Celebrity Antiques Road Trip series 12 BBC Two: Yorkshire TV presenter and comedian Richard ‘Dick’ McCourt, Labour politician David Blunkett, singer Lesley Garrett and Emmerdale actor Michelle Hardwick to appear in new series of Antiques Road Show spin off this year

The BBC Two show follows celebrity duos as they embark on a road trip, where they will compete to discover the most valuable antiques.

There will be a total of 20 duos on the 20-episode show which starts on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 and will start with Paul Merton and Suki Webster getting behind the wheel of one of the show’s classic cars. News anchor siblings Geeta and Krishnan Guru-Murthy are driving for episode two, which airs the day after.

Joining 19 other couples is comedian and TV presenter Richard ‘Dick’ McCourt, from Sheffield, best known as one half of the comedic duo Dick and Dom. He will appear alongside his partner-in-comedy Dominic ‘Dom’ Wood.

Two episodes later, Labour politician David Blunkett, from Sheffield, will appear alongside soprano singer and musician Lesley Garrett, from Doncaster.

Actor Michelle Hardwick, from Wakefield, best known for her roles in The Royal and Emmerdale, will also be appearing on the show alongside fellow actor Amy Robbins.

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, produced by STV Studios, has been running since autumn of 2011 and sees pairs of famous faces travelling across the UK alongside some of the country’s finest antiques experts to hunt for hidden treasures and compete to see who can auction them off for the most money.

The experts accompanying the celebrities on their Road Trip adventures this year are Serhat Ahmet, Angus Ashworth, Izzie Balmer, James Braxton, Margie Cooper, Charles Hanson, David Harper, Roo Irvine, Hettie Jago, Ishy Khan, Paul Laidlaw, Irita Marriott, Tim Medhurst, Steven Moore, Natasha Raskin Sharp, Philip Serrell and Catherine Southon.

Dragon’s Den star Sara Davies, who will also be appearing on the show alongside Amy Dowden, said: “I’d always heard what an incredible adventure Antiques Road Trip is. Being with Amy made it even more special for me, and to be able to spend that time together and share the experience was just brilliant.”

Paul Merton said: “When I saw Suki holding a beautiful vase, I realised they had three things in common: style, elegance, and the ability to hold water until it turns stagnant.”

BBC commissioning editor, Muslim Alim, said: “It’s great to have Celebrity Antiques Road Trip back on BBC Two this autumn with another exciting list of celebrity duos and a plethora of weird and wonderful items that will have you guessing till the last minute on their profit potential.”

Creative director of Factual at STV Studios, Craig Hunter, said: “We’ve been making this show for 12 years now and there’s still no better feeling than seeing a new crop of celebrities get as excited and passionate about the world of antiques as we are.

“Series 12 is one of our best celebrity line-ups ever and I can’t wait to share the series with our dedicated fanbase, as well as new viewers joining us for the first time.”