TV veteran Michael Aspel admits before his final Roadshow: I don’t collect antiques - they only get burgled

But as he gets ready for his final appearance on Antiques Roadshow, the veteran presenter has revealed how a succession of burglaries have destroyed his love of collecting and he has bought nothing of value for the past 20 years.

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And it was partly his fault. "I had stated on a live television show that my wife and I were going to the coast for the weekend," he said.

"We came back to find that the house had been cleared of everything valuable."

Aspel lost hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of silver and artwork in the raid. And two years later he was burgled again.

"That time they even took the garden furniture. It made me very wary of ever collecting anything else," he said.

"I would really love to buy Art Deco pieces but it seems pointless to get attached to things only to have them stolen – though, of course, I have enjoyed seeing the extraordinary items people bring to our shows."

The 75-year-old makes his final appearance on Antiques Roadshow next Sunday before being replaced by newsreader and former Crimewatch presenter Fiona Bruce.

"I'm leaving while it's still going well," he said. "It's the show's 30th anniversary and also my 50th year in broadcasting, so it seemed like a very neat tie-up.

"It's the first time that I will have left a job without having another one to go to but it was absolutely my own idea. There was never any mention of me being too old for the series.

"Everyone tried to talk me out of it and there were times when I did seriously worry if I had done the right thing.

"But the truth is that after clocking up 200,000 miles and 200 shows, I've reached a point where it is getting harder to keep going.

"Travelling is the biggest problem and sleeping in less than comfortable hotel beds has not been good for my insomnia."

Despite being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2003, Aspel insists he is in good health and says he is not retiring.

"I've still got plenty of energy left and I'm hoping to keep working," he said.