People around the north-east are being urged to dust off their “hidden gems” for the chance to appear on the Antiques Roadshow.
Hundreds of people are expected to descend on Balmoral Castle next Thursday to catch a glimpse of the team behind the popular show filming an episode.
And Ian Greig – who featured on the programme when the team visited Aberdeen Music Hall in 2006 – is urging people to look out their “trinkets and treasures”.
The violin-maker, of Banchory, took along a 17th century Flemish cupboard to be examined by the experts, and was amazed to find out more about its history – and that it is worth £6,000.
Mr Greig said: “I went along to the Music Hall in 2006 and it was brilliant.
“It was Christopher Payne who spoke to me, and it was really interesting to hear about it. That was one of my main reasons for going to the Antique Road Show – to see and hear their expert knowledge.”
Mr Greig discovered his cabinet had ties to the McTaggart and McGowans, and features the former’s coat of arms.
He was so intrigued that he has now started researching the families in the hope of finding more clues about the history of the “astonishingly beautiful” cabinet, which he fell in love with as soon as he spotted it in the Mill Inn Auction Room near Maryculter.
He said he was positive there would be plenty of interesting stories to come out of the latest north-episode, and urged people to rummage through their attic or local antiques shop.
He added: “The north-east is full of stories, so people with trinkets and treasures should go along and find out more about them.
“There will be things people don’t know about, and some hidden gems just waiting to be found.”
Mr Greig urged anyone with a large or heavy item to get in touch with the Antique Roadshow team as soon as possible, as they may be able to help transport it to the castle.
“I wasn’t sure if the cupboard was anything special, but two people came out and took a look,” he said.
“They then arranged for a troop of guys to transport it away. That was the last we saw it until the day, and we were given a priority pass so we went straight through to filming.”
Presenter Fiona Bruce will be joined by some of the country’s leading arts and antique experts at the roadshow, which will run from 9.30am-4.30pm. Entry is free, although it is £5 for parking.
To contact the team about getting help to transport a large item, e-mail antiques.roadshow@bbc.co.uk or call 0117 974 2395.