Angus Ashworth reveals why he's back for another series of the Yorkshire Auction House

They often belong to loved ones who have passed away and so identifying and valuing items is only part of the job as emotions run high, which calls for sensitivity as relatives recount memories and viewers get to know more about the collector and the items they amassed.

After deciding what can go under the hammer, the family is invited to the auction house to watch the sale and reap the proceeds.

Filming takes seven months out of Angus’s life and while it impacts on his wife and their three children, they are, he says, understanding.

There are benefits too as his business has expanded thanks to the exposure and he adds: “I enjoy travelling round the country meeting new people, hearing new stories and unearthing great finds. Every job is different.”

The first episode is full of happy reminiscences by two daughters about their late father, whose coin collection turns out to be worth more than expected.

One of the first to invest in online auctions, which run alongside in-the-room sales, Angus says: “Years ago you’d get bidders from within a 10 to 20-mile radius and they were mostly dealers. Now, you have all sorts of people bidding and we are selling to the world.”

Items proving popular with buyers include those that are dripping in nostalgia. “People in their 40s and 50s are buying back what was cool when they were kids, like Ford Escorts and early games consoles,” says Angus, who adds that mid-century furniture is still popular and prices are improving for brown furniture.

Mouseman is still a top performer alongside makers he trained including Alan Acornman Grainger and Albert Owlman Harrison.

Angus began his career at the age of 16 with Scarborough based David Duggleby Auctioneers, thanks to an interest in antiques that came from his mum and his uncle.

“I had no interest in academia and I’d worked out that I had three options. Number one was to be an auctioneer, two was work in the family engineering and deep sea fishing business and three was to join the army,” he says.

He ended up doing all three but settled in auctioneering , launching his own auction house in 2010.

His charisma caught the eye of TV producers who spotted him when he featured on The Antiques Road Trip and rest is history.

He was an early adopter of online auctions which run with in-the-room sales and says: “There can be people from 20 different countries bidding. Pre the pandemic 45 per cent of bidders were via the internet and now its 85 per cent.

“TV series featuring auctions have also had an effect. It was mostly dealers in the trade who bid at auction and now it’s mostly private buyers.”

*The Yorkshire Auction House is on Monday, March 6 at 9pm on Really and to stream on Discovery.