Antiques Roadshow presenter Fiona Bruce has been part of the BBC programme since 2008 and became a huge hit with fans over the years
Antiques Roadshow viewers were shocked when they discovered Fiona Bruce appeared in a number of hilarious sitcoms.
The 60-year-old presenter has been part of the BBC programme since 2008 and became a huge hit with fans. Not only does she travel around the country looking for incredible antique pieces, she also fronts the likes of Question Time and BBC News, Crimewatch and Fake or Fortune.
What many fans didn’t know was she made a few appearances on popular sitcoms. She starred in The Green Green Grass in 2009. The programme was the spin-off of Only Fools And Horses. In the episode titled One Man’s Junk, the presenter showed up to Oakham.
John Challis’ character Boycie and Sue Holderness’ character Marlene wanted to make extra money but it came with many consequences. A few years later, Fiona took on a role in a special edition of The Vicar of Dibley. It was a Comic Relief charity episode which saw Dawn French’s character Geraldine Grander get an offer to become Bishop.
However, she soon discovers she wasn’t even in the top of candidates considered for the role. Emma Watson, Ruth Jones, Annette Crosbie, Jennifer Saunders and more also appeared in the show. When Dawn’s character returned to her community, she was told her position as Vicar of Dibley was replaced.
In the last scene, Fiona showed up and Dawn’s character ended up punching her square in the face. According to the Antiques Roadshow star, the sequence wasn’t originally part of the plans and Dawn made a change a few minutes before the cameras started rolling.
She explained: “The punch wasn’t in the script, but when we rehearsed it, Dawn said, ‘Surely at this point, I’d be so cross I would punch her.’ Richard Curtis [who created the show] told her to go for it. But every time she did, it made me laugh. I couldn’t keep a straight face.”
Fiona was born in Singapore, then a part of Malaysia, and moved to the UK for primary school. She got her first taste of fame when she modelled in the teenage girls’ magazine Jackie. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in French and Italian, she struggled to find work that suited her interests, but it was someone she met at a wedding that eventually gave Fiona her big break.
Editor of BBC’s Panorama, Tim Gardam, gave her a job as a researcher on the programme in 1989, and her career shot off from there. She worked her way up the ranks before becoming the face of BBC News. In 2010, she was awarded the female Rear of the Year and accepted it in person – but the following year, she declared her acceptance of it had been ‘hypocritical’.
The BBC star has hosted the likes of Crimewatch, News at Ten and Question Time, but her talents reach much further than presenting. She is also a revered motivational speaker and can speak three languages – including French and Italian.
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