Antiques Roadshow expert ‘insults whole English county’ with ‘insensitive’ remark

Antiques Roadshow sees Britons from across the nation share their rare collectables to everyday items be valued by the show's knowledgeable experts. A previous episode saw Rupert Mass do just that in an on-screen blunder where the art dealer used the term "Shropshire ankle" - and managed to offend the entire female population of an English county. He made the remark during a 2008 episode of the BBC show from Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire.

It comes after he had been discussing The Girl In The Hammock by British artist Algernon Talmage, who was born in 1871 and died in 1939 and who usually specialised in landscapes. While describing the painting he suggested the woman in the artwork had a "Shropshire ankle" - meaning it was thick set. He suggested the expression might have originated in Shropshire due to the rural landscape and the type of footwear worn by women, particularly farmers' wives, in previous generations.

This suggestion sparked considerable debate and even outrage with many critics branding the comment "insensitive".

Many women from the area denied the connection between Shropshire and thick ankles.

At the time many women in the area dubbed Rupert's remark as "narrow-minded and outdated" and even accused of him of encouraging a "stereotypical" view of women from the area.

Rupert said at the time he couldn't recall where he had heard the phrase before.

"I did Google the term and I couldn't find much so I am at a loss as to where I heard it now," he told the Daily Mail.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure but I think it may have been in some writings by Evelyn Waugh. But it has certainly started a debate."

He added: "I have been in Shropshire many times and some of my best friends are from the area although I have to say I have never made a point of checking out women's ankles."

On the programme, Rupert said he had heard the term from his mother but she had no recollection of using the phrase.

To make amends, he visited Frankwell WI where the women said they would be wearing their nicest shoes and showing their ankles were trim.