Antiques Roadshow guest holds back tears after bargain painting receives five-figure sum

An Antiques Roadshow guest was forced to hold back tears after they discovered the real value of their garage sale find. The BBC antiques weekend show is loved up and down the country and quickly became a mainstay following its debut in 1979. The beloved show later spawned an American spin off for fans across the pond.

During a trip to Urbandale in the heart of Iowa, one loyal viewer brought along a painting which he bought for just $20 (£14.87). He told the painting expert: "I see it sitting on the floor at a garage sale and they had $25 (£18.59) on it so I hollered at them and then I asked them if they'd take $20 bucks for it, and they said yes."

The dealer raised her eyebrows as she gave viewers an insight into the history of the impressive piece. She revealed: "Well, that's quite a buy. The artist is Robert Riggs, he is known for his depictions for prize fighting and circus scenes.

"This paining was an illustration for the Saturday Evening Post. It illustrated a story by WC. Heinz titled The Fixed Fight." It was at this point that she revealed the painting's eye-watering value.

The expert revealed: "At auction, I feel easily, this could bring between $70,000 (£52,000) and $90,000 (£67,000)." The guest was left utterly staggered, simply muttering: "Holy cow! Wow, I never dreamed of that! That's amazing."

Praising his impressive bargain, she gushed: "You made such a find, and this is the best find I've ever witnessed." The star then turned the conversation to the guest's wife who proudly held a picture of her on his chest over his heart.

She went on: "You did say that your wife got you tickets to Roadshow, and you have a picture of her." He revealed: "She just recently passed so I wasn't going to come but my son talked me into coming because my wife got the tickets for me."

Praising him for coming to the event, she concluded: "Well, it's so wonderful that she did that and it's so wonderful that you're honouring her with the picture."

It didn't take long before fans flooded to social media where many admitted they were forced to pass around the tissues after watching the eye-watering segment.

One user penned: "Here I'm thinking, 'Really? I'm gonna need tissues for an appraisal?... cool painting... $20, what a steal... OMG $70-490k?!?..... UGHHHH HIS WIFE!!! [seven crying emojis]. It's like she gave him one last present & a little financial stability with this tickets."

Another agreed: "My eyes got so teary towards the end [three crying emojis]" as a third echoed: "She's your angel and led you there [heart emoji]."

A fourth chimed in with: "I recently went to Roadshow in honour of my Dad. AR means so many things to so many people, it's not just a TV show. It's a treasure itself. Protect Roadshow!"