Episode 5 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts.

-That's cracking.

-With £200 each...

Wonderful!

..a classic car and a goal, to scour Britain for antiques.

-That's exactly what I'm talking about.

-I'm all over a shiver!

The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction. But it's no mean feat.

-No-brainer!

-Going, going, gone.

There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

-So, will it be the high road to glory...

-Push!

..or the slow road to disaster?

How awfully, awfully nice.

This is Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

Welcome to the final leg of our trip in a Triumph Spitfire

with Anita Manning and Raj Bisram.

This car reminds me of you, Anita.

A nice, small, sporty little number.

Oh, that's me!

Our convertible companions, auctioneers both,

are currently in the Kent countryside.

Home turf for one of the pair.

And all Kentish men are handsome, just like yourself.

Let it go!

When not flirting or behind the wheel,

they've been piling up some tidy profits - with Raj,

on only his second outing, doing awfully well.

-Deal?

-A deal.

-Fantastic.

You're £650, just about.

That could be a winning score over and over again.

If somebody hadn't made £3,800 on an Eastern deity.

No, we mustn't forget that, must we, Anita?

Yes, I was just getting around to

Anita's historic achievement at the last auction,

when this little fellow,

bought for £50,

sold for a record-breaking...

3,800.

Yes!

Whoa!

The Road Trip's never seen anything quite like it.

Let's try and work out the percentage profit that I made.

A million per cent?

Hey, gritted teeth, hey?

I'm sure Raj won't be throwing in the towel just yet, though.

OK left.

But with a canny operator like Anita so very far in front,

it certainly appears that he may be condemned to the role of

plucky runner-up this week.

Is that a chip?

You have got more money than anybody else

on the whole of this programme, ever.

That can pose its own problems.

Oh. Oh, dear!

My heart bleeds, OK?

Raj has so far grown his £200 stake

to a highly laudable £632.48.

While Anita, who began with the same sum, now has a mighty £3,543.82

secreted somewhere in the Spitfire.

I bet it's under her seat.

-Isn't this a 3,800cc engine?

-It very well could be!

But it's struggling going up this hill.

After kicking off in Cambridgeshire, at Wisbech,

they'll chart a course through most of south-east England,

before turning north to Bolton, Lancashire.

And today, we begin in Kent, at Headcorn,

and finish up almost 300 miles away at the final auction in Bolton.

Stuffed with almost 100 buildings of architectural or historic interest,

Headcorn also boasts an antique shop.

So, does the Raj revival start on this very spot?

There's no need to wish me luck. I'm going to need a miracle today.

-He's got a point.

-Cheerio, Anita. Have a lovely day.

-Hello!

-Hello, good morning.

-I'm Raj.

-I'm Shirley St James, welcome.

-Hello, Shirley. Can I call you Shirley?

-You can, by all means.

-Lovely to meet you.

-So, he'll be calling her Shirley, then.

And she'll be calling the dealer if he finds something he likes.

Hmm.

-Nothing in here, is there?

-Not just yet, Shirley.

This is really unusual.

They've turned old vinyl records into a cake stand,

which is really quite nice.

With Raj now firmly in the groove - who writes this stuff? -

let's see where our leaderette's got to.

It's heating up now.

Might have to get this scarf off soon.

Don't know about the bunnet, though.

She's tootling that Triumph towards the village of Lenham.

The ancient path taken by pilgrims

to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury passes close by.

-Hello!

-Hi. My name is Anita.

-I'm Lynne.

-Lynne...

what an extraordinary building!

Yes, it's a beautiful building.

15th century, Grade II* listed.

-Wow.

-Careful, Lynne. She might make you an offer.

She's got enough cash to buy the freehold.

Wow, we've got a bit of everything here.

So, what's the thinking of our suddenly very wealthy Anita?

Buying more expensive items, you have the...

You have a chance of making more money.

You also have the chance of losing more money.

So, I'm casting my net wider.

But it all depends if those expensive items can be found.

So, maybe no more Scottish brooches, eh? Ha! How about furniture?

What we have here is a piece of post-war 20th-century design.

This table is made of plywood and plywood was a material

which was used in the minimalist 20th-century design,

most successfully by Charles and Ray Eames.

Not brothers, as you might assume,

but an American husband-and-wife team.

Classic! Could it be one of theirs?

There's no maker's name - what a shame.

It's not by Eames but it's in the style of Eames.

It's priced at £125 and I think that that's not too bad.

Lynne?

I've kind of been swept off my feet by 20th-century design

-in your 15th-century antique shop.

-Right.

It's priced up at 125.

Is there anything you think we could do about it?

Because we've got some cigarette burns there, unfortunately.

I think probably best price on that would be £90.

90? I'm going to go for it.

Thank you very much on that.

Good start!

Now, what's happening seven miles away in Headcorn?

I've spotted something that I like the look of.

It's a silver spectacle case

and I just think it's a little bit unusual.

-Shirley?

