Inside the life of Bargain Hunt's Jonathan Pratt from family to quiet home

Bargain Hunt: Expert 'looks away' after huge loss

TV expert Jonathan Pratt is best known for his in-depth antique knowledge on not only Bargain Hunt, but its sister shows Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip.

The 52-year-old made a name for himself in the antiques trade from an early age and specialises in jewellery, watches, English furniture and Persian carpets.

His passion for antiques and charming personality saw him invited to join Bargain Hunt in 2008 and later join other BBC shows as an expert helping teams spot a bargain that could be flipped for profit.

When he's not valuing items on TV and in auction houses, he enjoys a quiet life in his 16th-century home in Hampshire and even takes part in some acting at the local theatre group.

This is what we know about the life of Bargain Hunt's Jonathan Pratt including his career, marriage and his quiet home life.

Early life and career of Jonathan Pratt

Jonathan Pratt is best recognised for starring on Flog It!, Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip. (Image: BBC)

From an early age, Jonathan wanted to become an antiques dealer and his favourite show was Ian McShane's series Lovejoy.

The series saw antiques dealer McShane find genuine antiques and separate authentic items from the fakes, with Jonathan remarking: "Ian McShane played the loveable antiques dealer and I found it fascinating how Lovejoy understood objects. It was as if they were speaking to him in a language that I didn’t understand."

After completing his A-levels, he joined the antiques trade and studied for a diploma in Fine Art and Chattels Valuation, later studying Gemmology and learning to value and catalogue jewellery.

With his growing expertise and experience, Jonathan later became a managing director at Dreweatts and 12 years as managing director at Bellmans.

He caught the eye of the BBC and joined Bargain Hunt in 2008 and he later appeared on The Antiques Road Trip and Flog It!

He recalled a chance encounter with then-Bargain Hunt host Tim Wonnacott who encouraged him to join the BBC daytime show.

He said: "Back in 2007 I was at a friend’s wedding, where I ran into Tim Wonnacott. I’d worked with Tim at Sotheby’s, and he said to me, in his distinctive voice: 'Tell me, JP: would you stoop so low as to go on Bargain Hunt?'

"The rest is history."

Jonathan Pratt joined Dawsons Auctioneers as managing director in May 2024, an auction house that provides "professional, discrete current market valuation and sales advice for Fine Jewellery, Watches, Fine & Contemporary Art, Antiques, and family heirlooms".

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Jonathan Pratt has been on Bargain Hunt since 2008 (Image: BBC) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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Jonathan Pratt is currently married to Claire and they have four children together. Jonathan met his wife while working at Sotheby's and he was called to do an evaluation of some items.

He told Hampshire Chronicle: "She was working for a shipping company that went into administration and called in Sotheby's to do the contents valuation as there was a great collection of antiques and marine art.

"Within two months we were holidaying together, we were engaged by Christmas and married the following April."

At the moment, they live in West Meon in Hampshire with their three children. Their oldest child is at university.

Jonathan Pratt keeps his private life off social media, but he once shared rare photos of his family visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum

Inside Jonathan Pratt's quiet home life

Jonathan currently lives in a listed 16th-century house in the Hampshire village of West Meon with his wife and three youngest children.

The family moved back into West Meon in the Meon Valley after they lived a few years in nearby Petersfield.

Jonathan told Hampshire Chronicle about his life in the rural area: "There are many reasons why I love this village.

"You can walk a mile from our house to Winchester Hill and from there you can see as far as the Isle of Wight. In my 30s, I used to go walking up there a lot in the early mornings with my dog and one of my children in a carrier, so it has lots of memories for me and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else."

Jonathan previously shared that his hobbies included "Gardening, taxi driving the children, answering emails!" as well as looking after his three dogs and walking around rural Hampshire.

He has also joined the local theatre group and played a role in a musical version of Toad of Toad Hall, World War II play Welcome Home, Captain Fox and will appear in Kiss Me, Kate at the Theatre Royal, Winchester as Ralph the Stage Manager.

Inside the life of Bargain Hunt's Jonathan Pratt from family to quiet home

Inside the life of Bargain Hunt's Jonathan Pratt from family to quiet home

Inside the life of Bargain Hunt's Jonathan Pratt from family to quiet home

Inside the life of Bargain Hunt's Jonathan Pratt from family to quiet home

Inside the life of Bargain Hunt's Jonathan Pratt from family to quiet home