The Bargain Hunt expert changed her whole career path after completing her degree at Durham Unviersity
16:03, 21 Nov 2025
Izzie Balmer regularly appears on Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip(Image: BBC)
Izzie Balmer is a familiar face on our screens, having appeared on a number of popular TV programmes including Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt. The 36-year-old impressed BBC bosses when she filled in for her boss Charles Hanson and became a permanent expert on the show in 2022.
Over the last three years, Izzie has been enjoying life on the road while leading the red and blue teams to success at auction. Speaking to the BBC about her experience on the show, Izzie said: “I love the adventure of life on the road, visiting new places, meeting new people and sometimes having a few hiccups along the way that we can all laugh about afterwards.”
She added: “The wonderful Bargain Hunt family is huge and so you might not see someone for a year, but when you do you pick up where you left off, it’s great.”
However unlike her co-stars, Izzie did not always have a passion for antiques. Speaking about her career, she said: “If I’m totally honest I fell into the antiques industry.”
Born in Derbyshire, Izzie grew up with a love for music. She played the viola with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain from the age of 16 and went on to attend Durham University.
Izzie graduated with a degree in geography. It was when this chapter of her life came to an end that she realised she didn’t know what kind of career she wanted to pursue.
Izzie “fell” into the industry after doing work experience(Image: BBC)
Her mum suggested she should do some work experience, which ended up being at a local auction house. Izzie soon fell in love with the profession and she said the “rest is history”.
Izzie told the BBC: “Upon completion of my geography degree at Durham University I realised I had no clue what I wanted to do. I got a part-time job in a vintage shop while I ‘figured’ out what my future might hold for me; nine months later and I was none the wiser.
“My mum suggested I do some work experience at a local auction house. After two weeks of work experience the auction house offered me a job and the rest, as they say, is history.”
She kickstarted her career at Hansons Auctioneers, in Derbyshire, where she worked for four and a half years. She worked her way up the ranks and moved onto Wessex Auction Rooms. where she was head valuer and auctioneer.
Her TV career began when she filled in for her boss Charles Hanson, who is one of the most iconic faces on Bargain Hunt. Izzie soon impressed BBC producers and was cast on the show, Street Auction.
In 2019, she joined the cast of Antiques Road Trip and was later approached by Bargain Hunt and asked to join the team.
Izzie said: “I’d been doing the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip for a year, and one day I got a call from the series producer of Bargain Hunt asking if I’d like to join the Bargain Hunt family. I couldn’t say yes fast enough and here I am.”
When she’s not busy filming for Bargain Hunt, Izzie is still pursuing her childhood passion of music. She told the BBC: “I play the viola in several Bristol orchestras, and I’m part of a string quartet, so we often have weddings and gigs.
“When I’m not playing, I like to socialise with my friends, go out for dinner, go on walks, visit new places, attempt to grow flowers and veggies, or on the very rare occasion I have a free 30 minutes, sit with a coffee and a book outside.”
