Hilary Kay

Hilary Kay’s obsession with antiques began when she was a child.

She joined Sotheby’s in London in 1977 and the following year, when 21, was appointed head of an expert department and became Sotheby’s youngest ever auctioneer; when she left Sotheby’s in 1999 she held the position of Senior Director running several expert departments.

Hilary is one of the most familiar faces on BBC TV’s long-running Antiques Roadshow having joined the programme in 1979. She works on the ‘Miscellaneous’ table and loves the diversity of the objects she sees, from seventeenth century embroideries up to tinplate robots from the 1960s. In 2004 she presented a landmark series for BBC One, Brilliantly British, exploring the lives of Thomas Chippendale, Josiah Wedgwood and William Morris. Hilary has also featured in other British television and radio programmes including 20th Century Roadshow, Going for a Song, Antiques Inspectors, Call My Bluff, and The Great Antiques Hunt. In 2010 Hilary won BBC TV’s Celebrity Mastermind.

After over 20 years with Sotheby’s, Hilary now runs Art and Antiques Events (www.artandantiquesevents.com), a company providing arts and antiques-centred entertainments to corporate and private clients. Hilary is also an independent consultant, broadcaster, lecturer and writer on the subjects of antiques and collectables.

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