Hilary Kay has spent nearly five decades on British television screens as the longest-serving expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. But there’s far more to this remarkable woman than her eye-catching necklaces and encyclopedic knowledge of collectables. She’s a pioneer who created an entire auction category, an educator bringing art history to thousands, and a broadcaster whose passion for antiques has inspired generations.
Biography
Born on December 16, 1956, in the United Kingdom, Hilary Marion Kay grew up in a family of engineers. While most teenagers were obsessing over pop stars, young Hilary was equally fascinated by scientific instruments, clockwork toys, and mechanical devices alongside the usual teenage passions.
Her grandfather played a crucial role in sparking her lifelong obsession. He bequeathed her first antique to her—a James Swift & Son binocular microscope from around 1880—and taught her how to use it. Those childhood visits to auctions with her parents planted a dream: one day, she’d work in the auction business herself.
Interestingly, Kay credits an unlikely source as one of her early influences. The James Bond film Goldfinger, with its iconic Aston Martin DB5, ignited her love for cars. In 2009, she’d fulfil that childhood dream by driving the actual DB5 used by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale for a BBC special.
In January 2015, Kay was granted Australian citizenship by Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the National Citizenship Ceremony in Canberra on Australia Day. She was among 25 people from 15 countries naturalised that day. “It was one of the most memorable and extraordinary days of my life,” she told reporters. After visiting Australia for over 30 years, becoming an official citizen felt like coming home.
Career
Kay’s professional journey began at 20, when she joined Spink & Son, a fine art and antique dealer in London. But it was her 1977 move to Sotheby’s that would change everything. She helped establish their newly created Collectors’ Department, landing what she considered a dream job: researching and valuing the objects she loved.
What happened next was extraordinary. After just one year, Kay became Head of the Department at age 21, took her first auction, and became Sotheby’s youngest-ever auctioneer. She’d spend 23 years at the prestigious auction house, eventually leaving in 1999 as Senior Director, running several expert departments.
Her most groundbreaking achievement came in 1981, when she devised and held the world’s first dedicated auction of rock-and-roll collectables. Before this, major auction houses sold memorabilia only in manuscript sales. Kay saw the potential for something bigger. Items like Paul McCartney’s childhood piano went under the hammer, and an entire multi-million-dollar international collecting category was born.
The Elton John collection sale in September 1988 stands as another career highlight. Kay curated this landmark four-day event featuring over 2,000 lots, from the Pinball Wizard boots from Tommy to Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe portrait. The sale generated £4.83 million (approximately $8.2 million), cementing her reputation as an auction powerhouse.
In 1992, she authored “Rock ‘n’ Roll Collectables: An Illustrated History of Rock Memorabilia”—the first textbook ever written on the subject. The rock memorabilia market she pioneered has matured into an international, multi-million-dollar industry.
Antiques Roadshow and Television Work
Kay was invited to join the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow expert team in 1978, the same year the show launched following a 1977 documentary pilot. That makes her the programme’s longest-serving member with an incredible 47-year tenure and counting.
Working the ‘Miscellaneous’ table, she specialises in mechanical antiques, scientific instruments, clockwork toys, musical boxes, automata, and her beloved rock memorabilia. She’s never taken a significant break, remaining a familiar face to millions of viewers.
Her most recent triumph came in December 2024 at Belton House, Lincolnshire. Kay discovered Oliver Cromwell’s funeral standard from 1658, describing the moment as “radioactive with power.” She called it “the trickiest thing I’ve ever had to value” and placed it at over £25,000.
Beyond the Roadshow, Kay’s television credits are impressive. She presented Brilliantly British, a three-part BBC documentary exploring Thomas Chippendale, Josiah Wedgwood, and William Morris. In December 2010, she won Celebrity Mastermind with 36 points, her specialist subject being “The Life and Works of Josiah Wedgwood.”
She appeared in the Vicar of Dibley Comic Relief Special (2005), playing herself in an Antiques Roadshow spoof in which she values a worthless Papa Smurf as “part of the Ming Dynasty.” She was also part of Antiques Inspectors (1999), the BBC show presented by Jill Dando that tragically premiered just days before Dando’s murder.
At 68, Kay shows no signs of slowing down. In April 2025, she was appointed President of The Arts Society for a five-year term. This volunteer-led organisation connects people with the arts through over 360 local societies across the UK, Europe, and internationally—a significant recognition of her contribution to arts education.
In 1996, she established Art & Antiques Events, a corporate entertainment company with clients including Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Hilton Hotels, and Santander. The company creates art and antiques-centred entertainment for corporations, cruise lines, and private clients.
Her 2006 theatre show, “Have You Had It Long, Madam? Tales from the Roadshow,” co-created with colleague Paul Atterbury, has toured extensively across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. She also presents “Antiques Boatshow” masterclasses on ocean liners.
In 2014, Kay launched The Art Institute, an online art history course operating in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and Ireland. She remains a sought-after international speaker, delivering lectures and masterclasses worldwide.
Personal Life
Kay is married to Michael Dunning, a commercial photographer, animator, and amateur sculptor. Dunning holds fellowships with the Royal Photographic Society and has worked for Getty Images for three decades. His impressive client list includes ASDA, Xerox, Marks and Spencer, Nina Ricci, British Airways, Guinness, IBM, and Samsung.
The couple reportedly married in 2001 in the British Virgin Islands, though this hasn’t been officially confirmed. They split their time between Oxfordshire, England, and Avalon in the Sydney area, Australia. Kay and Dunning have kept their personal life private, with no public information about their children.
Kay’s signature eye-catching necklaces have become part of her Antiques Roadshow persona. Viewers have identified pieces, including handmade Murano glass designs by Italian creators Marina and Susanna Sent.