An expert on the Antiques Roadshow was floored when an "extremely rare" collection of 16th-century textiles was placed in front of them as part of filming for an episode.

The BBC programme was filming at Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and Elizabethan textiles dating back 500 years were placed in front of Hilary Kay.

These textiles included a bedspread and two pillowcases sewn by Elizabeth I and her ladies-in-waiting as well as an ivory silk satin sleeve and sleeve support.

The items belonged to the Wollaton family, who built Wollaton Hall in 1588, and until their discovery, no examples of sleeve supports were known to exist.

The Argus: Hilary Kay looking at a separate item on another episode of the Antiques Roadshow (Antiques Roadshow/BBC Studios/Callum Lawrence)Hilary Kay looking at a separate item on another episode of the Antiques Roadshow (Antiques Roadshow/BBC Studios/Callum Lawrence) (Image: Antiques Roadshow/BBC Studios/Callum Lawrence)

Kay described the find as "exceptional" due to the condition the textiles were found in.

She added: “It is such an exciting moment to be faced with something from the 16th century which is in such incredible condition.”

Meanwhile, textile historian Ninya Mikhaila, also known as The Tudor Tailor, said: “The first time I saw the farthingale sleeve I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and was literally speechless.

“I knew of these garments from documentary descriptions of them, such as the ones made for Queen Elizabeth I that are recorded in her Royal Wardrobe accounts, but I never thought for a minute that there would be an extant example.

“The sleeve is not only an extremely rare survival of an item of English dress from the 16th century, it also offers us the opportunity to see an example of once common materials such as fustian, and what must have been one of the earliest uses of baleen for stiffening outside of the Royal Wardrobe.”

A replica of the sleeve was made for academics to study as it is too rare to be modelled and was placed into secure storage.

Antiques Roadshows airs on either BBC One or BBC Two on Sunday evenings