Darras Hall art dealer's treasures to fetch a fortune

Now, the spotlight is on his own antique collection, as 178 of his precious possessions go under the hammer.

The haul of Victorian items is thought to be worth a total of between £170,000 and £264,000, and includes pictures, furniture, sculptures and porcelain.

The prize piece up for grabs is a charcoal portrait by Newcastle artist Ralph Hedley, which depicts the Victorian artist Agnes Pringle.

Hedley, who is known for his depictions of everyday life in the North East, is most famous for his picture called Going Home, featuring two miners.

Mr Wood's sought-after portrait is expected to make waves in the art world and fetch large bids.

Mr Wood's collection also boasts an oil painting of Northumberland's Farne Islands with Bamburgh Castle in the distance, by Thomas Joseph Banks. It is expected to be sold for up to £3,000.

One of the most unusual pieces is a Victorian walnut harmonium which featured in The Addams Family movie, and is expected to fetch up to £500.

The sale comes two years after hundreds of Mr Wood's antiques were auctioned for more than £1.3m.

It is taking place on Sunday at Christie's in London, where Mr Wood started his career as a trainee art expert in 1963. The dealer went on to become a successful art dealer in London's West End and published the Dictionary of Victorian Painters in 1971, followed by a dozen other books.

The passionate collector also acted for Tyne & Wear Museums during The Journal's campaign seven years ago to bring The Blaydon Races painting by Tyneside artist William Irving back to the region.

The painting had spent all of its 99 years in the region and Christopher successfully bid for the work against stiff competition to take it back to the Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead.

In the last sale of his antiques two years ago, Christie's hit a world record price for a work on paper by artist John Waterhouse of £72,000, and records for paintings by William Garden (£60,000), Benjamin Spiers (£38,400), Jessie Gorst (£28,800) and Herbert Draper (£28,800).

Christopher was hired by the BBC in 1999 and remained on the Antiques Roadshow for five years. Mr Wood was twice married, firstly to Sarah Drummond in 1967, author of The Good Schools Guide, and they had two sons and a daughter.

The marriage ended in divorce in 1995 and in 2004 he married Rosemary Bingham, who supported him through his battle with cancer.