Fake or Fortune
This one made me cry
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
a random episode of the series
AT Windsor Castle
Elegant and Charming
I think Fiona Bruce is the woman Princess Diana could have been had she had the self confidence and maturity.
Always cool and elegant, Fiona occasionally surprises when she drops her British aplomb and shows the parts of her that are compassionate, warm and witty.
She speaks French and Italian fluently and (I believe) takes herself and her image very seriously-it seems some of her co-hosts (like art expert Phillip Mould) love to shoot little darts in her direction to see if they can crack the always cool and well polished exterior.
In some ways she reminds me of Barbara Walters-another international class presenter who is always prepared, well groomed, cool and elegant-she has made a career of it.
I suspect that Fiona is more approachable-but perhaps not-I have been told by British friends she is not all that she seems to be when away from the cameras.
Above all I find her easy to understand and follow=I especially like it when she becomes a fully formed woman and displays her deep layers of caring (as she does in the Fake or Fortune episode above).
Her competence in her field is undoubted since she is the first female news reader on BBC's news.
Meanwhile she is the married Mother of 2 and has caused minor eyebrow raising with tales of her arranging police escorts to get to work on time and departing from the script on occasion: reading some spicy adult signs over the airways (allegedly).
I have never seen her disarranged or without perfect hair even on a breezy day outside a castle for the "ROADSHOW" and the idea she might use anything short of lady like language, to me, is unthinkable.
I wish we had a few "Fionas" of our own here in the states-I hear TV and Radio presenters and "personalities" sink more and more into the knowing wink and overly familiar insinuating tone.
Radio especially has become a challenge match between men and women to see who can push the boundaries of good taste - not fair of me I suppose-I always expect women to take the higher road and when I have full fleshed proof such as Fiona Bruce and some others on the BBC my standards push higher in the expectations column.
Dr Lucy Worsley (Curator and presenter-see sample HERE) is another BBC stalwart that I much enjoy but she is no Fiona Bruce.
I can't imagine Fiona slogging through a muddy yard dressed as a scullery maid and talking about chamber pots as Lucy has been known to do.
But at the same time, while I find Fiona easy to imagine in shows about the Arts and culture-I also cannot imagine her doing a red carpet for the BAFTAs or a fluff piece in the history of fashion in the UK---even a biopic on Phillip Treacy and his hats to the royals (IMHO) is something that would bore Fiona.
I like her, I would love to be able to have lunch with her and I imagine a stroll through Harrod's with her would be delightful.
