BBC programme The Antiques Road Show has chosen Minehead as the first stop on this year’s 40th anniversary tour.

Around 2,000 people are expected to converge on Minehead railway station on May 17 bringing their treasured possessions for valuation by the team of experts.

“Everywhere we go there’s always chance of someone bringing in something special,” said a BBC spokesman.

Recent finds include a van Dyke portrait valued at £400,000 and a £750,000 Leica camera.

West Somerset Railway’s Minehead terminus will host the first of 11 valuation days. Other venues will include Castle Howard in Yorkshire and Queen Victoria’s home, Osborne, on the Isle,of Wight.

The programme, which attracts around four million viewers, will be broadcast later in the year and everyone filmed at Minehead will be notified of the transmission date and whether or not they have been included in the final programme.

WSR chairman John Irven said it was honoured to be the first stop on the programme’s 40th anniversary tour.