This month, I pop down to the Whittaker & Biggs Auction House in Congleton to chat to its associate director and familiar face from television’s The Bidding Room, The Travelling Auctioneers and Antiques Roadshow, James Broad. Otherwise known as JB, James is the most unlikely looking antique dealer and valuer, aged just 31, sharp-suited, with a pierced nose and a penchant for tattoos and trainers.
Tell me about your childhood
I grew up in Plumley and I’ve never lived anywhere outside of Cheshire. I love this county: the beautiful countryside, the people… It’s now such a diverse place. The little sleepy village I was raised in is lovely and it was a joy to live there. I’m still close to my childhood friends and we have been to each other’s weddings now.
What was school like for you?
Well, I was quite keen to leave. I struggled to concentrate in my classes except for sports, which I loved: rugby, football and running in particular. When I left school at 16, I started landscape gardening at a local company for a couple of years but then went to college at 18 to study sport science, thinking I wanted to be a PE teacher. I completed the course and did surprisingly well considering half my time was spent at the auction..
Where did your love of antiques come from?
When I was about 13, my parents loved going to antiques fairs and car-boot sales and I would tag along with them. It was pocket watches that I was especially attracted to. I was fascinated by the movement inside the watch and how they created something so intricate that you couldn’t see. The same goes for all items created by master craftsmanship, such as a chest of drawers, for example, where you don’t see the beautiful dovetails in each drawer.
While I was at college, I was introduced to the auction world by getting a part-time job as a porter here at Whittaker & Biggs. A brilliant auctioneer named Derek Torr, who was in his seventies at the time, was my mentor and one day he suddenly announced at the rostrum that ‘young James here is going to have a go now’. There was no prior warning, but it was the best thing he could have done for me, as I didn’t have time to get anxious. Derek just handed me the microphone and said ‘off you go’.
I was pretty terrible to start with but I got used to it and into the flow and I didn’t want to leave the rostrum. After
I left college, I came back to the auction house and quickly realised I had wasted two years of my life studying sport science as this was what I wanted to do.
Who is your greatest inspiration?
My parents. They have supported me throughout all the challenges and shifts, from landscaping to college, and to this day are my biggest cheerleaders, along with my wife, Emma.
You mentioned your love for the pocket watch. Is there a particular period in history you love?
Eighteenth-century pocket watches are stunning with their gilt interiors. They have pierced decorations with wonderful movements and are incredibly made. I’m a huge advocate for the Arts & Crafts movement, specifically the work of William Morris and the ceramicist William De Morgan, which is why both their work is tattooed on my forearm. Morris’s ethos was that you should have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful and that resonates with me.
Is your home crammed with antiques?
My house is 20th-century design. Emma works in interiors and loves this period and Danish design, so there are few antique pieces at home, but I’m lucky I can store my things here at work. Otherwise, they would have to go into the attic and that’s getting quite crowded.
How did you meet Emma?
It’s a Tinder story but it’s our love story and I wouldn’t change it. We’ve been together for 10 years and we married in November 2024. My immediate family are all from the north-west but I do have extended family in Kent, while Emma’s family are all in Rugby, so we decided to get married in the middle of the country in an old converted barn. It was the best day of my life.
Why do you love working at Whittaker & Biggs?
I love the versatility of this auction house. We don’t just do one thing; you could have someone come in with a Commodore 64 home computer, which by the way, are worth good money now. That’s the fun part of going to people’s homes and giving them valuations on such a wide spectrum of items. Whittaker & Biggs has been around since 1930, plus we also have an estate agency and rural surveying. Recently we have merged with Rostons Chartered Surveyors and Agricultural Valuers, where the director, Tony Rimmer, has been a huge entrepreneurial inspiration and mentor for me over the past 12 months and a supporter of our evolution, which has allowed me to put on specialist sales as well as the usually fortnightly auction.
How did you transition into television?
