The BEST episodes of Fake or Fortune?
Every episode of Fake or Fortune? ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Fake or Fortune?!
Fiona Bruce teams up with expert Philip Mould to investigate mysteries behind intriguing works of art. Are they potentially priceless or crafty copies?
#1 - Rodin
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/31/2016
An enchanting sketch of a dancer believed to have been drawn by Auguste Rodin is at the centre of an investigation that draws the team into a recent forgery scandal that has rocked the French art establishment. Alice Thoday, a Lincolnshire resident with Belgian roots, inherited the rare watercolour from her mother and has always believed it to be part of a series of works Rodin drew of a Cambodian dance troupe which visited France in 1906. It could be worth over £100,000 if genuine - but the trouble is, Rodin is one of the world's most faked artists. The quest to prove it is the genuine article takes the team to Paris and the Musee Rodin, where they search for stylistic similarities in genuine works. The provenance trail leads to Mexico City in the 1940s, where Alice's mother was given the painting by a businessman called Jimmy Heineman. Who was he and how did he get his hands on a rare Rodin sketch? The deeper the team digs, the more worrying the evidence is about the extent to which Rodin's work has been faked by notorious forgers such as Ernst Durig, a Swiss-born sculptor who claimed to be Rodin's last pupil. The team turns to scientific analysis and a handwriting expert in a bid to get to the truth. Will the world's foremost expert believe the picture is a missing sketch by Rodin himself, or a very clever fake?
#2 - Monet
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/19/2011
In the opening episode, Fiona and Philip discover what they believe is an unrecognised and valuable painting by Monet. But can they convince the powers that be?
#3 - Homer
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/26/2011
In this episode, the focus falls on a painting found dumped by a rubbish tip which turns out to be a lost work by one of America's most important 19th century artists, Winslow Homer. In a shock for all concerned, it is valued at 250,000 dollars. But who legally owns the picture, and why was it found in such an unlikely place? Philip and Fiona investigate.
#4 - Van Meegeren
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/3/2011
The art world can prove a bear pit, with a myriad of tricksters at work. Experts estimate that anything between 20%-40% of works of art on the market are faked. And they can turn up in the most unexpected places. Hanging in one of the most prestigious and respected art institutes in London is a picture Philip has heard of, which may hold the key to unlocking the story of the most audacious forger of all time. A man who dared to fake the work of Old Masters and made millions from his deception, until he was caught in 1945: Han Van Meegeren. But a mystery remains to this day, as Van Meegeren died before a complete record of his fakes was made. How did he pull off faking Old Master paintings, duping important art galleries in to making purchases of works apparently by Vermeer, even foxing Goering in to buying one of his works during the war? Philip and Fiona get to work on the London picture which, legend has it, hung in Van Meegeren's studio on the day he was arrested. Was it his last work? And by testing it, can we prove how he out-foxed some of the most eminent minds in the art world?
#5 - Cezanne and Pissarro
Season 11 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/10/2023
Could two simple sketches be by great French artists Pissarro and Cezanne? The team set out to gather evidence to prove they’re genuine.
#6 - A Venetian View
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/15/2019
The team investigates a beautiful 18th-century Venetian view. Could this be a work by one of the Italian masters - either Francesco Guardi or Michele Marieschi?
#7 - Joshua Reynolds
Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/2023
A painting bought from an online auction in Monaco described as 'in the style of Sir Joshua Reynolds' looks promising, but could something murkier be lurking beneath the paint?
#8 - Elisabeth Frink
Season 11 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/2023
A sculpture found at a car-boot sale in Essex bears striking similarities to the work of Elisabeth Frink. Can the team prove it’s part of an edition sculpted by her in the 1950s?
#9 - Flemish Old Master
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/13/2022
Fiona and Philip visit a church in Port Glasgow to investigate whether a mysterious work depicting Christ after the crucifixion could be a lost masterpiece by one of the great painters of Northern Renaissance art.
