Catherine Southon is a British auctioneer, valuer and BBC antiques expert. Viewers know her from Bargain Hunt, Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip. Off screen, she runs her own saleroom in Chislehurst, Kent.
Many pages about her repeat the same thin facts, and some mix up her name, her age or her family details. This guide sticks to what can be checked. It covers her age, education, Sotheby’s years, television career, auction house, family, health rumours and net worth. Where something is not public, it says so.
Catherine Southon BIo
| Biography Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Catherine Southon |
| Date of Birth | सार्वजनिक रूप से आधिकारिक पुष्टि नहीं |
| Age | सार्वजनिक रूप से पुष्टि नहीं |
| Birthplace | Bromley, London (रिपोर्टेड) |
| Nationality | British |
| Profession | Auctioneer, Antiques Expert, TV Presenter |
| Education | Art History Degree और Master’s Degree |
| Famous For | BBC’s Bargain Hunt |
| Other TV Shows | Flog It!, Antiques Road Trip, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip |
| Previous Workplace | Sotheby’s, Bond Street |
| Years at Sotheby’s | 9 Years |
| Auctioneer Career | Auctioneer बनीं 28 वर्ष की उम्र में |
| Business | Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers |
| Business Founded | 2012 |
| Specialization | Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Antiques |
| Marital Status | निजी जानकारी |
| Husband | सार्वजनिक रूप से पुष्टि नहीं |
| Children | 2 (रिपोर्टेड) |
| Net Worth | विश्वसनीय आंकड़ा उपलब्ध नहीं |
Who Is Catherine Southon?
She is a Managing Director, auctioneer and television valuer with around three decades in the antiques trade. She uses the professional letters MA ASFAV after her name.
She was born in Farnborough and has lived in Kent for most of her life. Her family had an early link to the saleroom. Her grandfather regularly went to auctions, and she grew up playing the art auction board game Masterpiece. She has described the trade as “in the blood.”
Today she splits her time between her auction house, valuation days across the South East and a handful of filming weeks each year. She has said she films around 30 days a year.
Catherine Southon Age and Date of Birth
She has never published her exact birthday. Public company records reportedly point to a birth in November 1973, which would make her 52 in October 2026. Some fan and wiki pages give 1972, but those pages rarely show a source.
Here is the safest way to state it:
- Her full date of birth is not confirmed by her or the BBC.
- Company filings suggest 1973.
- Treat any exact birthday or zodiac sign online as unverified.
Catherine Southon Education
She studied Art History at university and went on to complete a Masters. Profile information indicates she attended the University of Essex in the 1990s and earned a BA and MA in the History of Art. She has said she first thought about becoming a gallery curator.
A talk changed that plan. Hilary Kay, an Antiques Roadshow expert who then headed the collectables department at Sotheby’s, spoke at her university. Catherine has said she was “hooked” on the idea of working with collectables from that moment.
Early Career at Sotheby’s
After university she joined Sotheby’s on New Bond Street. She started in the Collectors Department, cataloguing sales, and worked up through the ranks. She later became Head of Scientific Instruments and Maritime Works of Art.
Her years there gave her a wide grounding:
- Dolls, globes, sundials and antique marine instruments
- The instrument section of The Time Museum sale, held in New York and London
- Celebrity sales, including items linked to Geri Halliwell, Spitting Image and Robbie Williams
- Events at the Hard Rock Cafe
She spent about nine years at the auction house. A few interviews say eight, so the exact count varies by source. She qualified as an auctioneer in 2003, then moved into freelance valuation and consultancy.
The Jules Rimet World Cup Replica
One of the best known stories from her Sotheby’s days involves the Jules Rimet trophy. The real World Cup was stolen in London before the 1966 tournament and later found by a dog called Pickles. In 1966 the Football Association also had a copy made in secret. After England won, that replica was used for public events while the real trophy stayed locked away.
That replica came up for sale at Sotheby’s in 1997 and reportedly fetched £254,500. Catherine has recalled being in the department at the time. This is her own account, so treat her role as a memory of the sale, not a credited lot.
The story shows how auction rooms treat objects. A copy with a strong history can be worth more than a nice original with none.
