Man with a Van: My Story

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Hailed a “junkyard genius”, he had the Midas touch when it came to finding treasures in other people’s scrap. The boy who left Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy at 16 with no qualifications, is now a respected international dealer in fine antiques, art and furniture. Clients include Ralph Lauren and the chef Marco Pierre White, reports North Wales Live.

In the past year Pritchard, the star of Salvage Hunters – 22 million viewers in around 52 countries – has slimmed down his business model. Everything else goes out the window,” says Pritchard, who has one grown-up son who tends to avoid the limelight, before swiftly adding: “Children come first – and then antiques.” We have been trained to buy new but don’t be afraid of buying old. Break the cycle by buying something with soul. There is a story attached to it and you can find someone to restore it and the love affair starts.” I love the fact that it impinges on every aspect of my world. I want it to. I want it to soak into my bones. I like that. It’s a brilliant life, but you’d better be ready to work your a--- off. The work never stops.”Pritchard lovingly restored the building, getting everything from the panelling, to the lighting and the music perfect, but now it’s gone. Sold to a local businessman who offered him a price he couldn’t refuse. “Everything is always for sale” is another piece of antique-dealer wisdom. Drew Pritchard set himself up as a dealer when he was a teenager, rooting around in scrapyards, working out of a shed and getting about in a ropy old Transit. Now he's a leading figure in the antiques trade with an international online business, and he's hugely popular presenter of hit TV show Salvage Hunters. But he's still as driven by the thrill of the find as he was forty years ago. Speaking to the Telegraph Drew said: "I’ve had a blip in the middle where everything just got too much for me, which I’m over now and working on. I’ve started again from scratch. I’ve completely binned my old life and started afresh."

Drew Pritchard is showing me around his antique dealer’s office on Zoom. “Brace yourself,” he says, flashing the camera over his shoulder to reveal the blanket-strewn boot of his Volvo estate. He had spotted the home two years earlier but at that point it was too expensive for him. But the agent flagged it with him last year after the price was reduced. Reading and soaking up knowledge is what makes a good dealer. That, and letting it impinge on every aspect of your world.He posted on social media: "Apparently nothing is a challenge for me and I always manage jobs without a problem where as if you are not that good it makes for better TV."