Man kicks off on Antiques Roadshow after discovering his antique sword is priceless
Grant Bigginson of Peebles purchased a sword for £15 from his local Sue Ryder that he believed had been used by William Wallace. He was correct yet valuer Robert Tilney said its historical value was so considerable that he could not give it a monetary value, sending Bigginson into a violent rage with sword in hand
Reporting by TV correspondent Dion Dublin
A Scottish man has flown into a sword-wielding rage after being told that the antique weapon — formerly used by Scottish independence leader William Wallace — was priceless.
Valuer Robert Tilney had his arm sliced off in the confrontation while star presenter Fiona Bruce narrowly avoided being beheaded as she filmed a piece to camera about the history of Ightham Mote, the host location for the episode.
Although it is well known that people become visibly irritated when disappointed by the valuation their antique receives, this is thought to be the only violent sword-based reaction in the show’s 41-year run.
Famously, the only other violent altercation in the show’s history came when a German man turned violent after discovering his Walther PPK was not the one Hitler used to kill himself. He maimed a 93-year-old woman called Patricia Whack as she sought a valuation on her inch-tall pink elephant knick-knack.
As well as being outraged by the lack of money he could potentially receive when selling the sword at the auction, it is thought Bigginson was incredibly cranky after his 7.5-hour drive to Kent and that wielding William Wallace’s blade inspired an anti-English sentiment in the antique enthusiast.
We have analysed footage of the segment that Bigginson would have featured in and you can see his impatience grow as Tilney prattles on about Wallace’s history and how he used that exact sword in the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
When Tilney starts his preamble to announcing its monetary value Bigginson visibly perks up.
When Tilney says the words “the sword is of such historical importance that I cannot possibly give it a monetary value. Simply, it is priceless” you can see Bigginson’s right hand tighten around the hilt of the broadsword.
With one swift, upward swing Bigginson sent the blade — still sharp and still stained with Englishmen’s blood — through Tilney’s forearm, sending the valuer sprawling to the ground.
Sensing a rout of the fleeing English before him, Bigginson charged at the elderly hordes screaming: “In the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen. And today, on the fields of the Garden of England, I do the same!”
Knowing he was now deep in enemy territory, it is thought he decided to try and make a symbolic attack. His obvious option therefore was show host Fiona Bruce, just as she was making her piece to camera.
Just as Bigginson approached her from behind Bruce managed to catch a glimpse of her assailant in the camera she was speaking to, ducking swiftly to avoid the slashing broadsword.
Noticing the attack, a man quickly loaded his musket from the English Civil War in just two minutes and incapacitated Bigginson with a shot to the shoulder.
As he was restrained by a group of authentic Battle of Agincourt recreators Bigginson said: “We all end up dead, it’s just a question of how and why.”
At his trial for high treason Bigginson was found guilty and sentenced to public torture and beheading.
While being tortured the magistrate offered him the chance of a quick death by asking for mercy. Instead, committed to getting cash for his antique sword right to his final moments, he screams “MONEYYYYYYYYY!”
Bigginson was then hanged, drawn and quartered in nearby Sevenoaks and his remains were dragged through the streets. Much to the confusion of locals, his head was mounted on a pike back in Peebles to deter any other Scots angling for independence.
