Irita Marriott

Irita Marriott is best known for her presenting roles on BBC1’s Antiques Road Trip, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, and Bargain Hunt, as well as Channel 4’s The Greatest Auction. Her love for antiques is extremely evident, between her regular TV appearances as an antiques dealer and the recent launch of her own antique shop, Irita Marriott Antiques and auction house, Auctioneers & Valuers in Melbourne, Derbyshire. One of only few women in the UK to own an auction house, her passion shines through, combined with that for television and working in front of the camera. As a speaker, Irita aims to encourage others to try their hand at antique dealing and to follow in her footsteps.

No stranger to throwing herself in the deep-end, Irita’s early career took her from her homeland of Latvia, living on a self-sufficient country farm, to the Big Apple, knowing hardly any English and applying for an au pair job. Three months later, she could speak and understand everything around her. After two years, she visited her family back home, with the intention of returning to the USA – but life had other plans.

At just 20-years-old, Irita found herself on a bus to England, and she never looked back. Starting as a temporary Christmas staff member at a garden centre, she quickly worked her way up to running the department. Here, she became a buyer, which has come in very useful for her current work. After meeting her husband, Irita moved to Derbyshire, where she discovered her desire for a career in antiques, despite never having knowingly handled an antique before.

To deepen her understanding of the business, Irita took on a part-time role at a local auction house as a salesroom assistant, working with a large range of antiques and learning on the job. She stayed there for seven years, whilst also dealing independently, which began with a few car boot sales and small antiques fairs, but she soon wanted to grow her audience, taking her purchases and sales to international fairs and building a client portfolio across the globe.

Most recently, in 2024, Irita brought her own series, The Derbyshire Auction House to Really TV, and she is ambitious to do more television in the future. With her inspiring story and enthusiastic delivery, you won’t want to miss hiring Irita as a motivational speaker or to host your corporate auction event.