The TV antiques expert ‘flying a flag’ for women

Irita Marriott says she did not even know what an antique was 12 years ago.

But a twist of fate led her to becoming an antiques dealer, and since then she has appeared as an expert on numerous TV programmes.

Now Irita is starring in a new programme that follows her as she sets up and runs her own auction house – one of only a few owned by a woman.

The working mother of two hopes the auction house and programme will “fly a flag for females in the industry”.

“There are only a handful of auction houses out of over 3,000 in England that are run or owned by a female, and also the fact it’s a new business, there’s so much on the line,” says Irita, who lives in Derbyshire with her husband and two sons.

“We thought if we can capture it somehow, it would be really nice and maybe people could learn something out of it.”

Irita is originally from Latvia but moved to the US to work as an au pair in her late teens.

She then moved to the UK as a 20-year-old before a random moment opened up an exciting new chapter in her life.

“A member of family turned up one day, and they had brought a car load of job lots from an auction, just as something for me to do,” says Irita, who is now 40.

“They said, ‘here you go, there are all these antiques,’ which to me didn’t look like anything, because I had no idea what I was looking at.

“I sold all the things on, made a profit, gave the money back and I thought, ‘why not buy something myself and see what happens?'”

Irita then started watching the BBC series Antiques Road Trip.

“I was one of those mega fans of Antiques Road Trip,” she says.

“I remember saying in my first year as a dealer, ‘one day I want to be good enough to be on a show like that’.”

However, Irita did not think she had a serious chance of being on there.

“Everybody on these shows are headhunted,” she says.

“No-one was going to come to look for me because I was just a small-time dealer, just like hundreds others, thousands others.”

So she used her initiative, found a phone number for the programme’s executive producer, and asked for a job.

“I thought, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ The worst that can happen is they will say no, but at least I will be OK knowing that I tried,” she said.

That first phone call was in June 2019, and after six months of auditions and screen tests, she got the job.

However, due to the Covid pandemic, she did not start filming until September 2020.

She now has seven seasons of Antiques Road Trip under her belt, four seasons of Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, as well as plenty of appearances on Bargain Hunt.

Her new programme is the first that will focus on her, charting her journey as she founded Irita Marriott Auctioneers and Valuers in the Derbyshire market town of Melbourne.

“I had been a dealer for 12 years and I made the call to open an auction house last September, but I had never auctioneered at all until this January,” she says.

“The first time I did it was purely online and the second time I did it I was faced with a room full of people, contributors of the show in front of me, and five cameras pointing at me.

“So I think it’s fair to say I was thrown in the deep end.”

The programme, called The Derbyshire Auction House, is a spin-off of The Yorkshire Auction House.

As well as documenting Irita’s journey setting up her business, it features personal stories from the people who turn to the auction house for help.

“People who have taken part have been absolutely incredible,” she says.

“My most precious moments are where people open up and then we find something they thought wasn’t worth much and we end up selling it for a lot of money.

“For example, I found a spoon in someone’s house that has been sat in an understairs cupboard for over six years and I sold it for £3,300.”

The programme is being shown on Really/discovery+ for 10 weeks, and started on 22 July.

But while filming for that has finished, Irita still has a lot more on her plate.

She has been filming more Bargain Hunt, is about to take part in a new series of Antiques Road Trip, and will be filming Celebrity Antiques Road Trip this summer – alongside running her business.

“None of that stops in the background but my focus is the auction house,” she says.

“I didn’t start it to fail, I am in it to succeed, and that is what I’m going to do.

“It takes a lot out of you. I’m a working mum and it’s not an easy job. But it’s a job that I absolutely love and I love being able to help people.”

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.