ANTIQUES expert David Harper is back on the road after filming of a popular BBC series resumed after a six-month shutdown caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Barnard Castle-based Mr Harper was just two days into shooting for a new series of Antiques Road Trip with fellow expert Roo Irvine back in March when the cameras stopped rolling.
But with a host of measures in place to ensure the safety of Mr Harper, Ms Irvine and the crew, the production resumed earlier this month.
“In March, we were actually filming in North Yorkshire when the call came to stop and we were sent packing,” said Mr Harper.
“We kicked off again in York, moved on to Durham and finished at West Auckland, however, filming has changed dramatically.
“We have to take our temperature every day and log it online – if you don’t, you don’t work.”
Part of the Antiques Road Trip involves the experts sharing part of the journey in a classic car.
“We have perspex screens in the car now and we wear masks in the car when we are not filming. We have to travel separately from location to location,” he added.
“When we are in the shops, the production team uses laser measurements to ensure the distance when we are talking to the shopkeepers.”
During the enforced break from his TV work, Mr Harper reopened his shop on The Bank, published his first book – A Romp with the Georgians – and began work on the follow-up.
But he said it was good to be back filming – if a little exhausting.
“When I go and start a new series, I always find it draining at first and after all these months, it was really tiring.”
Each Antiques Road Trip adventure is broadcast across five days, with each show 45 minutes long.
It takes three days to produce each show – two days shopping and compiling a feature insert plus a further day’s filming at the subsequent auction.
Mr Harper said production of his current road trip with Ms Irvine would continue through to October.
In the meantime, he is also recording new episodes of the popular and long running lunchtime BBC antiques show Bargain Hunt.
