The wife of a late illustrator couldn’t believe how much his sketches were worth (Picture: BBC)
One Antiques Roadshow guest was astounded to learn the value of her original Teletubbies sketches.
At the roadshow at Belmont House, antique expert Mark Hill got to take a look at an extraordinary archive of drawings created by Jonathan Hills, a designer and illustrator who died in 2020 aged 66.
His wife Lucy brought some of his old drawings along for the show’s Toys and Childhood Special episode, proudly showcasing how Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Lala, and Po looked in their very early days ahead of their TV debut in 1997.
Mark described them as ‘four fabulous characters full of colour and life’, explaining: ‘We’re looking here at a selection of drawings of what look like the Teletubbies, but there’s a sort of slight difference in some of them. They’re original drawings – how on Earth did you come to get these?’
Lucy shared: ‘My husband was asked to develop some characters for a programme they were making, which was directed at children that were at home watching TV without an adult.
‘Jonathan sadly died two years ago. And this is his legacy.’
Antique expert Mark Hill got to delve into Jonathan Hills’s drawings (Picture: BBC)
The illustrator died in 2020 (Picture: BBC)
‘And what an amazing legacy to have left, something that has touched childhoods across the entire planet,’ Mark said sweetly.
‘Literally, hundreds of millions of children saw his work and what we’re looking at here is the very start the very genesis of the Teletubbies.’
Of course, the initial sketches look worlds away from the Teletubbies we grew up with, with some almost looking more mouse and bearlike.
Lucy revealed that the show was meant to be called ‘Teleteddies’.
Another sketch featured the famous sun character from the programme, which has a baby’s face in it.
Mark joked that it was somewhat ‘creepy’, although Lucy said kids always loved the character because they could seem themselves in it.
So, how much was it all worth?
Lucy owns over 80 of his original illustrations (Picture: BBC)
The valuer learned that the show was originally meant to be called Teleteddies (Picture: BBC)
The sketches from the 1990s look very different to the Teletubbies we grew up with (Picture: BBC)
Some looked more like bears and mice (Picture: BBC)
Tinky-Winky, is that you? (Picture: BBC)
Well, when it came to putting a price on the pieces Mark noted how ‘interesting’ the collection was, saying it can ‘only get more interesting’ as people who grew up with the show age and have a nostalgic connection to it.
‘At some point, you want what made you feel warm and happy and cosy as a child. And I think when that age group matures, I think they’re going to want to buy things like this,’ he commented.
‘They’re going to want to own these and display them. When it comes to value, we have to ask what they might pay. What would you pay for a Teletubbies original drawing?’
‘£500? I think so. £1,000? Highly possible,’ he teased.
‘And for some of the very best that really capture that Teletubbies magic, I don’t really see £2,000 as being out of the question.’
When Lucy stated that she had around 80 drawings in her collection, Mark suggested, to her shock, that the entire thing could be worth £80,000!
‘He would be so thrilled,’ she said of her late husband. ‘It’s great.’
Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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How many noughts is that?!