Mr Tilney regaled an audience of nearly 100 local farmers with tales of his experiences filming the show, all delivered in his trademark irreverent and direct style.
Revealing that he had first been recruited in 2007 by the BBC as an armourer, responsible for ensuring the safety of weapons brought along by members of the public, he explained that he ended up in front of the camera after he took it upon himself to set up a second expert’s table to tackle the large queues of people waiting to consult with the show’s then weapons expert.
Nearly two decades later, he is now one of the show’s most recognisable experts, famous for his outspoken wit, his magnificent moustache, and his colourful trousers, which he insisted were not pink but ‘coral’.
He entertained the meeting with many anecdotes of his time on the show, including when he told an expectant owner of a First World War Vickers machine gun that it was worthless because its deactivation certificate was not valid, and another time when he was able to delight the owner of a Colt pistol with a valuation of £150,000.
Mr Tilney, who is a Master Gunsmith and a Law Society Expert Witness on Firearms and Ballistics, runs a traditional gunsmiths in Beccles which was established by his great-grandfather in 1860. After leaving school, he was apprenticed under his father, and now specialises in the sale, repair and restoration of both modern and antique firearms.
He is an avid country sportsman, running a family shoot using both modern and antique weapons.
Lovewell Blake agricultural partner Ryan Lincoln, who chaired the event, added: “With so much gloom and doom recently in farming, it was a real tonic to spend an hour simply being entertained by one of the most witty countrymen in our region.
“The huge turnout for this Farmers’ Evening is testament to just how popular Robert is, and how much of a British institution Antiques Roadshow has become.”
The Lovewell Blake/NFU Farmers’ Evenings take place across the year at Halesworth Golf club. The next event will be on 6th May, with details announced in the next few weeks at www.lovewell-blake.co.uk/events.