#10 - Modigliani
Season 10 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/30/2022
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a delicate sketch depicting a mother and child, purported to be by one of the modern art world's most famous names, Amedeo Modigliani. Its owner, Henrietta Sitwell, inherited the work and always believed it to be genuine. However, a leading auction house recently cast doubt on its authenticity. If the work is genuine, it could be worth up to £100,000. If not, just a few hundred.
#11 - Ben Nicholson
Season 10 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/23/2022
When Ian and Julie moved into their Surrey cottage nearly 20 years ago, they discovered a curious wall painting in one of the bedrooms. They had no idea who put it there. Julie wanted to get rid of it as it didn't match her decor plans, while their four-year-old wanted to colour it in with her crayons.
#12 - Sisley
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/5/2022
Fiona Bruce, Philip Mould and the team help Americans Kim and Chuck, who believe their landscape painting is by one of the founders of Impressionism, Alfred Sisley, building a case to prove its authenticity. Kim and Chuck bought the work at auction near Chicago and believe it to be genuine. However, the painting was turned down nearly 10 years ago by the authentication committee, so the team will have to find new evidence to persuade them to change their mind.
#13 - A King's Last Supper
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/18/2021
Anglesey farmer Huw Lewis bought a small painting depicting the Last Supper for £50 on the internet. Can the team prove it’s an eighteenth-century work by the artist Benjamin West?
#14 - Landseer
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/11/2021
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a painting that could be the work of the celebrated artist Sir Edwin Landseer. If it is, they will have rediscovered a much-loved Victorian masterpiece that was thought to have been destroyed by a catastrophic flood almost a century ago.
#15 - Gerome
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/4/2021
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a small oil painting of a man praying in a mosque, a scene filled with meticulously painted and intriguing detail. Its owner, Jon Swihart, bought it at auction in 1999 and believed it to be the work of the nineteenth-century French artist Jean-Leon Gerome, who was a leading figure in the Orientalist genre of painting.
#16 - A Sculpture in the Brambles
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/28/2021
A sculpture found in the long grass of a Norfolk home bears striking similarities to the work of Henry Moore. Could it be a lost work by one of the greatest 20th-century artists?
#17 - A Passage to India
Season 14 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/23/2026
Two women lost in time: an enigmatic Indian woman and an 18th-century Scottish artist. Will this quest uncover a double attribution leading to a six-figure price tag?
#18 - Arshile Gorky
Season 11 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/17/2023
Could a mysterious canvas covered in white paint be hiding a lost painting by one of the most important painters of the 20th century, Armenian-American artist Arshile Gorky?
#19 - Mondrian
Season 12 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/2024
American artist Jeffrey Kroll believes his flower picture is by one of the pioneers of abstract art, Piet Mondrian. Can the team help him build a case and prove its authenticity?
#20 - Helen McNicoll
Season 12 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/2024
Could a beautiful painting of women working in a field be a valuable lost work by Helen McNicoll, a celebrated impressionist artist from Canada?
#21 - Music Memorabilia
Season 12 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/10/2024
The team delve into the world of music memorabilia when they investigate a piano linked to John Lennon and a guitar with a connection to Ronnie Wood, but are they the real deal?
#22 - Corot
Season 12 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/17/2024
Owner Sally Green believes her landscape painting is by one of the forefathers of impressionism, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Can the team gather new evidence to prove its authenticity?
#23 - The Mystery of Churchill’s Garden
Season 13 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/21/2025
A mysterious inscription, a famous name and a colossal price tag. The team embark on a high-stakes quest to authenticate a 'lost' Churchill. Is it genuine or a clever fake?
#24 - A Tale of Two Renoirs
Season 13 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/28/2025
The team investigate an early portrait and a charming little landscape, both believed to be by one of the biggest names in art. Could two new Renoir works have surfaced in the UK?
#25 - A Modern Masterpiece for £35?
Season 13 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/4/2025
When a keen art blogger picked up a £35 bargain at auction, he started to suspect he’d found a missing work by Frances Hodgkins. Can the team prove his hunch was right?