-What have you found?

I like this spectacle case, the Victorian one.

-Can I have a look at that?

-Sure.

Not only is it a spectacle case,

but it's actually made to fit on a lady's belt as well.

-Because that would have been...

-That's right.

It would have gone on the belt as well.

Oh, suits you, sir!

-Would you know what the best could be on that?

-We've got 59.

-I can make a phone call.

-All right, if you'd have a word?

-I will.

-Around the 25, £30 mark, OK?

-OK.

Bit of a gap, then.

What can Shirl the Pearl come up with?

30 is the very best, I'm afraid. It's the death.

Could be the death of me! OK, but, yes, I think it's worth every penny.

-So, shall we shake on that?

-OK.

-Thank you.

-It's a deal.

It SHIRLEY is! Oh, gosh.

Anita's not showing any sign of slowing down, either.

-Can I have a wee look at this? Is it bronze?

-Yes.

She's a bit saucy.

Just a little!

Well, you know what they say, sex sells.

Can you tell me anything about it?

-Only that she is unmarked.

-Yeah.

-So, not attributable.

-Yeah.

But I think that she is from the 1920s.

She's lying on this sumptuous tiger skin.

-She's a bonny lass.

-She is.

Cheeky!

It's priced at £250. Is there movement on that?

-Yes, very best price would be 200.

-Mm-hm.

I do like it but I think, actually,

there has been some repainting of the eyes.

190.

That's great, absolutely fabulous. I love that.

This is brisk.

I noticed these crazy little decanters here.

-They look like a bit of fun.

-Yes, indeed.

I think they would go terrifically well with my table.

They're priced at 24.

-Is there something we could do on that?

-£20?

It's a deal.

So, three rapid deals for a nice round £300.

Hang on to your bonnets!

Anita's definitely loosening those purse strings.

She's strong too. As for Raj...

I guess, in a way, the pressure's off me as well now,

because of what happened to Anita yesterday.

So, I can take a few risks.

I'm not really a jewellery buyer

but there's a really nice-looking string of pearls down there,

and pearls were so out of vogue

but I honestly believe that they're coming back.

Sounds like fun.

-I'm taking a flyer here, Shirley.

-OK.

Jewellery normally isn't my thing but I think that these

are really going to come back into vogue.

Fresh water, eh? Priced at £75.

They're lovely.

Look at those.

Us girls are all wearing them now, you know?

I quite like these, I think they're little bit different.

They've got a nice gold clasp as well.

Oh, it's in the original box!

Yeah, can we see what they do? I'll give you those.

It's a bit of a risky one, but hey-ho.

Quite. Imminent defeat can have that effect.

Now, where have we got to?

-No? Could I have a word with her?

-Raj dives in.

What about splitting it with me and we do 40?

You sure? OK, thanks a lot. Thank you.

We've agreed on 40.

So, that's £70 in total for the pearls and the spectacle case.

But while Raj goes looking for more...

..Anita's taking a break,

journeying across the North Downs to Canterbury where she's come

to find out about the city's history of pilgrimage from guide Hugh Elsom.

-Hello! I'm Anita.

-How do you do?

Welcome to the Canterbury Heritage Museum.

Founded in the year 597,

Canterbury Cathedral was already a hugely significant Christian site

when, in the Middle Ages, the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket

by the King's men made Canterbury known throughout the world.

Here, we've got a 60-foot frieze

which shows the story of Thomas Becket.

If we go through here, we can actually see some of the relics

that the pilgrims would have actually used

when they came to Canterbury.

Soon after his death, Becket was canonised

and within a very few years, the faithful had begun

making their way to the shrine of a saint and martyr.

So, here we've got a lovely collection of the badges

that pilgrims would have purchased

when they visited places of importance,

and these ones are all related to Canterbury

and many of them would have depicted

something to do with Thomas and his murder.

His cult would attract millions to Canterbury

and help to create the city we see today.

But who was Thomas Becket and why was he murdered?

He was the son of a fairly wealthy merchant in London.

But he was recognised at an early age by the then Archbishop,

Theobald, as being very bright and very intelligent.

And the Archbishop introduced him to the new, young King Henry II.

They became friends and political allies.

And Thomas became the King's Chancellor.

That appointment on January the 1st 1155

seemed like a shrewd political move.

The King was engaged in a power struggle with the Church

and as his Chancellor, Becket would ensure that Henry got his way.

-So, the church was a law unto itself at that time?

-Yes!

If a person was charged with a crime and they claimed

what they call benefit of clergy,

they could be tried by the church court

and their sentence was much, much more lenient than the King's,

and that really was the basis of the problem.

When the old Archbishop died,

the King decided to go even further and replace him with Becket,

despite him not even being a priest at that time.

But as soon as Thomas becomes Archbishop,

he had a change of heart and basically, he said,

"No, you're not having the power."

That meant that the two people began to argue and eventually,

the whole thing gets totally out of control.

Becket was even forced into exile for several years.

