Fake or Fortune? season 11 returns to BBC One with co-presenters Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce donning their detective hats for a new series of intriguing art investigations.
Here, in an exclusive interview, art expert extraordinaire Philip Mould guides us through the new series…
Fake or Fortune? season 11 — release date
The opening episode of Fake or Fortune? season 11 debuts on BBC One on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, at 8 pm.
The subsequent three episodes air weekly at the same time. Episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer weekly after transmission.
Fake or Fortune? season 11 — what can viewers expect
When Fake or Fortune? returns for season 11, good old-fashioned detective work, the latest scientific techniques, and fascinating art history are in the frame again as the internationally popular BBC One show returns with a new four-part series.
In the opening episode co-presenters Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould are on a mission to determine whether a bronze figure could be one of a collection made by celebrated 20th-century sculptor Dame Elisabeth Frink.
Later in the series, the duo attempts to prove the provenance of a possible Sir Joshua Reynolds painting, impressionist sketches, and an alleged Arshile Gorky work, traveling to France and America in the process.
Fake or Fortune season 11 — episode guide
Fake or Fortune season 11 — episode 1 (8 pm, BBC One, Tuesday, September 26 2023)
When a striking bronze statue caught Amanda Kirke’s eye at a car boot sale in Essex she had a feeling it might be something special. After shelling out £90, Amanda searched its ‘Frink’ signature online and discovered post-war sculptor, Dame Elisabeth Frink made 10 similar ‘small warrior’ sculptures — with David Bowie once owning one.
Now, Amanda turns to Philip and Fiona, hoping they can cast a light on whether she’s the owner of a rare period piece or in the presence of an imposter.
Speaking to WTW Philip explains: “If this is a Frink, it's one of a series that has washed up at a car boot sale. We have to find the other eight or nine, to reduce the amount of suspects and be proved right.
“There’s a sense here that Fiona and I are working together in a crime room! It could be worth £60,000 but if not, it’s £10 in scrap metal.”
Is Amanda the proud owner of the genuine article? All is revealed in the final scenes!
Fake or Fortune season 11 — episode 2 (8 pm, BBC One, Tuesday, 03 October 2023)
In the frame in this episode is a picture which may, or may not, be the work of 18th century painter Sir Joshua Reynolds and worth £100,000.
Car dealer Glyn Hopkin knew he was taking a punt on the portrait of a young boy dressed in red when he purchased it on whim from an online auction in Monaco for £2700...
As Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould journey into the provenance of the piece, it raises many intriguing questions. Fiona manages to trace its ownership back to 1934 and a prominent soap-flake manufacturing family, while Philip gets into the nitty gritty of the course canvas using scientific techniques. But there’s a colourful legal twist in their quest for answers — if it turns out to be genuine, the vendor may be able to claim it back. Has Glyn been painted into a corner?
Speaking about this episode Philip reveals: "Glyn bought online - lying on his bed on one Sunday! - what he hopes is a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds... and this takes us on the most fantastic voyage into the past, looking at the techniques of Joshua Reynolds, who's a really complex painter.
"It's a really gripping one!"
Fake or Fortune season 11 — episode 3 (8 pm, BBC One, Tuesday, October 10 2023)
In this episode Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould head to France on the trail of two great Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, Camille Pissarro, and his friend and protégé, Paul Cézanne.
Fiona travels to the stunning Provençal landscape on the trail of a simple yet striking watercolour, owned by Dominique Rogers. Dominique is the great-great niece of Anthony Valabrègue, a poet, art critic and friend of Cézanne who painted him several times. Dominique believes the painting was a direct gift from Cézanne, passed on by Valabrègue’s widow to her father in the 1920s. Dominique isn't overly enamoured with the sketch, but will it find a place in her heart if it turns out to be authentic?
Meanwhile Philip travels to Pontoise in northern France, where Pissarro set up home. There he meets Zana Glaser, who inherited a drawing depicting a group of cabbage sellers from her father, Tom. It was accepted that the outline of the drawing and signature were by Pissarro, but when Tom tried to sell the drawing at auction in 2012 it was rejected by the Pissarro committee who felt it had been coloured by another hand. Zana turns to the Fake or Fortune team for help. Can science prove that the outline and colouring were done at the same time?
