Antiques and new romantics... My Pierrot Dolls' Ivor Hillman on Bargain Hunt and another reunion show

The 64-year-old appears on BBC1’s Bargain Hunt, which airs on Friday, April 19, at 12.15pm.

Ivor has previously appeared on the likes of Come Dine With Me, Eggheads, The Question Jury and David Dickinson’s Name Your Price – leading one TV magazine to call him a “king of daytime”.

An appearance on Tipping Point was only thwarted because of Covid, while Ivor is still keen on cracking Countdown.

“It’s just attention-seeking,” he admits. “It’s the way I am.

“But it’s also because I’m not working during the day. I’ve always been a singer so it means I’ve got spare time during the day to watch these shows…and go on them.

“It’s hard to get on them, though. You have to make your application quirky to stand out, then they ring you for a chat, then you send a video in. It’s not as easy as people sometimes think.”

Ivor’s teammate on the show was Joe Sunday, from Mansfield-based music duo Radio Romantic, who have performed on the same bill in the past.

“We did the buying on one day and the auction stuff another day,” said Ivor. “The experts were brilliant, although we were having a laugh with them by doing the opposite of what they told us. We just wanted to be awkward.”

Meanwhile, 80s new romantics the Dolls are back together for another final show – their third in about 15 months.

After holding their own farewell gig at the Chantry Tap in March 2023, the band were convinced to do it once more for Slamfest last summer in aid of Rotherham Hospice.

Now they will be back at the Cutlers’ on Westgate in June – and a main reason is the support act slot before The Skids.

“They’re my all-time favourite band,” said Ivor. “I once saw them 23 times in a year. They recently did the Rebellion Festival in front of thousands of people, so it’s going to be amazing to have them in the marquee at the Cutlers’.”

Tickets for the show on Friday, June 7, are £25 from the venue or www.seetickets.com.