James Rylands' formidable knowledge of antiques, social history and contemporary culture have led him to corner the market in his field, appearing regularly as an expert presenter on a number of programmes including Cash in the Attic, Cash in the Celebrity Attic, Sun Sea & Bargain Spotting and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is for BBC1; Feather Your Nest with Linda Robson; Car Booty; three series of BBC's The Great Antiques Hunt with Jilly Goulden; Going for a Song with Michael Parkinson and Anne Robinson; the Antiques Show and the Antiques Roadshow.
James joined Sotheby's as a graduate cataloguer in 1979. In 1986 he was responsible for setting up the Garden Statuary department in Sotheby's Sussex and has been involved with them ever since, both as a Director of Sotheby's and subsequently as a Consultant. James qualified as a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and has co-written a book on garden ornaments for Thames and Hudson. He has now set up his own auction house, Summers Place Auctions, dealing in garden statuary and fossil decoration.
With a keen interest in history, James has also written and presented a pilot programme on Robert Adam's architectural masterpiece Syon Park, as part of the Historic Houses of Great Britain project. He is also an experienced chartered surveyor and a connoisseur of fine wines.
James has appeared on Ready Steady Cook with Sun Sea & Bargain Spotting co-host Angela Rippon. Other appearances include Good Driver for the BBC with Nick Ross and Executive Lifestyles for Channel 4.
James is a seasoned traveller and scuba diver and recently assisted Greg Stone with underwater filming on historic wrecks in Bermuda for National Geographic. Much in demand as a charity auctioneer, James has travelled as far afield as Canada and Bermuda to raise money for worthy causes.
- Cash in the Celebrity Attic - BBC2
- Cash in the Attic - BBC1
- Sun Sea & Bargain Spotting - BBC1
- Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - BBC1
- Car Booty - BBC1
- Feather Your Nest - BBC2
- Ready Steady Cook - BBC2
- Antiques Roadshow - BBC1
- Antiques Show - BBC1
- Executive Lifestyles - Channel 4
- Going for a Song - BBC1
- Good Driver - BBC1
- National Geographic
- The Great Antiques Hunt - BBC1