"Hard for me to believe but this week it's exactly 10 years since I appeared in the Grand Final of the BBC 2 Antiques Master quiz show.
"Billed as 'The search to find the UK's leading Amateur Antiques Expert' I entered the competition, encouraged by my wife, having spent 15 years as an insurance broker and thinking that it would be a fascinating insight into the world of television, which I'd never appeared on before, would test my knowledge and might lead somewhere interesting.
"I made it through various rounds, hosted by Eric Knowles and Sandi Toksvig, and had to take three days holiday (difficult to explain to colleagues in conjunction with the BBC's NDA). I reached the final – and won! (The prize? A ghastly silver-plated pot!)
"A few weeks after the final was broadcast, I went to look around the Winter Antiques Fair at Olympia. While exploring a display cabinet on one of the stands I overhead a lady across the aisle exclaiming excitedly to her husband 'Oh look! It's him, it's him..!' Curious to see which luminary might be nearby I looked up as she continued 'It's the guy who won BBC Antiques Master!'
"Any inflated sense of pride I might have felt was immediately popped by her husband's retort: 'That really is the worst celebrity spot I've ever heard of!'
"I consequently spent another eight years in insurance!"
If you want to do your own bit of celebrity spotting, he's at the Henley Decor Fair this week, September 23-26.
