BBC Antiques Roadshow expert stops show and demands guest 'prove it'

BBC expert was back on the show alongside host Fiona Bruce in Stoke Newington in London for a brand-new episode.

A BBC Antiques Roadshow expert has halted the show to demand PROOF from a guest over an authenticity concern. The BBC expert was back on the show alongside host Fiona Bruce in Stoke Newington in London for a brand-new episode.

Kate Flitcroft dropped a huge bombshell on her guest and admitted one item could be worth a huge sum. The item in question was a 300-year-old Georgian silver cup, which was presented in the episode, which initially aired last year but is set for a repeat broadcast tonight.

"When you came to our table today, it was fantastic to see this lovely piece of early Georgian silver," Flitcroft asked. "Is it your silver cup?" The guest replied: "The cup actually belongs to my mum. It's been handed down the family since around about 1745 I believe."

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Flitcroft said: "As a shape, it's exactly what you'd expect from a piece of early Georgian silver. I can see that there's very little decoration but we do have some initials here. S about W and M, whose initials are those?"

The guest said: "That's William and Mary Sadler who were my fourth or fifth great-grandparents. They were from the Derbyshire area and I believe they were farmers. When Bonny Prince Charlie came down from Scotland, I think that they basically went into all the farmhouses of the local farmers and took away their carts and horses. And I believe he was given this for his cart and horse."

Flitcroft said: "You've got some hallmarks here which tell me it's by a maker called William Darker. It was made in 1726 here in London. William Darker first registered his mark in 1719 and this was made fairly early on. Interestingly enough, a few areas of this cup may have been restored over time. Here on the foot, I can see there's quite a bit of solder here and here and they've used silver solder and not lead."

She added: "Something that is quite common with silver of this shape is that the handles can get pushed in. If you look inside the cup here, you can see they've been sort of split away on both sides, so there are a few condition issues." She said: "If I had to value this without the story, I would still be valuing it somewhere in the region of £1,500 to £2,000."

"That's amazing," the guest replied. Flitcroft said: "If you were able to prove the Bonnie Prince Charlie connection, you might find it making five times that!" Flitcroft asked: "What do you think you'll do with the cup?"

"I'll take it back, it belongs to my mum, and I imagine in some time it will be passed to my niece," she said.