PEMBROKE Castle returns to the small screen this evening, April 16, in the second broadcast as a venue for the much-loved BBC Antiques Roadshow.

The ever-popular Sunday evening programme, presented by Fiona Bruce; visited Pembroke Castle on September 7, in a free event.

Many of Britain’s leading antiques and fine arts specialists were on hand to offer free advice and valuations to visitors, who were invited to raid their attics and bring along their family heirlooms, household treasures and car-boot sale bargains for inspection by the experts.

Pembroke Castle hit the small screen last Sunday, April 9, in the first of two programmes to feature the iconic castle.

There’s some fascinating gems promised in the return visit, including a rare sapphire ring that changes colour in different light, Pope Pius XII's papal hat, and a collection of remarkable Anglo-Indian paintings.

The September event proved very popular with visitors to the castle, with Mayor Dennis Evans saying at the time: “It was an excellent day, the castle did an excellent job in getting the programme down there, and they’ve done a tremendous amount good for the town this summer.

“I’d like to think it did a great deal for the town, and obviously the weather helped.

“The people that were there throughout enjoyed the experience, and there must have been an overspill in to the town.

“It will be interesting to see how it comes out on TV when it is shown; that has to be a good spin-off for the town, with people saying: ‘that looks like a nice place’. I think everybody won on that day.

“It was an excellent day, and all credit to Jon Williams at Pembroke Castle and to the trustees for letting it go ahead.”

His views were echoed at the time by Jon Williams, general manager of Pembroke Castle: “We can’t wait to see how it looks on the show when it comes out. It was great fun and we had a huge crowd with some very interesting items brought in. The production team were a pleasure to work with and we’d love them to come back again in a few years’ time maybe.”

Antiques Roadshow will be broadcast on BBC1 at 8pm tonight.