04 February 2024 , 22:57
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An Antiques Roadshow guest was stunned to learn how much photos signed by a young Arnold Schwarzenegger were worth.
The woman appeared in the latest episode of the BBC show in Leeds and revealed her father had met Arnie at the start of his bodybuilding career before he found global fame as an actor in films like Terminator, Predator and comedies like Kindergarten Cop and Twins.
Amongst her dad’s prized possessions she found a selection of bodybuilding magazines from the 1940s, but among them antiques expert Clive Farahar found something even more special – several signed photos of Arnie, now 76, in his youth.
Explaining how her dad came to strike up a friendship with the Hollywood star, the guest said: “My dad was born in India and moved to Kenya and then to England. His passion from being young was weight training. He was a builder but he always wanted to open his own gym, which he did in the Seventies in Harrogate, the first one. And he first met Arnold at the age of 19 in London.”
The never-before-seen photos of a young Arnold Schwarznegger before he found fame (BBC)Revealing Arnie once came to their house for dinner, the woman continued: “Arnold’s inspiration was a Leeds bodybuilder, Reg Park, who made a film, Hercules. My dad called Arnold to do some seminars in 1981 to Leeds. He came to our house. Mum cooked."
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The camera then zoomed in on the never-seen-before pics that showed her father clutching his bicep as he stood alongside Arnold. Another showed the time he visited the woman’s family home and met her mother and brother. The professional bodybuilder, who at the time was at the start of his long career, had autographed the signs, adding to their worth.
An impressed Clive said: “Obviously we’ve got a picture of Arnold here with your dad.” The woman explained: “Lifting his arm up. He just thought my dad was so strong.” “And your father’s got all his clothes on, for heaven’s sake, we can’t possibly tell from that,” Clive quipped back.
Adding he thought the photos were “absolutely wonderful” and “quite incredible”, he mused how to value them, before saying: “You’ve got about four signed photographs of Arnold Schwarzenegger. What am I going to put on it? Well, I think this small private section of the collection. I’m going to put £2,000.”
The guest, whose father had a friendship with Arnie, became emotional when told the value of the photos (BBC)The woman looked on in shock as Clive continued: “£2,0000 for unknown photographs of Arnold Schwarzenegger. As far as I can see, all absolutely private and early Arnold Schwarzenegger too.”
At this point, the woman got tears in her eyes as she learned the value of her father’s family photographs and said: “I’m very proud of my father for what he did and it’s good to share it with you. Something for Leeds! Thanks you for sharing it with us, we love it.”
Sharing the clip on their official Antiques Roadshow Instagram page, they captioned the post: “That time Arnie @schwarznegger came round for Sunday lunch in Leeds #bbcantiquesroadshow.” Impressed fans were quick to comment underneath with one remarking: “Such a wonderful story.”