Meet the Antiques Road Trip experts: full list from Izzie Balmer to Natasha Raskin Sharp

Izzie is an auctioneer and jewellery expert who you’ll recognise from various other BBC daytime shows, including Bargain Hunt and The Travelling Auctioneers. 

The presenter, who hails from Derby, previously worked as Head Valuer and Auctioneer at the Wessex Auction Rooms in Wiltshire before leaving the role in December last year to commit to her TV career full-time.

Mark has worked with antiques and collectables ever since leaving the University of Reading, where he studied History of Art & Architecture.

The 49-year-old has been a specialist in the miscellaneous and collectables teams on Antiques Roadshow since 2007. He’s also the ‘Collectables and 20th Century Design’ specialist for an international series of books and has even published books of his own. 

Antiques and art expert Natasha is a familiar face on our screens thanks to her roles in Bargain Hunt and Flog It!.

The Glasgow-born presenter, who recently welcomed her first child with her husband Joe Sharp, has her dad, artist Philip Raskin, to thank for her successful career as he was the one who “gently nudged” her in the direction of the antique trade and auction houses.

“[He] thought that I’d be well-suited to the environment,” she previously told the BBC. “Although I’d never normally admit it, he was absolutely right!” 

Steven is an auctioneer, author and curator whose passion for antiques began during his childhood. “My father taught ceramics so I grew up with clay as a toy,” he previously told the BBC. “The transformation of earth into an object of permanence has always fascinated me: I used to dig bottles from old tips and even skived off cross country at school to do this – bottles led to local pottery.”

The presenter, who joined Antiques Roadshow back in 2004, was a consultant editor to Miller Publications for many years and has written for magazines such as Country Life, Gardens Illustrated and Homes and Antiques.

Irita is an antiques expert and dealer who joined the show in 2021. She runs her own business, Irita Marriott Antiques, and has been working in the antiques industry for a decade. 

According to her website, the presenter was born in Latvia and moved to the UK in her early 20s. Irita, who’s married with two sons, previously worked as a cataloguer and a valuer in a leading auction house based in Derbyshire but now deals full-time. 

Charles is perhaps best known for his work on Bargain Hunt, having appeared on the show since 2002. He originally worked as a chartered surveyor before turning his hand to auctioning and TV presenting.

On why he decided on a career in antiques, Charles told the BBC: “I chose to work with antiques because I love history; the question ‘if the object could talk what would it tell us‘ is what keeps my interest; an auction is a theatre of drama and romance.”

Away from the cameras, Charles has been married to his wife Rebecca since 2010. The couple share two children: a daughter named Matilda and a son, Frederick.

Raj is an antiques dealer and auctioneer expert specialising in fine art.

Opening up about his career, he told the BBC: “I discovered early on that a 9-5 job was never going to be for me, so I turned my childhood love of old and dusty junk and antique shops into my job and, later, career.”

Prior to his broadcasting career, Raj worked in the British Army and also as a ski instructor in Austria. Alongside his TV gigs, Raj runs Bentley’s Fine Art and Antiques Auctioneers with his business partner. 

Philip is an auctioneer and antiques expert who’s been on our screens for many years in various shows, including Bargain Hunt and Flog It!

Before his TV career, Philip worked as a PE and geography teacher. After deciding to change careers, he worked his first job as an auctioneer selling animals in a livestock market. He went on to qualify as a Chartered Surveyor, specialising in Fine Art and Antiques. 

When he’s not on our TV screens, Philip runs his own auction house.

David is an antiques & Classic Car expert who had a lifelong passion for history and antique objects, having bought his first antique at nine years old.

At the age of 23, David joined a PLC company as a director responsible for sourcing and importing antique-style furniture from the Far East, making him one of the youngest PLC directors in the UK at the time. 

When he’s not filming for the BBC, David runs an antiques business in Florida and also brokers the sale of art, antiques and classic cars on behalf of clients.

James has become a favourite on the show since joining in 2016. The antiques expert and auctioneer, who hails from East Sussex, is a regular on several BBC daytime shows, including Celebrity Eggheads, Bargain Hunt and Dealing with Dickinson.

Away from the show, James is a successful businessman and even runs his own pub. He’s also the founding director of The Fine Art Auction Group and one of seven founders of the e-commerce business iBrax.com.

Roo is an antiques dealer and television presenter from Scotland. Away from her TV career, Roo owns Kilcreggan Antiques, an antique store in her hometown of Argyll and Bute in Scotland. 

The presenter, who’s been married to her husband Mark since 2012, joined the show in 2018. “After a visit to our shop in early 2015, I got a call from the producers, a few months after it was broadcast, in early 2016,” she previously said. “I was asked if I would consider joining the BBC team of experts! After 12 months of meetings, shadowing, screen tests and lots of studying, I was told I was ‘in’.”

Ishy is an antiques expert and dealer with over 12 years of experience working in the jewellery industry. Away from the show, he runs an antique and contemporary jewellery company in London that sources unique jewellery for clients.