MILLIONAIRE HOARDERS COMES TO WEARDALE
THE popular television antiques programme has been filming in Weardale over last winter.
Channel 4’s Millionaire Hoarders came to the Dale looking for a fanatical collector and found one
in the shape of Monarchist, Anita Atkinson who lives at Harperley Hall. The idea of the show is to
find such a collector who may be persuaded to part with some of their beloved possessions if it
means accessing the vital funds they need.
Millionaire Hoarders sees experts sift through houses, stately homes and castles crammed full of
potential treasure to unearth items that could raise life changing sums of cash. In Anita’s case, it was
around her museum that expert, Ronnie Archer Morgan sought that one valuable piece that would
allow her to purchase the item that would complete her collection.
In episode 1, screened at the end of this week -Friday 2 May – Claire and Frankie are the current
custodians to the national landmark, Bamburgh Castle. They are constantly thinking of ways to
entice visitors through its doors, and a plan to create a brand new visitor attraction is on the cards to
help drive tourists. However, with the mounting costs required to maintain this stunning castle for
the nation, they are in dire need of a cash injection, so they call on expert Clive to help look for
something amongst the castle’s archives. Clive is stunned when he discovers a wrecked Mark1
Spitfire within the castle. Meanwhile vintage lover Bola collects all things retro including cars,
clothes and china – but now her son needs funds for his chosen career and so expert Paula is
determined to help.
But it was Ronnie who was despatched to see what the reluctant Anita could be persuaded to sell.
The Gazette caught up with Ronnie – in Weardale – to ask him a few questions:
Why did you want to be part of Millionaire Hoarders?
I like connecting with people and I like helping people – it’s as simple as that. I can use the
experience I’ve garnered over the decades to help people raise some money and see how clever
they’ve been. I always have enthusiasm for people’s enthusiasm, and I’ve met some fantastic people.
When people put together a corpus of objects they’ve been on a journey and I love to enthuse about
their journey, so they can see the value of that journey to other people and not just themselves.
Do the collections reflect people’s personalities?
I know what it takes to put a body of items together and the minute you start collecting, you start to
understand an aspect of life that most people have probably never considered. I know that journey
because I’ve put so many collections together, so I grasp what they’re doing. I love these people for
putting their life’s energy into something which is nearly always for themselves. Their collection isn’t
to show off or grandstand, but is something which they have become impassioned about and they
follow that passion through with their life’s energy and their money. They commit to something they
love.
Is one reason you enjoy Millionaire Hoarders because of how it showcases a diverse range of
passions?
It’s bizarre how I grow to love them for their passions. You might see this person walking down the
street and you’d never believe the collection they’d amassed. I love museums and, in a way, their
collections are like little private museums.
These collections and homes can sometimes be massive, so do you worry you’ll miss a treasure?
The only daunting aspect is time – this is a scheduled shoot and time is of the essence. Other than
that, if something’s there to be found, I will find it. I used to be called “The Cherry Picker” at markets
and fairs, because I would often visit them very late and find a wonderful treasure which everybody
had missed. I don’t even have to know what something is to know that it’s worth researching and
following up; I’ll see an object outside my specialism, or even an object I’ve never seen before in my
life, and think, “Wow, this has potential.”
What do you hope the audience takes from the series?
I hope they start to see that objects aren’t inanimate things with nothing to give but instead hold
secrets and tell stories. It’s for people, perhaps like me, to discover those stories and tease them out.
People who collect objects have a passion the world needs. They give an energy to the soul of the
world which is really valuable and I hope the audience sees that. I hope the audience sees how
interesting objects are and, even though we’re bringing them to sale, they’re more interesting than
money. Money is absolutely vital for people’s existence and survival, but the objects can transcend
monetary value to some degree.
Have you learned anything, in your field of expertise or otherwise, while making this series?
I’ve learned that if someone puts their trust in me, I will go not just the extra mile, but the extra 100
miles for them. I can’t abuse people’s trust, and I can’t let them down. I’ve learned, more than ever,
how much people dedicate their lives to collecting and this series has shown me there are a lot more
dedicated and amazing people out there than we know. These collectors are looking for the lost
souls in these objects and they are keeping them together, saving them from the dustbin, and nobly
becoming the committed custodians of these interesting collections.
Anita has amassed an extraordinary collection of almost 16,000 different items of Royal
memorabilia dating back to the reign of Queen Anne. Her oldest piece is over 300 years old and
dates back to 1708.
She said, “Ronnie is such an amazing character and we gelled from the first minute. He actually
made a few trips to the museum and, I think, despite the Weardale winter, he enjoyed being here.
“I enjoyed showing him round my collection but it is so big that it was almost impossible to find
that one item that could be worth a lot of money – we certainly had a good laugh while we huddled
around the fire in between searching!”
Anita will feature in the episode due to be screened on May 16 th at 8pm on Channel 4.
