Bargain Hunt star James Lewis marries husband following split from wife
James Lewis and the cast of Bargain Hunt (Image: BBC)
Bargain Hunt expert James Lewis has revealed he married Ed Otter last September, saying his 17-year-old daughter Arabella now calls them both “Dad”.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Lewis, 53, shared the update while attending the Born Free Foundation’s Footsteps to Freedom Ball in London. He said the couple opted for an intimate ceremony with 50 guests, and that Arabella was there for the day.
Recalling how their relationship began, Lewis said: “I met my husband 15 years ago playing pool, of all things, in the local pub in Derbyshire,” before adding: “Was it love at first sight? Pretty much, yeah. I had split up from my wife, my daughter’s mum. And I was just ready.”
Lewis said he and Otter, who is 18 years younger than him, initially considered running away to get married in the US. “We were going to run away, we were going to get married in the mountains in Yellowstone National Park, and then we thought, oh no, we’ve got to invite parents and my daughter,” he explained.
He said Arabella’s place in their plans became non-negotiable when she started imagining her own future wedding. “Arabella says, which one of you is going to walk me up the aisle when I get married? She said, can we have a wide aisle, and can you both walk me up? So we couldn’t do it without Arabella.”
Wedding plans and a health scare
Lewis said Otter works as the Toys, Trains and Juvenalia Specialist at his auction house. He also spoke about serious health concerns, saying: “I’ve had two cardiac arrests. I had one in 2013 and I had another one in 2019,” and that his heart rate went up to over 250 beats per minute.
Lewis said one of those incidents was on his wedding day.
TV work and Born Free fundraising
Lewis founded Bamfords Auctioneers with his parents in 2002 after being made redundant. He is known to daytime TV audiences through BBC’s Bargain Hunt, and also appeared on Flog It! until the show ended in 2020.
Lewis has been a patron of the Born Free Foundation for 24 years, and said his 2019 cardiac arrest came shortly before a Guinness World Record charity auction for Born Free, which he still completed, raising a quarter of a million pounds for wildlife charities.
