Bargain Hunt expert David Harper has been a familiar face on BBC daytime television for years, appearing on shows including Antiques Road Trip, Flog It!, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is and Cash in the Attic. On Bargain Hunt, he guides either the red or blue team to auction success, using his expertise to help contestants find the most valuable items at antique fairs across the country.
Although born in Middlesbrough, Harper spent most of his childhood in Zimbabwe after his family relocated for his father's job at a manufacturing company. His fascination with art and antiques began early in life.
Entry into antiques
According to his website, as a child Harper would search for broken pieces of pottery in freshly ploughed farmers' fields. By the age of seven, he had amassed a large collection of worn-out coins and faded stamps. He purchased his first antique shortly before launching his professional career in the industry at 18.
Harper made a quick mark on the industry: at 23, he was appointed one of the youngest directors of a UK PLC company, importing antique-style furniture from the Far East. Over his career, he has shipped antiques to and from America, owned antiques restoration businesses, exhibited at top international art and antiques fairs and brokered the sales of hugely valuable collections.
Speaking about choosing a career in antiques, Harper previously told the BBC: "I was brought up around antiques and from as early as I can remember, I’ve had a fascination with ancient objects and their connections to real people from times long forgotten."
Hidden talent
Fans may not be aware of Harper's talent away from antiques. He spent years studying art and artists, and even considered becoming a painter himself. In 2008, he started painting and was spotted by a dealer four years later. The dealer asked if she could buy some of his pieces, and his work is now displayed across the world in people's homes, private collections and various art museums.
His artwork is inspired by the thousands of objects he has handled over the years, as well as his time in Africa. He is also influenced by 20th century painters such as Picasso, Matisse, Leger and Vlaminck. Despite a busy TV schedule balancing filming with family life, he always makes time to paint, often late into the night after work. He has described himself as a "workaholic".
Asked in an interview how he finds time to paint, Harper shared: "I have friends who spend their time thinking about, talking about, playing or watching football. It's their hobby and interest outside of work. Painting is my football."
"I often find myself thinking about a painting I want to start. I might do this for days while I’m away filming or working and then when I return home, I can’t get into my studio quick enough to get started, even if this is late at night and if I’m lucky, the idea will pour onto the canvas!"
"Painting for me is really the only time I truly switch off. I’m without doubt a workaholic and this really doesn’t worry me, I love working and I’m lucky in the fact I love my work, but I realise that we all need time for our brains to relax, slow down and drift off somewhere else. Painting is this for me. You could call it a form of meditation and I actually think it is."
Family life
Away from the screen, Harper keeps his family life relatively private. He married Wendy in 1997, and the couple live between homes in London and Barnard Castle in County Durham, close to where Harper was born. Their daughter, Henrietta, was born in 1996 and did not follow her father into antiques, instead going into music. Now 30, she is the lead singer of rock band Tiffany Twisted.
Bargain Hunt airs on BBC One and iPlayer.