Catherine Southon on Television
Her television career began in 2003. While she was still at Sotheby’s, the BBC invited her to screen test for Flog It! after she answered an advert in the Antiques Trade Gazette. She appeared as a valuations specialist and kept going.
Her screen credits include:
- Flog It! (BBC): her first television role
- Bargain Hunt (BBC): regular expert, often seen advising the red and blue teams
- Antiques Road Trip: co-presenting with experts such as Phil Serrell
- Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
- Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
- Trade Secrets
She has said the long Antiques Road Trip filming days, which can involve driving classic cars like Ferraris and Morgans, are among the parts of the job she enjoys most. Because she works for the BBC, she cannot bid at the auctions she visits while filming.
Her Best Bargain Hunt Find
Her favourite Bargain Hunt find was a 1940s Curta calculator. It was bought for about £80 and sold at auction for roughly £350. Her advice to the team was simple: “just buy it.”
She also has a blunt view of what goes wrong on the show. The biggest mistake, she says, is thinking it is easy. One of her teams ran out of time and left with only two items.
Why the Curta Find Matters
The Curta is a small hand cranked mechanical calculator designed by Curt Herzstark. Collectors nicknamed it the “pepper grinder” because of its shape. It suits her specialism well, since it sits between scientific instruments and design history.
The find also shows her method on screen:
- Spot a niche object that general shoppers overlook.
- Know the collector market behind it.
- Buy for the object first and the profit second.
Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers
She founded Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers in 2012. She has said local people kept asking where the nearest auction room was, so she opened one. The company is based in Chislehurst, Kent, and also runs sales at Farleigh Court Golf Club in Selsdon, Surrey. In 2024 the firm moved to new premises with a permanent saleroom.
Key points about the business:
- It sells private property only
- Its core specialisms are jewellery, watches and silver
- It also handles fine art, furniture, ceramics, militaria and collections
- It holds several sales a year, plus open valuation days in Kent and Surrey
- The team includes full time and part time staff and specialist valuers
Some of its better known results include:
- A sundial that sold for £145,000
- An enamelled jewellery collection that made more than £350,000 plus buyer’s premium
- A diamond rivière necklace sold for £47,000 plus buyer’s premium
- A Suffragette hunger strike medal that made more than £40,000
- An Abbey Road street sign that sold for over £30,000
- A pair of John Lennon’s blue tinted glasses, bought by Uri Geller in 2024 for his museum in Tel Aviv
Recent sales have included Martin Brothers stoneware in June 2026 and a small collection of Egyptian antiquities listed for September 2026.
Catherine Southon and Jewellery
Jewellery is her “first love,” and the firm’s strongest category. She likes Georgian diamond pieces, and has named Cartier as a brand she would buy if money were no object.
Her buying advice for jewellery is practical:
- Auction prices for engagement rings can sit well below shop prices. She has pointed to about £1,500 to £2,000 at auction against around £5,000 retail for a comparable piece.
- Costume jewellery and watches have been strong categories.
- Buy what you love, not what you hope will rise in value.
Catherine Southon Husband
She is married, but she keeps her husband out of the public eye. His name, job and photos are not part of her public profile.
The only personal detail she has shared is light. In a 2017 interview she said that with unlimited money she would buy her husband a Patek Philippe watch. Some websites name a spouse, yet none cite a reliable source, so this article does not repeat them.
Catherine Southon Children
She has two children, and has described herself as a mum to “two not so little ones.” Their names, ages and schools are private.
She has said her children were young when she started her auction house in 2012. She has also joked that they are not fans of auctions. Her spare time goes on family activities, including dog walks on Keston Common on Saturday mornings followed by breakfast at a local café.
Catherine Southon Illness and Cancer Claims
There is no credible report that Catherine Southon has cancer or any serious illness. She has not announced a diagnosis, and no major news outlet has reported one.
The rumours appear to grow from three things:
- Gaps in her screen appearances between series
- Low quality sites that publish “health update” pages to catch search traffic
- Search overlap with other well known people named Catherine
Some of those pages argue she is healthy because she posted on social media recently. That is weak evidence either way. A fair summary is that nothing public supports the claim, and her health is a private matter. Her company’s press office continues to publish regular news and interviews, including pieces in 2025 and 2026.
