The Greatest Auction’s narrator has taken many trips to Downton Abbey Tue 9 May 2023 20:00 Celine Byford

The Greatest Auction narrator most definitely has a familiar voice as the Channel 4 show gains popularity. He reacts with a sharp voiceover to the millionaires, private collectors, and serious antique dealers making their bids…

Channel 4 has launched a brand new show, hosted by AJ Odudu. Although she’s leading the way as Banksy experts and even an Elton John pinball machine make appearances, there’s a voiceover that we all recognize.

Reality Titbit can reveal who is the narrator behind The Greatest Auction. Here’s one clue: You may well know them from Downton Abbey, the character who risks losing the family estate after his heirs die on the Titanic.

The Greatest Auction narrator

The Greatest Auction narrator is Hugh Bonneville, an English actor best known for starring on ITV’s Downton Abbey as Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham. The 59-year-old has been married to Lulu Williams since 1998.

He has one child, a son Felix, and lives in Paddington, London. He also appeared in the films Notting Hill in 1999, Iris in 2001, The Monuments Men in 2014, and the Paddington films from 2014 through to 2023.

Host AJ said: “It’s voiced by Hugh Bonneville. What an absolute treat and honor to have him!” It’s not Hugh Bonneville’s first voiceover as he narrated The Hidden Lives of Pets, Secrets of the Royal Gardens, and many others.

Get to know Hugh Bonneville

When Hugh began acting, he went by the stage name Richard Bonneville, a variation of his middle names, as there was a well-known playwright, Hugh Williams. After appearing as Richard Bonneville for ten years, he changed to Hugh.

Hugh’s first professional stage appearance was at the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park. In 1987, he joined the National Theatre where he appeared in several plays, then the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1991.

It wasn’t long before he had his first big TV moment. In 1994, Hugh made his television debut, billed as Richard Bonneville in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes episode The Dying Detective. And the rest is history!

Host of the Channel 4 show

AJ Odudu hosts The Greatest Auction. She has hosted Great British Bake Off Extra Slice, Don’t Rock The Boat, and The Voice, and had her own reality TV stints on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and Strictly Come Dancing.

Although she believes the auctioneers on the new show are “incredible,” as told to Channel 4, it’s put her off ever becoming one herself. “I’d just lose count of the bids! I think I’d get my numbers jumbled up,” admitted AJ.

But AJ admits that the show taught her not to be judgemental. She said: “One thing I learned is to never judge a book by its cover. You never know who’s going to stick their hands up to bid for a load of pickled fetuses.”

WATCH THE GREATEST AUCTION ON CHANNEL 4 EVERY TUESDAY AT 8 PM