Michael "Hoggy" Hogben (born 6 November 1952) is an English

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

eer,

antiques An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

dealer, Author and TV personality who has appeared in the

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series ''

Bargain Hunt ''Bargain Hunt'' is a British television programme in which two pairs of contestants are challenged to buy antiques from shops or a fair and then sell them in an auction for a profit. It has aired on BBC One since 13 March 2000 in a daytim ...

'',

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's ''

Dickinson's Real Deal ''Dickinson's Real Deal'' is a UK modern antiques and collectables television programme that is broadcast on ITV and presented by David Dickinson. A US version of the show, produced by Zodiak USA and titled simply '' Real Deal'', was aired f ...

'', and his own series ''Auction Man.''

Early life

Born in Foord Road in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Hogben's mother died when he was five leaving him and his brother with their father. Hogben purposefully failed his

Eleven-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academic ...

examination to attend the same school as his brother. After both brothers graduated from school, Hogben's father emigrated to Australia leaving the two boys to fend for themselves. Hogben left school at 15 and two years later came into a small inheritance, which he invested in opening a fashion boutique called "Mickey Finn". Over the next ten years he expanded with outlets throughout Kent. Hogben then sold the fashion chain, and invested in Kent's first wine bar – McCartney's – in Dover. Having studied art, in 1988 he opened his own auction house in Folkestone, which then traded until he sold it in 2004. In 2013 Michael and his wife Lesley opened Westenhanger Auction Galleries, an auction house offering eight specialist auctions per year.

Television

Hogben became a ''Bargain Hunt'' expert when four of the earliest shows visited his auction rooms to sell contestant's items. The producer liked Hogben's style and he was offered a position. Hogben said yes, but in his first show declared a pair of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

vases

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

. Hogben holds the record for the largest profit on a single item on "Bargain Hunt", when a team he led purchased a Royal Worcester box at Ardingly Fair for £140, then made £800 in a live auction shown on BBC One. After screen testing for "Flog It!" for the BBC, Hogben decided against presenting in favour of his business. His style made him a choice for his own show, which was created with the BBC series ''Auction Man''. Focusing on his auction rooms, the show demonstrates how the auction room works, focusing mainly on Michael and his family, and staff . The show also includes viewers' tips on spotting auction bargains, as well as celebrities, sharp customers and the unscrupulous dealers. The show ran for two series. Hogben currently appears on his friend David Dickinson's ITV 1 show ''Dickinson's Real Deal''.

Personal life

Hogben and his long term partner Lesley married in 2000 after living together for a long time; the comedian

Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), better known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, artist, surrealist, musician, actor and television presenter, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. ...

was best man. Michael has had three books published: ''A-Z of Antiques and Auctions'', ''101 Antiques of the Future'', and ''Collecting Under the Radar''.

Works

*''"Michael Hogben: A-Z of Antiques and Auction"'' - *''"101 Antiques of the future"'' (New Holland) 2007 "Searching for antiques of the future"
''Yorkshire Post'', 4 July 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2019. *''"Collecting Under the Radar: Tomorrow's Antiques"'' (Red Rock Press) American only-April 2009

References

"Antiques show star opens auction house in Kent railway building"
Kentnews.co.uk.

''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''.
"TV auction star Michael Hogben 'hacking' victim"
''Folkestone Herald''.

External links

Personal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hogben, Michael 1952 births Living people People from Folkestone People from Hythe, Kent Antiques experts English television presenters English auctioneers