Roo Irvine didn’t dream of a TV career. She owned a modest antiques store in a Scottish village when an unwelcome film crew knocked on the door. Since 2015, when Antiques Road Trip producers turned up at her shop, and a few years later on daytime BBC, the 46-year-old has gone from shopkeeper to TV star.
She’s currently the presenter of Bargain Hunt, which still airs new episodes today, as recently as the summer of 2023. If you’ve ever asked how a former marketing executive became an antiques buyer and valuator on a major daytime show, the story starts with a family tragedy and a leap of faith.
Who is Roo Irvine?
Her real name is Arusha Irvine, but she is known as a TV presenter and antiques dealer in Scotland, and her nickname is “Roo”. She is the owner of Kilcreggan Antiques. She is originally from Kilcreggan Village in Argyll and Bute. The shop is centre-stage in her tales. She continues to operate it, as she did in her past life, for her own filming convenience, with her husband, Mark, when time permits. The shop has made appearances in her television work, and it’s why her on-screen advice sounds more like a trader than a television presenter.
From corporate jobs to antiques
Before the antiques, both Roo and Mark worked in marketing, Roo Irvine told the BBC in an interview. The switch happened in 2013. “The shop just fell onto us – (bad) luck that my dad died very suddenly, and unexpectedly, in 2013,” she said. “I’ve been talking about this on another podcast… about how we’d lost both our dads and my father-in-law and that kind of stuff had really made us question how we were living.”
It wasn’t as if two enthusiasts had finally put their passion into practice. ‘We didn’t really come into the antiques trade,’ said Roo, ‘until we attended auctions, in an attempt to find some furniture for our house, and our first exposure to antiques was with objects that were 200 to 300 years old.’ It was curiosity that led to the business.
How the TV break happened
The timing is slightly peculiar. In 2015, the makers of Antiques Road Trip came to film at Roo Irvine’s shop, and from there the introduction to the Restorer has been a lengthy one. She’s revealed that she had a series of meetings, of course, sitting in on shoots and doing screen tests and research before a label was eventually attached to her and she was “in”. While there have been some conflicting reports over when she first appeared as a regular expert on the series, by 2018 she was in a team with David Harper, Phil Serrell and Christina Trevanion.
Things escalated rapidly… By 2018, she was hitching up with James Braxton and steering a ’66 Mustang from Northumberland to Edinburgh in the snow, and she’d competed in the first series of Flipping Profit. She was also paired with Paralympic gold-medallist Danny Crates on the celebrity version of the show and was hired as a valuer by auctioneer Hansons.
Roo Irvine on Bargain Hunt
The most significant move was in June 2022. Roo Irvine was revealed to be one of the latest Bargain Hunt presenters, with her first episode of the series aired on Monday 13 June from a fair in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. Joining four other presenters in the line-up: Danny Sebastian, Caroline Hawley – all of whom were previously on the show as specialists.
Her own bright take on the job was cheerfully honest. She told audiences that she was enjoying every moment, called the programme a big family, and joked that her only downside was early mornings – for someone who isn’t a morning person. Such a balance of enthusiasm and self-deprecating wit is what’s endeared her to viewers.
Her continued appearances remain. Listings for the 2026 series list her skippering one of the teams in the first show to kick off the new run, and presenting another pairing in Herefordshire. Nor has she departed from Antiques Road Trip. In a November 2024 instalment, she and Mark Hill wrapped up their shopping in Scotland, with Roo taking her home patch.
Beyond television
The TV work is only part of her public profile. A few things stand out:
- Writing. She writes a monthly antiques feature for a local Scottish publication.
- Management. In 2020, she signed with the celebrity management agency Limelight, around the time her shop was planning to double in size.
- Radio and stage. Around then, she made her first appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Moneybox and spoke on stage for the first time at a theatre in Pickering, Yorkshire.
- Radio Roo. During lockdown, she ran social posts under the name Radio Roo, picking music that meant something to her and inviting others to send in their own tracks, and used the music to fuel a charity hooping challenge.
Her sense of humour tends to come through in places like this, and it’s a big reason people follow her beyond the shows.
Life at home
Roo Irvine tends to keep her love life fairly private. She wed her husband Mark in 2012; Mark is said to be an Argyll and Bute Independent Councillor. She wrote a lovely message to him on social media on their ninth wedding anniversary. The pair do not have children and previously shared a home with cats.
Those cats really are a part of her public persona. She revealed in a magazine interview that she can’t wait to return home to her cats after she finishes filming. She’s also been an ambassador for the animal welfare charity Blue Cross. Off screen, she has described her simplest pleasure as “a good book and my cats at my side” and has said that her dream celebrity to accompany her on the Road Trip would be Bruce Springsteen.
What we can and can’t say
Some of these remain popular but are not verified. Different websites claim different years for the birth of the YouTuber but also different net worths for her, with no sources mentioned for either figure. Due to this lack of verification by reputable media sources, the information is not included in this article. A detailed biography page simply lists a net worth estimate for her, who also operates a small shop and makes television appearances.
Why people keep searching for Roo Irvine
Some of it is the story. She’s gone from an office job to a village shop to a nationwide audience and had no masterplan. Some of it is how she is: colourful, quick to laugh and not claiming to have all the answers. And some of it is that daytime TV has a core audience who like to get a glimpse of the person behind the experts. Roo Irvine provides that in spades, from a Scottish antiques counter to the Bargain Hunt rota.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
What is her full name?
Arusha Irvine used Roo as her professional name. She is known as Roo on Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt, and this is the name most people would recognise her by. Although she uses Roo Irvine for most of her interviews and when listing the shows, the name Arusha is typically used in biography articles.
What TV shows is Roo Irvine on?
She’s a regular on Antiques Road Trip and the celebrity version of it. On Bargain Hunt, she’s been a presenter since June 2022, and she’s been on Flipping Profit. She is not just on the usual BBC programmes; you may have seen her on radio and live talking engagements. Rotas vary, so have a look at the latest broadcasting schedule for appearances.
What does Roo Irvine do now?
She owns an antiques shop. Roo irvine and her husband, Mark, operate Kilcreggan Antiques in Kilcreggan, Argyll and Bute. This is where producers of the Antiques Road Trip first came across her in 2015, and she was considering taking on the next-door unit as well in 2020.
Who is Roo Irvine married to?
Roo has been married to Mark Irvine since 2012. Apparently, he is an Independent Councillor in Argyll and Bute, and they have both previously been in a marketing profession. The couple keeps their personal life to themselves but sometimes uses the media to share news about their relationship.
How did Roo Irvine enter antiques?
Ms Irvine and her husband discovered antiques through auction while they were building their house, then set up Kilcreggan Antiques following the death of her father in 2013. The BBC visited the shop, and after “a protracted audition”, she was selected to star on the television show Antiques Road Trip. It was not a lifetime ambition.
