Tributes pour in for Antiques Roadshow director dubbed ‘best in a generation’

Tributes have poured for a ‘hugely talented’ director of two popular TV shows. Nicky Illis has tragically died at the age of 53. She was the director behind Antiques Roadshow and Fake or Fortune.

Emotional messages were shared by Fiona Bruce, who said Nicky was “simply irreplaceable” while Robert Murphy, series editor of Fake or Fortune, said Nicky was “one of the best TV directors” of her generation, reports DailyExpress.[1] Nicky had cancer, reports Broadcast Now, and directed a new episode of Fake or Fortune alongside presenters Fiona and Philip Mould, reports the publication, during a brief break from her cancer battle at the start of 2024. Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp[3], click the link to join

Nicky moved to London after studying at the University of Glasgow and began working on The Late Show in the 1990s. In the early part of her career, Nicki directing history strands including The House Detectives and One Foot In The Past. In an emotional tribute to her former colleague of many years, BBC[4] presenter Fiona Bruce shared: “Nicky is simply irreplaceable.

Not just for her huge talent but also for her sheer exuberance, enthusiasm and sense of fun. “Everyone on the team loved her and none more than me.” Others have flocked to social media to remember Nicky, including Directors UK who wrote: “We were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of factual director and our member Nicky Illis. “Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time.” Fake or Fortune series editor Robert Murphy also said of the director: “Nicky and I first worked together in 2001 on the BBC[5] series House Detectives, travelling to India to film the crumbling ruins of a house once occupied by Robert Clive.

“In the baking heat of Kolkata, I was privileged to see one of the best TV directors of their generation at work. Throughout her career, Nicky had an incredible drive and curiosity as well as visual flair – she always brought the best out of the cast and crew she worked with and inspired fierce loyalty in her teams.” He went on to say: “In 2012 we were reunited on the series Fake or Fortune and over the next decade we worked closely together as it grew into a hugely successful returning series.

We were partners in art crime, united by our shared love of art, storytelling and the twists and turns of this addictive show.” Robert went on to say Nicky was someone he “respected immensely” not just for her work but as a peer and “an all-round good person” who he described as “so kind and considerate, with a famous sense of humour”. He concluded in a statement: “I can picture her coming into the office, coffee in one robehand, a bag slung over her arm bulging with art books, ready to solve another mystery.

“It’s quieter now and we’ve lost a precious font of knowledge, a trailblazer and a great friend. She will be very much missed.” Other projects on Nicky’s reel included the drama doc The Real Jane Austen, A Picture of Britain, David Dimbleby’s series on landscape and art, as well as its successor How We Built Britain.

The director began working on Antiques Roadshow following a move to Bristol in 2009. During her stint, she met executive producer Simon Shaw and art expert Philip. After gaining inspiration from the latter’s book Sleuth, she began to drive the development for Fake or Fortune which first aired in 2011.

Nicky is survived by her husband Seb and their children Luke and Eliza.

References

1. ^ reports DailyExpress. (www.express.co.uk)
2. ^ Life patrolling the West Midlands’ motorways where you never know what to expect (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
3. ^ BirminghamLive WhatsApp (chat.whatsapp.com)
4. ^ BBC (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
5. ^ BBC (BBC)