A MODEL of the Angel of the North - worth £1m - has been unveiled as the Antiques Roadshow's first ever seven-figure valuation.
The model - owned by Gateshead Council - was valued at the Sage in Gateshead by Philip Mould, the London art dealer.
The discovery will be aired on BBC1 tonight.
Councillor John McElroy, cabinet member for culture at Gateshead Council, took the model, known as a maquette, for valuation in September.
Yet despite its value, Coun McElroy was adamant that the maquette would never be sold.
He said: "We would never sell it. This one small piece alone is now worth more than we have spent on 50 pieces of public art in the borough in the past 25 years."
The solid bronze maquette is 1/20th of the size of the real 20 metre high Angel of the North, measuring 39inches tall with a wingspan of 111inches.
It has spent the last 13 years on display outside the council chamber in Gateshead Civic Centre.
Both the maquette and the original were made by sculptor Anthony Gormley for Gateshead Council.
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