WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.

An Antiques Roadshow guest’s jaw dropped as she found out the staggering price of her late great aunt’s teddy bear hot water bottle.

Expert Bunny Campione was on hand during the BBC filming of another episode at Buckfast Abbey in Buckfastleigh.

Surrounded by curious onlookers, Bunny met with a guest who presented her with a beautiful bear, stating: “Everybody knows this is a teddy bear. Do you know what it is?”

The guest replied: “Well I believe it’s a teddy bear water bottle.

“It belonged to my great aunt and when she passed away it went to my mum and now I’m the custodian of it at the moment.”

Bunny then shared the dramatic moment that took place before the cameras started rolling: “I must admit, I hope I didn’t give you too much of a shock when I saw you coming to my table, I screamed didn’t I?”

The expert laughed as the owner said: “I was a bit nervous. I was thinking ‘Oh. Maybe it’s not the bear I thought it was.’”

Bunny then went on to elaborate on the reasons for her big reaction: “Well it certainly is and for me, I can’t tell you, that’s why I screamed, because A, it’s a Steiff, B, it is white which is incredibly rare.

“And it’s a true white because it’s got the brown nose and not the black nose.”

“A lot of the white ones are faded and you look under the arms and you can see they’re real colour because the sun and all the rest of it has faded them.

“And then looking again, you’re right, it’s a hot water bottle bear for a child to take to bed with. It’s just fantastic.”

Bunny shared that it was a “very early” Steiff bear with a blank button in its ear which meant it was an earlier make than those with the Steiff mark on it.

She added that the later hot water bottles had zips down the front, while this one had hooks and eyes.

“I’ve never actually opened it and I don’t think my mum did either,” the guest remarked.

Bunny explained: “Well I’m surprised, because inside should be the size of a baked bean tin. A tin with a brass screw on the top to put the water in.

“And after that, a few years, they decided it was a little bit dangerous as it wasn’t very safe, this screw top. So they didn’t make them after that.

“And inside here is a bit of stuffing, because someone has taken that tin out.”

It was then time for the appraisal: “We are talking about a Steiff teddy bear, circa 1904, incredibly rare colour, a rare size because most of them were smaller than this.”

She paused before revealing: “Value wise, £15,000.”

Loud gasps could be heard from the onlookers as the guest’s jaw dropped at the figure.

“What? 15? Really?”, she exclaimed as Bunny couldn’t stop beaming from ear to ear.

The guest commented: “And it’s just been put in a bag in the wardrobe,” with the expert replying: “Thank God it was, because it’s in such good condition.”

Bunny comforted the teary-eyed guest by rubbing her shoulder and asking: “Are you alright? You’re going to make me cry too.”

The owner waved her tears back as she said: “Oh dear. £15,000. Really?”

“It’s incredibly rare. Oh he’s lovely,” the expert stated before thanking the guest for her time.

Later in a separate interview, the owner added: “Absolutely in shock. Cannot believe how much he’s worth and to find out so much information about him and to find out he’s quite rare as well, it’s just brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.”

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Story Saved

You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.