Around nine years ago and I got a message on LinkedIn from the production team of BBC’s The Bidding Room, who asked me to come in for an audition. It was in London, with around 100 other antique dealers, and they recreated the show but on a smaller scale. It was quite intimidating as you had these incredible antique experts, double my age, with huge amounts of experience and I didn’t want to do it but Emma encouraged me.
I didn’t think I would get the role but two weeks later, I received the news that they wanted me on the show and my first thought was ‘oh no!’.
But when I arrived on set in Halifax (filming has since moved to Edinburgh), the crew was absolutely fantastic and made me feel relaxed and comfortable. At first, it wasn’t until someone would come in with an item and put it on the table that my focus switched to them and the object and I felt instantly at ease. I love doing all the shows I’m involved with.
What can we expect to see from you this year?
The new series of Travelling Auctioneers returns to BBC One later this year, as does The Bidding Room. I’m filming the Antiques Roadshow in July. I will be at Caerphilly Castle on July 18, if anyone wants to pop down (see the Antiques Roadshow page at bbc.co.uk). The turnaround time for Antiques Roadshow is quick, so that episode should be on our screens in late summer.
What has been the standout moment on screen?
The first series of Travelling Auctioneers I was involved with was in London and we were filming at the home of a lovely couple who had been affected by dementia. You could tell their belongings meant a great deal to them, but because ill health was playing a big factor in their lives, they wanted to go on their last cruise and wanted to see what money they could get together from these possessions. They loved the whole experience.
Have any valuations shocked you?
There was one where we were doing a house clearance of a retired dentist and we looked into one wardrobe and there was a bucket filled with gold teeth. They went on to fetch £50,000 because, as well as the gold, there was palladium in them, which is more valuable than gold.
What items should our readers hold on to ?
In our toy sale it used to be Dinky cars and tinplate trains but now Sega Mega Drives, PlayStation 1 and 2, Lego, trading cards and even Polly Pockets are proving popular. I’ve had instances where I’ve been asked to go to a house and value Toby jugs and it’s actually been their children’s old bedroom with their Sega, PS1 and Pokémon cards that have the greater value. A new generation of collectors is tapping into this particular nostalgia.
Thoughts on investing in art or collectables?
When it comes to art I’m a big believer in loving the piece that you’re buying as it’s going to be on your wall for a number of years and it also tells a story about you. Mid- to late-20th century painters such as Salford’s Harold Riley are very collectable, as well as Lowry of course. If you’re looking at items from the ’90s, condition is everything. For example, if you’re looking to buy a Game Boy, then get the one that has the box, that’s barely been used, and has the original battery back and check everything to make sure that it’s in mint condition.
What do you collect?
What do you collect? I love watches but I don’t buy vintage watches. My favourite maker is Christopher Ward, a British brand, with fantastic attention to detail; I also have an Omega. I collect vintage gaming consoles and games too and I do have a bit of a thing for trainers.
How do you look after yourself?
My friends, family and my wife mean everything to me. I always take a Sunday off and that’s my downtime day. Emma and I also love to take our little labradoodle, Bailey, out for walks. Running is my meditation. I love it.
What’s your most treasured possession?
I have a sovereign on a necklace that I wear whenever I film. It was my nanna’s. She had a big bracelet that had loads of charms on it so you would hear her coming before you saw her. Unfortunately, she passed away when I was quite young. So my sister Nicole has the bracelet and I have the sovereign that was on it; it’s my lucky charm. The Christopher Ward watch I’m wearing today is very special as my family bought it for me for my 30th birthday.
Where are your favourite Cheshire haunts?
Knutsford: We are moving there and I love the independent stores and restaurants and it has my favourite bar, Dexter & Jones. It will be my local when I move there.
Congleton: Whittaker & Biggs auction house is there. Plumley: I have wonderful memories of the village and my parents still live there.
Advice you’d give to your younger self?
To have more confidence. For a long time, I struggled with public speaking and felt under-confident. Looking back at that 18-year-old being thrown onto the rostrum by Derek Torr with no warning, I’d tell him anxiety is part of the growth. If I hadn’t pushed through that fear, I never would have found my voice or ended up on television..
