He was hoping to raise £2,000 because that's what he needed for the stairlift and we made him £9,000. He just couldn't comprehend it."Angus then recalled a time where he met a woman who was moving to Spain following the death of her son."I'd not long had children at that point and I was [holding back tears]. Every once in a while you're just... taken aback," he said. (Image: BBC)Natasha Raskin SharpThe BBC expert said she had been left "devastated" following a sad loss which she admitted was her "undoing" back in 2024. Her admission comes after presenter Noreen Kahn and comic Zoe Lyons appeared on Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.Zoe discovered the mould of a cow's udder which was cut in half to expose the anatomy of the body part. But Natasha questioned if the item would catch a profit at auction as it carried a hefty price tag of £150.Much to the expert's dismay the udder only fetched £40 at auction, as Natasha fumed: "It was our undoing! No!"Zoe agreed: "The udder was our undoing." Natasha said: "I am genuinely devastated on your behalf as I thought the world was going to go wild for those udders." Zoe added: "I think we are ahead of our time, I just don't think the world is ready." (Image: BBC)Dean SullivanBrookside legend Dean Sullivan made his final TV appearance on Antiques Road Trip before his death in 2023. The actor died aged 68 following a battle with prostate cancer. The on-screen star was best remembered as drug dealer Jimmy Corkhill in Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.During the BBC show, Dean went head to head against Heartbeat icon Tricia Penrose on the show as they traveled across the UK with antiques experts. The BBC show confirmed they had permission from Dean's family to air the episode.Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, they penned: "We were incredibly sad to hear last week of the death of Dean Sullivan, known for his iconic performance as Jimmy Corkhill in Brookside."With the blessing of his family, the episode we recorded with Dean and his long-time friend @triciapenrose will air this evening as planned." They later added: "We hope you enjoy the programme, and our thoughts are with Dean's family and friends at this time." (Image: BBC)
