He bought his first antique at the age of ten. Then he joined the army, discovered on an exercise in Austria that he could ski, and ended up racing downhill and slalom for the British Army. He later became a qualified ski instructor in Austria. Only after all that did Raj Bisram come back to the objects he had loved since childhood and build one of Kent’s best-known auction houses. It is the most unlikely career in British antiques television.

Raj Bisram: Quick Facts

Name	Raj Bisram
Born	1956
Age	Around 70
Birthplace	London, England
Family background	Raised with two sisters in a traditional Indian family home
School	Highgate School
Army role	Physical training instructor
Sport	Raced downhill and slalom for the British Army
After the army	Qualified ski instructor in Austria
Auction house	Co-founded Bentley’s Fine Art and Antiques, Cranbrook, Kent, 1995
Wife	Susan “Sue” Bisram, married 1983
Daughters	Roo and Jade

Who Is Raj Bisram?

Raj Bisram was born in 1956 in London and is around 70. He is an auctioneer and antiques expert who appears across Antiques Road Trip, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, Bargain Hunt, Flog It!, Posh Pawn and Sarah Beeny‘s Four Rooms. He is one of the most widely travelled of the UK antiques TV experts, in every sense.

A London Childhood

He was born in London and brought up with two sisters in a traditional Indian family home, and was educated at Highgate School. He has said he bought his first antique at the age of ten, which is the sort of detail that explains an entire life. Most children that age are not spending pocket money on old objects. The ones who do rarely stop.

The Army Years

He joined the army and became a physical training instructor, which is one of the most physically demanding roles in the service. PTIs are responsible for the fitness of everyone around them, which requires being visibly harder than the people you are training. It is about as far from the world of Georgian silver as a job can get, and it is where the next twist came from.

Skiing for the British Army

During an army exercise in Austria he turned out to have a natural talent for skiing. That led to him representing the British Army in competitive downhill racing and slalom. Downhill is among the most dangerous disciplines in any sport, involving speeds most people never experience outside a car. Discovering that aptitude in your twenties, by accident, on a military exercise, is an extraordinary piece of luck.

Instructing in Austria

On leaving the army he stayed with it, becoming a qualified ski instructor in Austria, and is reported to be the only Asian qualified instructor in the country. Austrian ski instruction is famously rigorous and the qualification is not easily obtained. To do it as an outsider, in a second language, in one of the sport’s heartlands, took a level of determination that clearly carried over into everything since.

Coming Back to Antiques

Eventually he came back to what he had been interested in since he was ten. His love affair with antiques has now spanned close to fifty years, and this is the pattern you find again and again in the trade: people arrive by an odd route, often in their thirties or later, and then never leave. Izzie Balmer fell into it through work experience; Natasha Raskin Sharp walked out of a law degree. Nobody plans this.

Founding Bentley’s

In 1995 he co-founded Bentley’s Fine Art and Antiques Auction House in Cranbrook, Kent. Building a saleroom from scratch means premises, staff, insurance, cataloguing systems and enough consignments to make each sale viable, all before a single hammer falls. Thirty years later it is an established name in the south east, which is a considerably harder achievement than any television appearance.

The Silver Hallmark App

One of the more genuinely useful things he has done is help develop an app, British Silver Hallmark Recognition, built on a database of around 20,000 marks. British silver carries stamped symbols showing standard, assay office, year and maker, and being able to read them separates solid silver from plate in seconds. Putting that reference in everyone’s pocket is a real contribution to the hobby.

Why Hallmarks Matter

It is worth explaining why that app is useful. A hallmark tells you, quickly and reliably, what a piece is and roughly when and where it was made, which is information that would otherwise take a specialist and a reference library. Plated items usually carry letters such as EPNS instead, and are worth a small fraction. It is the single most valuable skill for anyone poking about at a car boot sale.

His Family

He married Susan Bisram, known as Sue, in 1983, and they have two daughters, Roo and Jade. He has kept his family largely out of his public work, and there is little further on record. A marriage of more than forty years, spanning an army career, a life in Austria and the founding of an auction house, has clearly absorbed a great deal of upheaval along the way.

His Television Range

His screen work spans the polite BBC daytime world and the more commercial end. Posh Pawn and Four Rooms operate closer to the American model, where dealers negotiate hard for high-value items, while Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip are gentler. Handling both registers is unusual, and it is the difference between the British approach and shows like Pawn Stars.

What Is His Net Worth?

No verified figure exists and we will not publish an invented one. He co-founded and has run an auction house for thirty years and has a long television career, which together represent a substantial working life, but none of it is documented publicly in financial terms. The same caution applies here as with Drew Pritchard, whose widely quoted earnings figure has no source behind it at all.

A Trade That Rewards Odd Routes

His story makes a wider point about this trade. Antiques rewards curiosity, memory and nerve, none of which come from a particular background. It has absorbed ex-soldiers, musicians, geographers and lawyers who lasted a month, and it puts them all in front of the same objects. That openness is one of the reasons the televised version has been so popular: it looks like something an ordinary person could actually learn.

Kent and the South East Market

Cranbrook sits in a part of Kent with a long-established antiques trade, close enough to London for serious buyers and far enough out for stock to arrive from country houses and estates. The south east has traditionally been strong for furniture, silver and pictures coming out of family homes, which is exactly the material a general fine art and antiques saleroom needs to build regular sales around.

From Sport to the Saleroom

There is more overlap between his two careers than there looks. Downhill racing and auctioneering both demand composure under time pressure, quick reading of conditions and the ability to commit without hesitating. Standing at a rostrum with a room full of bidders is not physically dangerous, but the requirement to stay calm and decisive while everything moves quickly is much the same. It is the quality you see in Charlie Ross too, after sixty years of practice.

Final Thoughts

Raj Bisram is around 70, bought his first antique at ten, raced skis for the British Army, taught in Austria and then built an auction house in Kent that has lasted thirty years. That is a life, not a CV. Next time he is valuing a piece of silver on Bargain Hunt, remember the route he took to get there.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is Raj Bisram?

He was born in 1956 in London, which makes him around 70 in 2026. He bought his first antique at the age of ten.

Did Raj Bisram serve in the army?

Yes. He was a physical training instructor and went on to race downhill and slalom competitively for the British Army.

Was Raj Bisram a ski instructor?

Yes. After leaving the army he became a qualified ski instructor in Austria, reportedly the only Asian qualified instructor in the country.

What is Raj Bisram’s auction house?

He co-founded Bentley’s Fine Art and Antiques Auction House in Cranbrook, Kent, in 1995.

Who is Raj Bisram’s wife?

He married Susan Bisram, known as Sue, in 1983. They have two daughters, Roo and Jade.

Which shows is Raj Bisram on?

Antiques Road Trip, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, Bargain Hunt, Flog It!, Posh Pawn and Sarah Beeny’s Four Rooms.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information and is not valuation advice. Biographical details come from published reference sources, the subject’s own website and broadcaster credits. We do not publish estimated net worth figures where no verified source exists.