Former Antiques Roadshow presenter, Hugh Scully has passed away at the age of 72. The presenter and journalist died while watching TV in his home in Cornwall.
Scully joined the BBC in 1965 as a freelance journalist, rising to fame as a presenter on Antiques Roadshow. He began presenting the show in 1981 alongside Arthur Negus. Negus retired just two years later leaving Hugh to present the show alone for the next 17 years. Scully was married to wife Barbara for 43 years before her death in March 2009.
Hugh left the show in 2000 to join an internet auction company. At the time he said: “I have particularly enjoyed my long association with the Antiques Roadshow which has always been a delight and one of the best jobs in broadcasting. Now the time has come when I must pursue my commercial interests which, sadly, are incompatible with my role on the programme. I wish my successor well.”
Leo Devine, Head of BBC South West paid tribute to the presenter. He said in a statement on Facebook: “Hugh was known throughout the whole country as a brilliant presenter and journalist, but here in the South West, where he presented Spotlight and where he lived, we will remember him with particular love and affection. He was a giant of BBC broadcasting, but he was also one of us”