UP to 2,000 people are expected to discover the value of their treasured belongings as the Antiques Roadshow rolls into Oxford tomorrow.

Hertford College, in Catte Street, will play host to the BBC cameras and 22 expert valuers who will sift through hundreds of potentially valuable heirlooms.

Researcher Olwen Gillespie said the programme was looking forward to its first visit to the city in a decade after previous episodes in Christ Church in 1997, Witney in 2001 and Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, in 1994.

She said: "We are very happy to be coming back to Oxford, which is such a stunning backdrop for us.

"We will be filming partly indoors and outside in the quad so hopefully it will stay dry. If not, we have huge canopies we can set up and carry on filming.

"Last week we were at the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the forecast was terrible, but it turned out to be a glorious day, so I'm hoping the same will be true in Oxford.

"Our normal attendance is about 1,500 or 2,000, and, although we know parking is a problem in Oxford, we hope lots of people will use the park-and-ride service and come and join us."

Mrs Gillespie said a number of Oxfordshire residents had already contacted the show with items too big to view on the day.

She said: "We have had a number of people write to us and our experts went out to look at items last weekend. Among them was a very nice spinning wheel."

Overseeing tomorrow's proceedings will be new presenter Fiona Bruce who studied French and Italian at Hertford College in the 1980s.

The former Crimewatch UK presenter, who will meet one of her former tutors as part of the day's filming, said: "It will feel weird going back to Hertford College as a person with a job rather than a student. Hopefully I will be able to show my tutors that I didn't turn out too badly after all."

Speaking about replacing Michael Aspel for Antiques Roadshow's 31st series, she added: "Exploring the human story behind every object is what makes Antiques Roadshow so fascinating.

"And everyone loves the agony and ecstasy of the 'what's it worth?' moment. The show is not just about antiques, it is history, beauty and drama all wrapped up in one."

Anyone looking have their antiques examined can join the queue on the day, which begins at 9.30am and ends at 4.30pm.

Among the experts casting an eye over the items will be Eric Knowles, Hilary Kaye, Daniel Battie and Paul Atterbury.

The episode is set to air on BBC 1 in November.