James Braxton, much-loved face of Antiques Road Trip, has revealed that he turned to cosy crime writing after a theft from his garden.
He was appearing at Wigtown Book Festival to talk about Barty – A Tale of Stolen Bronze, which he said: “My wife describes my book as a mixture of Lovejoy and PG Wodehouse, with quite a lot of Keith Floyd poured in!
“It’s very gentle. It’s a story of friendship. It’s cozy crime, with no sharp knives, no lead piping, it’s all very gentle.”
The hugely popular antiques expert can currently be seen on BBC iplayer in the 29th series of the ever-popular show.
Explaining what started him writing James said: “It was accidental really, we had a statue pinched from our garden. Our daughter, Amelia came down for the weekend after its retrieval and said that “the story is so unbelievable you must write about it” and that was the push I needed.”
The festival also welcomed Dr Watson to Scotland’s National Book Town where he picked up a copy of Hound of the Baskervilles from The Open Book.
Each year the festival teams up with The Swallow Theatre, near Whithorn – Scotland’s smallest theatre.
This year the Swallow presented Tim Marriott (one of the stars of the Brittas Empire) in Watson: The Final Problem in which Sherlock Holmes’ faithful assistant sets the record straight about the great detective’s plunge to apparent death down a waterfall.
-Ends-
Notes
- The Anne Brown Essay Prize for Scotland is jointly organised by Wigtown Book Festival and the Herald.
- This year’s Wigtown Book Festival has more than 250 events and takes place from 27 September to 6 October. See
- Donations to support the work of WFC are welcome.
- For more about Wigtown Book Festival see www.wigtownbookfestival.com
About EventScotland
EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events by securing and supporting an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events. It provides funding opportunities and access to resources and information to develop the industry.
EventScotland is a team within VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, the national tourism organisation, alongside Business Events and Development teams. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.eventscotland.org or follow Twitter @EventScotNews and follow us on LinkedIn.
About Creative Scotland
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. It enables people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. Creative Scotland distributes funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland.
For media information: Matthew Shelley at [email protected] or 07786 704299.
Wigtown Festival Company Ltd, 11 North Main Street, Wigtown, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, UK, DG8 9HN. Wigtown Festival Company Ltd is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. Scottish Charity No. SCO3798