Lock of Napoleon's hair found on 'Antiques Road Trip'

A lock of Napoleon Bonaparte's hair has been discovered in the brand new series of BBC Two show Antiques Road Trip, the corporation has announced.

The historical treasure was found during a visit to Sir Walter Scott's home, Abbotsford, at Melrose in the Scottish Borders, by antiques expert Anita Manning and The Abbotsford Trust's Jason Dyer.

While examining a blotter book belonging to Bonaparte, they found a handwritten note dated November 8, 1827, sent to Scott by a Mr Dalton and containing a lock of Napoleon's hair.

In the note, Dalton explains that the lock of hair was given to him by Lt Col. Elphinstone, who served under Wellington. He felt that the hair would be of great interest to Scott, who was renowned for his passion for weird and wonderful objects.

Antiques Road Trip features antiques experts travelling around Britain in classic cars, hunting down rare and valuable antiques to sell at a profit. Made for the BBC by STV Productions, the show's new 30-episode series is due to start on BBC Two on September 12 at 5.15pm, and the Abbotsford episode will air on September 14.

"We're obviously very pleased and excited by this latest rediscovery at Abbotsford," said Jason Dyer, the chief executive of The Abbotsford Trust.

"As part of a £14 million regeneration of this important historic house and its contents, we have recently begun the process of cataloguing and conserving Sir Walter Scott's incredible collections. We hope to uncover even more fascinating treasures in the coming months."

STV executive producer Wendy Rattray added: "We're delighted to kick off the new series of Antiques Road Trip with a truly breathtaking find at Abbotsford.

"Our experts are always on the lookout for hidden treasures as they drive across the UK but never did we imagine we'd find something of such historical importance. It just goes to show that there are still hidden gems waiting to be discovered and our experts are still managing to thrill and excite the audience with their finds."

In August, a brooch that was going to be sold at a market for "perhaps £10" fetched £31,000 at a Leicestershire auction after the owner realised its true value on Antiques Roadshow.

The previous month, Antiques Roadshow host Fiona Bruce was sprayed with a can of aerosol string by two pranksters while filming the BBC One programme in Devon.


/Digital Spy/