I banished leather-clad Freddie Mercury from my Chelsea shop because I thought he was a robber, art dealer to the stars reveals 

A leading art dealer has revealed the moment he barred a leather-clad Freddie Mercury from his antiques shop – because he feared he was staging a robbery.

Gordon Watson, whose customers include Elton John, Mick Jagger and Madonna, explained how he was closing up one Christmas when the late Queen star knocked on the door with a friend.

‘We’d had several robberies, one an armed robbery, so were wary,’ he told The Mail on Sunday.

Gordon Watson (left), whose customers include Elton John, Mick Jagger and Madonna, was closing up one Christmas when Freddie Mercury (right) knocked on the door - but he turned him away

Minutes after refusing to let him in, Watson received a furious phone call from the late Queen star's manager, demanding they be allowed into the Chelsea store

‘These guys were wearing leather jackets, caps and boots. They didn’t say who they were. We told them we were closed but they kept rattling the grille.’

The pair finally went away, but minutes later Mr Watson received an angry call from Mercury’s manager. ‘I had mistaken a robber’s outfit for what was de rigueur for a certain section of the gay community,’ he said. ‘I apologised and said he should come back.

‘He did and spent £40,000 on Lalique glass, but there was no eye contact. I packed them off in his limo and said “Merry Christmas, I’m so sorry”, but the door just slammed. He never came back.’

Mr Watson, 62, made a string of indiscreet revelations about his famous clients ahead of starring in a new BBC series this week.

Sir Mick Jagger has been his most loyal customer, frequenting his shop in Chelsea up to five times a year. ‘He’d arrive in a local minicab, we’d get the jewels out and the girls would tremble,’ Mr Watson revealed. ‘He’d look at five pieces of the most exquisite jewellery and say, “That seems expensive but will you keep these for me?”

‘He always came back. I don’t think he was just buying for Jerry [Hall], but who can tell.’

Watson made a series of indiscreet revelations about his famous clients ahead of a new BBC series this week. He also branded interior designer Kelly Hoppen's taste 'anodyne' and recounted a brush with the Beckhams

He also recounted a brush with the Beckhams. ‘The stars themselves don’t come in any more, they send their decorators in,’ Mr Watson said. ‘I recently discovered that we sent a lot of chairs, sofas, concert tables and lights to the Beckhams. It all came back.’

Perhaps an indication of bad taste? ‘I think that’s guaranteed,’ Mr Watson said. ‘If they’re sending my fabulous things back … We sort of knew their other house had big blow-up photographs of them both. Now they’re buying contemporary art from serious galleries and using serious decorators.’ Mr Watson also took on interior designer Kelly Hoppen, saying: ‘I don’t like what she stands for. It’s too anodyne. It’s not just Hoppen. It’s any of that beige brigade who take the easy route. People should do what they want but be strong, don’t be tepid – and don’t be taupe.’

He hopes the BBC show, in which he noses around the collections of Lord Rothschild and David Rocksavage, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, among others, will inspire Britons to start collecting.

‘I want to show that anyone, rich or poor, can collect,’ he said. ‘Now everyone just wants the treasure in grandma’s bottom drawer that they believe is worth a million pounds.’

• The Extraordinary Collector starts this Friday at 8pm on BBC2.