Antiques Road Trip producer hits back at 'fix' claims as she fiercely defends experts

was fiercely defended by one of its producers after the programme was hit with criticism. The hit programme has been running since 2010 and follows experts as they head up and down the country in search of hidden antiques. Upon discovering unique treasures in different antique stores, the experts haggle with shop owners to pay the best price for the item which they believe will sell for more at auction.

Wendy Rattray, who worked as an executive producer on the hit BBC show back in 2010, was forced to deny that these deals are organised by production. Speaking to the Antiques Trade Gazette back in 2011, she said: "I acknowledge that our experts push very hard to get the best deal possible, which sometimes results in them getting deals which have been perceived by some as being unrealistic.

"The deal is mutually agreed between our expert and the dealer, the production team never become involved in this and there is absolutely no suggestion or pressure on any dealer to accept a price that they are unhappy with - in fact many dealers often do turn down offers."

She added that the show aims "to visit villages and shops in out of the way places that are not normally featured on TV, usually because they are not easy to get to on a tight filming schedule".

The programme's authenticity was questioned by one Reddit user, who responded to a discussion about Antiques Road Trip. This person revealed they had participated in "one of these shows", but did not specify whether it was Antiques Road Trip.

They claimed: The producers go in in the days before, find items they think are interesting and decide on a price with the owners, then the contestants haggle on camera to get the same price already agreed with the producers. It's all an act."

A disappointed fan responded: "I figured this type of show was at least genuine to finding things. Sucks it isn't. My side hustle is doing this. And I find better deals all the time and turn much larger profit than most of the things they find."

Another person supported the original claim, saying that everything viewers witness on screen between the experts and shop owners is all for entertainment.

They penned: "The producers often bring the items with them and tell the shopowners what to charge, no money changes hands, the shops are rearranged to suit the large film crew, publicity items removed as they need written permission to have brand names on screen and it isn't worth the hassle getting it, and the paperwork takes all day.

"There is nothing real about reality apart from the shops being real shops."