The TV star was born in Wirral before kickstarting his career
Philip Mould started art dealing in his early teens(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)
Philip Mould has appeared on our TV screens for over a decade on the hit BBC show Fake or Fortune? But away from the cameras, Mould has racked up a whole host of success as an international art dealer, art historian, gallery owner and writer. The Wirral-born art specialist started art dealing in his early teens.
The 13th series of Fake or Fortune? returned to screens this summer, which sees the 65-year-old star aka the “art detective” investigate some remarkable stories beneath the surface of historic paintings, alongside his co-host Fiona Bruce.
Since the first series aired in 2011, Fake or Fortune? has drawn audiences of up to five million viewers in the UK. In 2016, it won Best Factual Programme at the RTS West of England Awards. The show was created by Philip Mould himself, together with the producer Simon Shaw, and it was inspired by Mould’s 2009 book Sleuth.
Off-screen, Philip Mould was born in the Wirral on March, 4 1960. Mould’s dad owned a printing factory in Liverpool and his family were based in the Wirral. He attended Kingsmead School before he went on to achieve a BA in History of Art from the University of East Anglia.
Speaking to Finito World magazine a few years ago, he described his upbringing as “strange.” Mould said: “Mine was a strange upbringing in some respects.
“We ended up in Wirral because my parents are southerners, but they moved north. My mother contracted polio, and my father had come out of the Marines; it was very difficult to have a disabled wife and travel the world.
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould on Fake or Fortune?(Image: BBC
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“He inherited from my step-grandfather the running of a printing works in Liverpool – and so rather like the beginnings of a sitcom this southern family relocated.”
Mould began art dealing in his early teens after making friends with the owner of a local antiques shop. He was dealing antique silver at just 14 years old. As the years went by, he created his own art dealership specialising in British art.
He has since sold works to public institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Tate.
He specialises particularly in art from the Tudor period to the 20th century. He runs a gallery specialising in this period and also acts as an art advisor to institutions like the Houses of Parliament.
Mould landed several major TV roles including as an expert on Antiques Roadshow as well as presenting the Channel 4 show Changing Faces.
In 2009, the TV star faced controversy when false allegations of infidelity were made against him. The allegations were planted in newspapers by a rival art dealer but after an investigation, the dealer resigned from his position in the Society of London Art Dealers.
Away from his career, Mould spends the majority of time at his house in the Cotswolds, a miniature manor called Duck End. He lives with his wife Catherine, and the couple have one son, who was born in 1997. Philip has allowed a number of TV shows to film in and around his stunning property, including Gardener’s World.
During the pandemic in 2020, Mould started recording his own series called Art in Isolation. He invited viewers into his home through a series of short video clips where he would talk about some of the artwork he had collected.
Fake or Fortune? airs at 9pm on BBC One on Monday