BBC Antiques Road Trip star opens up on ditching auction room for surprise new career move: ‘Out of my comfort zone!’
Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip star Jonathan Pratt has revealed why he’s begun dabbling in the world of theatre in a surprise venture away from the auction house.
Pratt, who’s currently Managing Director at the auctioneers, Dawsons, is readying himself for a stint on-stage as part of the cast of Kiss Me Kate at the Theatre Royal Winchester.
The antiques specialist begins his run on stage on Wednesday evening but it may come as a surprise to fans of his work on the BBC that this isn’t his first foray into the creative arts.
“It’s funny, really. The thing is, auction is theatre,” Pratt told GB News when discussing his upcoming theatrical stint.
He explained: “Being a good auctioneer is understanding how to work a room, how to work with people. You’ve got to entertain.
“You need to keep attention whilst trying to essentially take money from them for the objects you’re selling. So a good auctioneer is always worth his money.
“In a live auction, I firmly believe a good auctioneer will take 20 percent more than a bad one for their clients. And there’s lots of little different ways of doing things as an auctioneer.”
But it’s not just the theatrics of the auction room that prompted Pratt to pursue his new work venture.
He delved further: “But why did I choose this path? Well, I’ve got four kids, and my youngest daughter wants to be an actress.
“They all went through the village school and then I said to my wife, ‘We know all the parents in the village, but we don’t know anyone else. I’d like to meet other people in the village, rather than just the parents of the children’.
“And Esme [Pratt’s daughter] wants to be an actress so I said, ‘Well, you’ve got to do some plays’.”
Soon after, Pratt revealed he accompanied his daughter to their local theatre group and before he knew it, they’d both been cast in a production of Toad of Toad Hall.
Pratt admitted he had to take himself “out of my comfort zone” for the part but after being bit by the theatre bug, more roles followed – including a leading part in a production that required “four shows and a matinee”.
Luckily for fans of Bargain Hunt, juggling his theatre work and filming as well as his work at Dawsons hasn’t been too much of a tricky task.
“So the Bargain Hunt thing, that’s an irregular thing,” he explained. “That happens two or three filming days a year.
“Sometimes more, sometimes less. Each recording day is like four shows, it looks like it’s more, to be honest.
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“But I’ve been doing that since 2008 and I did Antiques Road Trip back in the day and Flog It back in the day.”
So with the performing arts clearly an avenue Pratt is keen to venture down further, could a stint on the nation’s best-loved dance show be in the pipeline?
When quizzed if he’d be up for a Strictly Come Dancing spot, Pratt replied: “Oh, man. Yes, of course. Who wouldn’t?
“But I would need to get fitter. I would have to challenge my comfort zone a bit in that respect.
“It’s practice, practice, practice, isn’t it? I would, of course I would but I haven’t been asked. So if you know anyone, I’ll put my name in the hat!”
Running from November 6-9, tickets for Kiss Me Kate are available to purchase here: https://www.wmos.org.uk/kiss-me-kate.
