Home life and 'leisure' of Eric Knowles from Bargain Hunt | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV

BBC Bargain Hunt presenter Eric Knowles is an antiques expert specialising in ceramics and glass. The 71-year-old started working as a porter in the ceramics department at Bonhams in 1976.

By 1992 he had opened Bonhams offices in Bristol and was subsequently appointed non-executive director of scottishantiques.com. He first became known as a ceramics expert on Antiques Roadshow.

After Tim Wonnacott left Bargain Hunt, Eric became one of several guest presenters to host the show. He explained when his involvement with Bargain Hunt began.

He said: “[It] came about after I got a call from the editor at the BBC who I've known for about ten years. We're both from the North West, so open-mindedness is key, and she was convinced I would be perfect.”

If he hadn't pursued a career in the antiques trade, he explained, he could have taken two different paths. Eric revealed: “One would have been out in the wild and working for the forestry service, or one would have been in the studio at the radio as a DJ.”

His wife is Anita and he has a son named Seb, who died in a tragic road accident in 2015.

When asked how he spends his free time, he said: “My wife would say there is never such a thing as free time, but I like working in our garden.”

“In truth, I am more of a vegetation controller than a gardener, always in need of a machete rather than a pair of garden shears.”

He gave further insights into his private life and said his greatest vice was “a walk on the beach, preferably in Barbados”.

Eric has been through a lot in his life, especially the death of his 26-year-old son.

Seb, who worked as a DJ, died when his Mercedes collided with a lorry on the M40 in Buckinghamshire

Bargain Hunt airs weekdays at 12.15pm and Saturdays at 1.15pm on BBC One.