I’ve finally got my own DINOSAUR! Moment ecstatic TV historian Tom Holland, 54, dances with joy as he successfully bids £3,500 on a 119 million-year-old Psittacosaurus fossil and fulfils childhood dream

• Tom Holland, a TV historian, bid on a 97 to 119-million-year-old dinosaur fossil
• The 54-year-old shook both fists in excitement after the hammer came down 
• His bid of £3,500 was enough to win the Cretaceous period bird-like skeleton 
• Mr Holland said he had fulfilled a childhood dream in securing the ancient fossil
• The auction took place at Woolley & Wallis Auctioneers, of Salisbury, Wiltshire

This is the moment author and historian Tom Holland celebrates like he’s won Wimbledon after fulfilling a childhood dream to own a dinosaur.

Video footage from an auction house shows the writer shake both fists in unbridled excitement while sat in his chair after the hammer came down on his winning bid.

He then stands up and takes a few steps to try to compose himself before leaping up and down in a celebratory dance.

Mr Holland, the presenter of BBC Radio 4 show Making History, was attending his first ever auction.

The 54-year-old went along with his father Martin on June 30 to the sale at Woolley & Wallis Auctioneers, of Salisbury, Wiltshire, to bid on a 97 to 119-million-year-old Psittacosaurus (parrot lizard) skeleton.

Author and TV historian Tom Holland, 54 (pictured), went home with his very own 97 to 119-million-year-old Psittacosarus (parrot lizard) skeleton, after placing the winning bid at Woolley & Wallis Auctioneers, of Salisbury, Wiltshire

Unable to contain his excitement, Mr Holland leapt for joy and did a celebratory dance after becoming the owner of the Cretaceous period bird-like skeleton

Mr Holland’s father, who sat beside him during the auction, remained calm despite his son’s excited outburst

He paid a hammer price of £3,500 for the Cretaceous period bird-like skeleton kept in a 2ft by 3ft glazed hardwood case.

Mr Holland said he expected to be outbid by an ‘American billionaire’ so he was thrilled to get ‘the bargain of the century’.

He said: ‘It was a childhood dream.

‘I have been obsessed by dinosaurs since the age of four.

‘We went to the Isle of Wight and Lyme Regis regularly and I always hoped to find a dinosaur but never did.

‘I’ve always wanted to own one and so when I saw this one I just had to have it.

‘This is my first auction and I really thought I was going to get outbid by an American billionaire so I’m just over the moon to have it.’

Mr Holland’s father, who was sat next to him, kept his emotions firmly in check with his arms crossed while his son showed his joy.

Auctioneer Will Hobbs, who was on the rostrum, said it was the most enthusiastic reaction he had ever seen in the saleroom.

He said: ‘In all my years as an auctioneer I don’t think I have ever seen a reaction quite as enthusiastic as Tom’s was.

‘He put a smile on the face of everyone in the room with his pure delight and excitement.

‘If only all of our successful bidders reacted that way.

Psittacosaurus, meaning parrot lizard, is a genus of dinosaur which existed between 126 and 101 million years ago. Pictured: The Psittacosaurus fossil, previously in a Hungarian museum, bought by Mr Holland at auction

Auctioneer Will Hobbs said Mr Holland’s reaction was the most enthusiastic he had ever seen 

‘Chatting to him afterwards, he said that he had been obsessed with dinosaurs since the age of four and had always dreamed of owing a skeleton.

‘It’s not often that we get to make childhood dreams come true.

‘What was just as lovely was the calmness of his father, who was with him, and who just sat patiently while Tom started jumping up and down.’

With fees included, the skeleton went for £4,550, within the estimate range of £4,000 to £6,000.

Mr Holland wrote on Twitter that the dinosaur fossil had previously been displayed in a Hungarian museum. 

In 2011, Mr Holland presented the BBC TV documentary Dinosaurs, Myths and Monsters. 

He also wrote the 2003 history book Rubicon.

What is a Psittacosaurus?

Psittacosaurus, meaning parrot lizard, is a genus of dinosaur existing between 126 and 101 million years ago.

Under the Psittacosaurus genus were at least seven species, spread throughout modern-day China, Mongolia, Russia and Thailand.

This is the highest number of dinosaur species assigned to any single genus.

These dinosaurs were bipedal, and they would probably have had complex behaviours given the large size of their brains relative to their bodies.

Dinosaurs belonging to the Psittacosaurus genus are common in the fossil record, with hundreds of specimens so far found.

An exceptionally well-preserved Psittacosaurus specimen found in China still had scales on its body as well as hollow, tubular bristle-like structures on its tail.

The dinosaur genus Psittacosaurus, from the Early Cretaceous period, has at least nine known species belonging to it. Pictured: A recreation based on a specimen found in northeast China

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