Drew Pritchard

The Salvage Hunter, whose memoir is out now, talks about his love of antiques and his life in the trade...

What sparked your interest in antiques? For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by objects that looked, for want of a better expression, 'worn out'. I was excited about the possibility of buying them and fixing them. My father was a sign writer, and the antiques dealers coming down the drive to have their vans and shop signs written always looked interesting to me.

Now, all these years later, some of those dealers have become friends, and I now trade with them. I started as a restorer on the Youth Training Scheme and, on my first day, a van pulled up that said 'Architectural Antiques'. When we opened the back, it was full of stained-glass windows, doors, door handles, carved timber and fireplaces. I instantly knew this was the world I wanted to be part of, and the way in was to become a restorer.