BBC Antiques Roadshow expert 'walks away' from guest before valuation 'I'm done'

Antiques Roadshow expert Will Farmer declared, "I'm gone," as he theatrically stepped away from one guest during a classic episode of the BBC series.

The specialist was utterly captivated by the visitor's extensive knowledge regarding his pair of chairs, and he struggled to hide his enthusiasm.

He opened with: "Well, here we are before a bold and striking architectural building, and we've got two bold and striking architectural chairs. I've got to ask the question: Are we cut from the same cloth? Are you a bit of a design nut?"

"I think I am, yeah," the guest responded before continuing: "I love the fact that chairs have a fairly simple function. They just have to hold up someone's weight, but the different materials and different designs they can be made of are just fantastic."

Revealing the backstory of the chairs' creator, Will proceeded: "And what we've got here are two amazing examples, but by one designer, that designer is the great Verner Panton, and Verner Panton, for people who've not heard of him, is a Danish architect and designer.

"When we look at his catalog of designs, the one nearest to you is considered an icon of 20th-century design. This chair is featured in collections and museums all over the world. This is strictly called the Panton chair, known as the S-Chair.

"And it's so clever because it was a single molded piece. It took him 10 years to actually get to a production-ready design. It didn't get shown until 1967in Geneva."

However, Will proceeded to highlight a "problem" with the earlier designs of the chair as the guest revealed: "They snapped."

The BBC expert continued: "I'm a fairly sturdy chap, I'm not going to plonk myself on that, and actually, they enhanced the design by inserting strengthening supports under the back. This chair woke the world up."

Shifting his focus to the second chair, Will explained they were created for IKEA.

He revealed: "This is where they became really clever. They actually employed a number of key designers."

Will then turned his attention to the chairs' valuation, but before disclosing their worth, he challenged: "So come on, you know your stuff. You tell me which is the rarest."

Gesturing to one chair, the guest responded: "I think that one is because I think IKEA didn't sell very many of them."

Will concurred: "I think it didn't sell well, so they didn't make many more. It's believed around 4,000 were made. So, throwing the ball back at you again, what are they worth?"

The guest responded without hesitation, estimating one chair was valued at £500 whilst the other fell between £800 and £1,000.

Nevertheless, Will appeared stunned as he quipped, "I'm done" before stepping away from the guest.

"You take the table, it has been really nice meeting you," he declared before swiftly returning to the guest.

He grinned: "You are spot on!"

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.