Books, Magazines and Professional Contributions
Her writing credits are modest but credible:
- She contributed to Judith Miller’s Dictionary of Art and Antiques
- She writes regularly for Antique Collecting magazine, including a June 2024 feature on Vladimir Tretchikoff’s “Barbara in the Bath”
- She has appeared in Antiques Trade Gazette features, such as a February 2026 piece on jewels at auction
- She featured in the June 2026 Arts Issue of InsideKent
She has not written a standalone book. Be cautious of pages that claim otherwise.
Recent BBC and Media Work
Her BBC work continues. Antiques Road Trip episodes with her as an expert have aired in the UK and the US, and she remains a familiar face on Bargain Hunt. She also gave a Kent Current interview in December 2025, where she said the antiques trade needs clearer rules for auctioneers, since there is no formal auctioneer’s licence in the UK.
A September 2026 report also places her in a BBC Radio 4 discussion on buying and selling antiques. That detail comes from a single secondary source, so check the programme listing before quoting it.
Her media presence also includes local valuation events, such as a Chatham session aimed at scientific instruments and maritime items linked to the Dockyards.
Personal Interests and Life Away from Work
She calls herself a buyer, not a collector. In her words: “I’m not a collector, I buy things I like.” Still, her home reflects her taste:
- Gavels, including one given to her by her late mother
- Globes, clocks, telescopes and an 18th century microscope
- Novelty inkwells
- Vintage Ercol tables
- A 1920s Lalique piece, one of her recent purchases
Her favourite hunting grounds include Ford Market in Arundel, West Sussex, and large fairs such as Newark, Lincoln and Peterborough. She likes “things you can touch and feel,” so paintings rank lower on her list.
Her advice for new buyers is consistent: “Just buy things because you really like it.” She also notes that she will not sell real animal products such as fur, and that ivory can only be sold under strict rules.
Catherine Southon Net Worth
No verified figure exists for her net worth. Websites list anything from $5 million to $10 million, but none show a method or source, so those numbers should not be treated as fact.
Her income likely comes from several streams: her auction house, valuation fees, television work and magazine contributions. Without accounts or a statement from her, any exact number is a guess.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Catherine Southon?
She is a British auctioneer, valuer and BBC antiques expert, and the founder of an auction house in Chislehurst, Kent.
How old is Catherine Southon?
Company records reportedly suggest she was born in November 1973, making her 52. Her exact birthday is not public.
Is Catherine Southon married?
Yes, she is married, but she has not named her husband or shared details about him.
Does Catherine Southon have children?
Yes, she has two children. Their names and ages are not public.
Does Catherine Southon have cancer?
No credible source reports that she has cancer or any serious illness. The claims online are unsupported rumours.
Which BBC shows has she appeared on?
She has appeared on Flog It!, Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road Trip and Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, among others.
What was her best Bargain Hunt find?
A 1940s Curta calculator, bought for about £80 and sold for roughly £350.
Where did she work before television?
She spent about nine years at Sotheby’s on New Bond Street, rising to Head of Scientific Instruments and Maritime Works of Art.
Where is her auction house?
It is in Chislehurst, Kent, with additional sales at Farleigh Court Golf Club in Selsdon, Surrey.
What is her net worth?
There is no verified figure. Online estimates range from $5 million to $10 million and are unsourced.
Final Thoughts on Catherine Southon
Catherine built her reputation the slow way. She started in an entry level role at Sotheby’s, learned a difficult specialism and then took that knowledge to television and her own saleroom. Her advice stays the same across interviews: buy what you love, learn the object and do not chase value.
Her private life remains private. She is married, a mother of two and a Kent local who prefers dog walks and market stalls to publicity. Where details are unconfirmed, such as her exact birthday, her husband’s identity or her net worth, it is better to say so than to guess.
For up to date news, her auction house website and press office are the most reliable places to check.
Sources used for fact checking: the firm’s own team and press pages, Homes & Antiques, Great British Life, Kent Current, Antique Collecting, Antiques Trade Gazette, National Football Museum, Britain Weekly.
Alex Morgan is a content writer with over 6 years of experience creating engaging captions, social media content, and creative writing ideas. He helps readers express their moments through words.
