An Antiques Roadshow guest was in disbelief when he discovered the whopping value for his unbelievable memento from the 1988 Olympic Games. In a recent visit to Pollok Park, Glasgow, the beloved BBC series saw experts, including Jamie Russell, appraising unique items brought by members of the public. The ever-knowledgeable Russell was taken aback when veteran journalist Gavin Bell presented an Olympic torch, having not anticipated such an iconic item would emerge from the day's collection.
With astonishment, Russell said: "Before I came here today to the Roadshow, I had a long list of items in my head that I thought I might see that would appear out of boxes and bags in front of me. "But one of them was definitely not an Olympic torch. I wonder if you can tell us how you came to own this.
" Bell, with a hint of nostalgia, recounted his journey: "When I was a young lad, I was an 800 metres runner with a Glasgow club. "So, of course, as a boy, I dreamed of running in the Olympics one day. And then eventually, the dream came true in a way I'd never have expected.
"I was posted to South Korea in advance of the 1988 Games for The Times. And so while I was there, I met a couple of young English lads who'd been appointed to do the public relations for the torch relay. "And they found out about my athletic background and invited me to carry the torch on the first day it arrived in Korea.
" Bell quipped that the snap of him holding the torch was "good publicity" for the Olympics and eve.