Paul Martin (TV presenter)

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Paul Martin
'Flog It!' Paul Martin, BBC TV presenter.jpg
Paul Martin photographed during a recording of Flog It! at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 16 January 2014
Born (1959-01-05) 5 January 1959 (age 62)
Teddington, Middlesex, U.K.
EducationFalmouth Grammar School
Alma materFalmouth College of Arts
OccupationAntiques dealer, session musician and television presenter
Years active1982–present
Known forBBC antiques presenter
TelevisionFlog It!
Trust Me, I'm a Dealer
Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution
Street Auction
Make Me a Dealer
Curiosity
Spouse(s)Charlotte Godfrey (m. 2007)
Children2

Paul Martin (born 5 January 1959) is a British antiques dealer and professional drummer, best known for being the presenter of various BBC television antiques programmes including Flog It!, Trust Me, I'm a Dealer[1] and Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution.

Biography[]

Martin was born in Teddington, Middlesex. His family subsequently moved to Cornwall, where he was educated at Falmouth Grammar School[2] and then studied art and woodworking at Falmouth College of Arts[3] (now Falmouth University).

He then developed parallel careers, as an antiques trader and dealer and as a session musician drummer. Martin worked with Average White Band, The Quireboys and The Dogs D'Amour in the 1990s.[3] Towards the end of the decade, along with his session and live work, Martin taught drums and percussion in a tuition centre within a local instrument shop. He still plays with local jazz and blues bands around Wiltshire.[citation needed]

Paul Martin enjoys a cup of tea during a recording of Flog It! in Birmingham 2014

From the age of 25, he owned a pitch on London's Portobello Road.[3] He also worked as an antiques props stylist for magazines including Marie Claire and New Woman, whilst undertaking larger projects designing antique sets for television shoots for BBC One's The Clothes Show and Granada TV.[3] More recently he ran the shop The Table Gallery in Marlborough, Wiltshire, specialising in 17th- and 18th-century Welsh and English oak furniture and Victorian lavatories.[2]

Television presenting[]

Martin was discovered by a team from BBC Bristol when he was interviewed about his passion for oak furniture. He was then signed up in 2002 to present Flog It!, which has led to a series of television shows and spin-off books.[2]

In 2011 he presented To the Manor Reborn alongside Penelope Keith, covering the refurbishment of Avebury Manor in Wiltshire for the National Trust.[4] In 2014, he began hosting I Never Knew That About Britain for the ITV network. He presented the BBC Countryfile spin-offs Summer Diaries, Spring Diaries, Autumn Diaries and Winter Diaries in 2016 and 2017.[5]

On 2 October 2018, the BBC announced it would cancel Flog It!, but that Martin would return to host two new similar shows as part of its "modernised" new daytime schedule—one of which would use Martin's skills as a dealer to train members of the public, the second being an antiques-based game show.[6] The first of these programmes, Make Me a Dealer, began its inaugural series on 5 November 2018, followed by the antiques game show Curiosity in spring 2019.[7]

Personal life[]

Martin is married to BBC production co-ordinator Charlotte Godfrey.[1] In 2007 the couple moved to Seend in Wiltshire, to a property built in the 1830s, with a smallholding of 30 acres (12 ha) of land, surrounded by its own arboretum.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Ajesh Patalay (21 August 2009). "Paul Martin Interview". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Paul Martin". Capel & Land. Archived from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Paul Martin". UKTV. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Penelope Keith hosts To The Manor Reborn at Avebury". BBC News. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Countryfile Summer Diaries". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Flog It! axed as part of BBC One daytime shake-up". BBC. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  7. ^ Chesters, Laura (5 November 2018). "Can wheeler dealers become antique dealers? Former Flog It! presenter Paul Martin launches new BBC show". Antiques Trade Gazette. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  8. ^ "TRADING PLACES: TV presenter Paul Martin and his family exchanged a high street home for a country smallholding and the lifestyle that went with it". The Scotsman. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2020.

External links[]

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