Bargain Hunt's Natasha Raskin Sharp shares link to former US president

Bargain Hunt is back on BBC One with auctioneer Natasha Raskin Sharp in charge of proceedings. The Scottish antiques expert has been a staple of the show for many years but there is a lot fans may not know about her.

She said one of her most treasured possessions was a letter of reference from none other than former US president, Barack Obama. In 2007 she had been working in New Hampshire on the Democrat campaign to take back control of the White House.

Natasha was able to meet Obama and she received some glowing words from him, which she would then use to get other work. Speaking to the Sunday Post she counted herself "so lucky" to be in the right place at the right time.

She said: "I was only there for three months, and he came to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, when I happened to be there. I was so lucky, if you think of the number of states in America, and the number of campaign offices across the whole country which Barack Obama would have visited during that campaign.

"He was asked to sign a letterheaded paper when he was there, and it happened to come through the printer with a very generic reference for me."

Natasha said the former president and his wife Michelle Obama would make "fantastic Bargain Hunt contestants".

"They'd be hard to beat," she added. "I don't know if I'd put them up against the Bidens or go for a Republican opponent. They'd have to be the blue team, of course."

The auctioneer was promoted from antiques expert to presenter on Bargain Hunt in 2015 and she is still surprised by her popularity.

"It took me a few years to properly relax," she revealed. "The fact that I even get called a daytime presenter is hilarious to me."

She was taken aback and "completely astonished" when she got the role, saying she never imagined she would get it.

Away from the show, she also presents her own late-night music show on BBC Radio Scotland.

a producer of Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.

Bargain Hunt airs on BBC One on weekdays at 12.15pm