The value of her original Teletubbies sketches astonished one Antiques Roadshow attendee.
At the Belmont House tour, antique specialist Mark Hill had the opportunity to view an astonishing library of drawings done by Jonathan Hills, a designer and illustrator who died in 2020 at the age of 66.
His wife Lucy brought some of his previous sketches to the show’s Toys and Childhood Special episode, proudly displaying how Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Lala, and Po appeared before their TV debut in 1997.
Mark described them as ‘four fabulous characters full of colour and life’, explaining: ‘We’re looking here at a selection of drawings of what look like the Teletubbies, but there’s a sort of slight difference in some of them. They’re original drawings – how on Earth did you come to get these?’
Lucy shared: ‘My husband was asked to develop some characters for a programme they were making, which was directed at children that were at home watching TV without an adult.
‘Jonathan sadly died two years ago. And this is his legacy.’
‘And what an amazing legacy to have left, something that has touched childhoods across the entire planet,’ Mark said sweetly.
‘Literally, hundreds of millions of children saw his work and what we’re looking at here is the very start the very genesis of the Teletubbies.’
Of course, the initial sketches look worlds away from the Teletubbies we grew up with, with some almost looking more mouse and bearlike.
Lucy revealed that the show was meant to be called ‘Teleteddies’.
Another sketch featured the famous sun character from the programme, which has a baby’s face in it.
Mark joked that it was somewhat ‘creepy’, although Lucy said kids always loved the character because they could seem themselves in it.
So, how much was it all worth?
When it came to placing a price on the artefacts, Mark remarked on how ‘interesting’ the collection was, stating it will ‘only grow more intriguing’ as individuals who grew up with the show age and develop a nostalgic attachment to it.
‘At some point, you crave what made you joyful and warm as a youngster.And I think when that age group grows, they’ll want to buy products like this,’ he added.
‘They’re going to want to own these and display them. When it comes to value, we have to ask what they might pay. What would you pay for a Teletubbies original drawing?’
‘£500? I think so. £1,000? Highly possible,’ he teased.
‘And for some of the very best that really capture that Teletubbies magic, I don’t really see £2,000 as being out of the question.’
When Lucy stated that she had around 80 drawings in her collection, Mark suggested, to her shock, that the entire thing could be worth £80,000!
‘He would be so thrilled,’ she said of her late husband. ‘It’s great.’
Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
