FILM crews, experts on the hunt for rare period pieces and a famous model and presenter have arrived at a local antiques shop to start filming the latest episode of a popular series.

Production teams from BBC One’s Celebrity Antiques Road Trip are currently occupying the Braintree Antiques Centre, alongside curio connoisseur David Harper and Loose Women panellist, model and wife of Sir Rod Stewart, Penny Lancaster.

The travelling show, which first aired back in 2010, sees two experts in all things antiques and collectables each join forces with a celebrity as they go on the hunt for the country’s hidden gems.

Braintree and Witham Times: Penny Lancaster with shop manager Tom Bosher and antiques expert David HarperPenny Lancaster with shop manager Tom Bosher and antiques expert David Harper

The winning team is then decided at the end of the show depending on how much money they manage to generate from auctioning off their risky purchases and peculiar discoveries.

Speaking about the filming of the show, Tom Bosher, who runs the Braintree Antiques Centre, said: “It’s a bit nerve racking as you don’t want to say anything silly on national television.

“But the celebrities are pretty friendly and once they are settled in it’s all fine and it’s always a good fun day and it will be brilliant.

“It’s also good for the town because it puts Braintree on the map a little and once it’s been aired on telly, we always find more people making the journey to come out and see us.”

Braintree and Witham Times: Celebrity Penny Lancaster and expert Dave Harper search for a rarityCelebrity Penny Lancaster and expert Dave Harper search for a rarity

This is now the third time that the Antiques Road Trip has rolled into the Braintree Antiques Centre, which last year saw Perri Kiely from dance group Diversity sieve through the town’s retro items.

Tom, who has worked at the centre for the past two years, puts the store’s appeal down to the vast range of products on offer, as well as the chance to walk away with a potential money-maker.

He said: “Its good mix of stock here and we all have it at reasonable prices, so the teams can make a bit of money.

“But we need people to keep bringing in stuff they don’t want instead of chucking it away because all of our stock is only from local people and a lot of people chuck stuff out not knowing it’s that it’s worth a lot of money.”

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip will return to our screens later this year.