The queen of the autocue and the permanently arch-eyebrowed newsreader Fiona Bruce is to take over the reigns of the Antiques Roadshow this Sunday after Michael Aspel left last year on the BBC show’s 30th anniversary.

The 44-year-old mother of two, who before turning to current affairs was a blue-haired punk during her student days, when she was in three rock bands, says presenting the Roadshow has been a career dream.

“All human life is there,” she says. “It was always my secret ambition, but I never told anyone. I couldn’t imagine why they would give it to me.” Bruce, who will continue to present the BBC Ten O’Clock News bulletin on Fridays, will face some tough challenges on the programme. Not only does she admit to being “interested, but not knowledgeable” on the subject of antiques but the show’s high-definition format is a worry.

“Every blemish shows, so I have to check myself in the mirror all the time,” she says. “You can’t look like the back end of a bus . . . but you don’t have to be beautiful and clearly I’m not,” she adds.

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