"This programme is delightful. I have a drawing, which I think is by Camille Pissarro, which is owned by a woman who lives in Margate, who inherited it from her father. He bought it as a real Pissarro drawing and then was later told that it was a fake — or rather, that someone else had coloured it in, you know, like a childlike colouring with crayons," explains Philip.
"Fiona has got a Paul Cézanne drawing. So we both go off to France with our respective owners. Fiona ends up in a rather beautiful area of France, but I end up in a cabbage patch, because that's being being portrayed in the picture!"
If the Pissarro is genuine, it may be worth as much as £50,000. If not, its value is probably no more than £1,000. And if the Cézanne is authenticated, it could be worth a massive £100,000, as the artist’s work has never been more popular. If not, it’s worth virtually nothing. Can the team gather enough evidence to persuade the relevant authorities? All will be revealed...
Fake or Fortune season 11 — episode 4 (8 pm, BBC One, Tuesday, October 17 2023)
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould take on the final and most challenging investigation of this Fake or Fortune series, with literally millions at stake!
Liza Dunluce owns a mysterious artwork that she believes could be by abstract expressionist Arshile Gorky, whose works fetch a fortune at auction. But there’s a problem — the canvas is covered in white household paint!
"Not many people have come across Gorky in Britain but he’s a legend in America and his paintings have made millions," says art expert Philip.
"The owner, Liza, her husband was a renowned art conservator and was given the painting over 50 years ago by Gorky’s widow, who said, ‘I can’t get this off!’
"We think it may have been whitewashed over by Gorky himself."
Dates on the back of the canvas suggest it was painted between 1928 and 1931. But the mission to get the paint off and reveal the potential masterpiece underneath takes Philip all over America!
Fiona’s research also reveals a lost Gorky from the 1930s, which could be Liza’s hidden artwork.
However, events take a bizarre turn when the Gorky family examine the painting and raise a challenging question – should the white paint layer be removed at all?
"All the time in the background there are all the issues involved with authentication," says Philip. "It’s quite a complex programme!"
Fake or Fortune? — Do the experts always get it right?
After Philip and Fiona’s painstaking journey gathering research and evidence, their findings are put to a team of experts who determine whether the pieces featured in each episode are fakes or worth a fortune.
But they don’t always get it right!
“Genuine things do slip through the net and it makes me incandescent because you’ve worked on this and really developed your case. It’s an art historical miscarriage of justice!” says Philip.
“It happened with a painting by Winston Churchill. We proved every single aspect of it, yet the experts still turned it down. But we rectified that, because two years later we found a photograph of Winston Churchill standing in front of the painting at Chartwell — it was an absolute ‘gotcha!’”
Whatever the results, however, he and Fiona must deliver the experts’ verdict to the owner of the art piece in question, providing one of the most tense moments in the show…
“You never know how it’s going to go because the decision is made by others,” explains Philip. “I hate that end bit, particularly if I think it's going to be bad news — I prefer Fiona to deliver it!”
Fake or Fortune? season 11 presenters
Fake of Fortune? stars Philip Mould (Antiques Roadshow, The Drug of Art) and Fiona Bruce (Crimewatch UK, BBC News, Question Time) have been working together on the series since its debut in 2011 and have become friends over the years.
“On Fake or Fortune? I happen to be presenting next to a master of the trade, so Fiona has taught me a trick or two,” smiles Philip.
“We got to know each other while doing Antiques Show and this was the lead up into Fame or Fortune?
“We have a pronounced friendship. We've travelled all over the place and worked on so many cases together, it does feel very much like a partnership. I think it’s fair to say that some of our best conversations are when she gives me insights into the world of hard news, and I exchange them for my reflections on the art world. We sort of give each other that, really.
“Another great pleasure of doing the programme is people will come up to you, almost as if you’re a priest and say ‘I’ve got a painting… it needs the blessing of an expert.’ Conversations, rather than being banal, become quite intense, which is great! I think it’s because the programme is complex, and scholarly, but is also a jeopardy, detective show."
Will there be a Fake or Fortune? season 12?
Yes!
While speaking to What To Watch Philip revealed that plans for a new series are in the works.
“I don’t know whether it's been announced yet, but at the end of each programme in this series there will be a shout-out that I'm now looking around for things for the next series.
“I'm very struck by our ability to survive the vagaries of television over the last 11 or 12 years. It's now become so much part of life for me that I can't really imagine it without.”