But although a truce was agreed in 1170, the rift remained.

Later that year, four knights who'd witnessed the King raging

about his Archbishop decided to take matters into their own hands.

The monks realised Thomas was in danger,

so they tried to get him into the cathedral.

The knights followed him in, they all lost their tempers

and they eventually clubbed him to the ground and eventually killed him

by chopping the top of his head off.

This was a horrific murder.

Tell me, how did the country react to this?

The ordinary people, well,

they didn't really know what was going on anyway.

But within the hierarchy and the papal courts, yes,

it was considered quite dreadful.

But that might well have been that, had it not been

for the unusual events which followed Thomas's death.

The first miracle was recorded within three days,

which was a woman of Canterbury who was blind got hold of

a piece of Thomas's cloak covered in his blood,

wiped her eyes, she could see.

They declared it a miracle.

And then, lots of miracles were all attributed to Thomas very quickly,

so within months of the murder,

numbers of people are coming to Canterbury.

And it reaches such a situation that Thomas, within three years,

was canonised, or made a saint.

What were the consequences for Canterbury?

Canterbury had always been a city of pilgrimage but over the centuries,

millions, literally millions, of people are coming to Canterbury.

Thanks to Becket's murder, the city became wealthy.

And the Church remained very powerful,

with the King forced to atone for his part in events.

But over 350 years later,

Henry VIII struck back when, during the Reformation, he ordered

that the shrine be destroyed and the bones within it burned.

These are capitals from this tomb found in a river

and this is probably all that we have left of this enormous tomb.

And these are a wonderful rose-coloured marble?

It's a special rose-coloured marble, which apparently was imported.

It indicates his martyrdom.

Hugh, this has been a fascinating story.

Thank you so much for sharing it with me.

-My pleasure.

-It's been lovely.

Meanwhile, back in the country - ooh-arr! - whither Raj?

Off to the village of Bethersden, of course,

where they have a barn that needs looking into.

-Hello, ladies.

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Hello, I'm Debbie.

-Hi, I'm Raj.

-Hello, Raj, I'm Jenny.

-Hello, Jenny, nice to meet you.

-And you too.

Are you going to point me in the right direction?

-I'm looking for a real bargain.

-What sort of thing are you after?

Something that's going to make me a profit of around £4,000.

Well, I'm sure there's loads.

-Really?

-Yeah! Believe, Raj.

You can do this. Go, boy!

I love these kind of places.

Don't look like there's lots of antiques in here

but there certainly are.

Once you start to look and delve, you will definitely find something.

Not him, though, eh?

Can you believe it?

This is a late 19th, early 20th-century wooden figurine

of a smiling Buddha.

Also with carved coins around the side here.

It's got a little bit of age to it.

There seem to be some worm bites underneath here.

It's only £18 on the ticket.

-Jenny?

-Yes, Raj.

I quite like the look of this Buddha.

I can phone the dealer for you.

What I'd like to know is what the very best on it is. Put it this way.

If we can do it in coins, I'd be grateful, OK?

-I'm not sure about that but I'll have a go for you.

-OK, thank you.

It's unlikely that success will strike twice, Raj.

Whatever you get him for.

He's £18. And he'd like it for pennies.

THEY LAUGH

Tenner.

It's a deal.

Everybody's happy.

I've got to spend some money.

That's the idea.

This is one of my favourite type of pieces -

it's an old spice tin and it's got on here cinnamon, ginger, mace...

Can't read what that one says, nutmegs and allspice.

Cloves! Of course it says cloves.

And that's a really pretty 18th-century spice tin

but at £78, I think it's probably the right price.

Not for taking to auction, though, eh?

If that was put into auction, it's going to be estimated £30 to £50.

Right, well, that's quite a whack off the actual price.

It is, but you know...

Let me phone Lynne and see what she'll do for you.

So, while Jenny makes the call,

Raj looks like he's about to follow in Anita's footsteps again.

She's already made a profit on a globe.

Raj, I've got Lynne on the phone.

-Er, Earth to Raj?

-Oh, yes.

-£60.

-No.

-No?

-Nowhere near.

-I've got Raj for you!

Lynne.

It's a risky one for me.

How about we split the difference and call it 35?

Thank you so much! Thank you so much.

So, so much.

For a grand total of £45,

Raj has acquired this smiling chap and a spice box.

Now, back together but there's an elephant in this car.

When I was a wee girl, about 3,800 years ago...

Oh, there's that figure again!

HE SOBS Oh, dear. Nighty-night!

Next day, the bunnet's been officially stood down.

Have you got your bikini in the back?

Yes, it's an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini.

Say that after a few pints of Shepherd Neame.

What's Shepherd Neame?

A Kentish ale, Anita.

Other tipples are available.

Look at that, a rabbit! Or is it a hare?

Raj, we do get rabbits in Scotland.

Certainly do rabbiting on.

Yesterday, Raj bagged a spectacle case, a spice box,

a Buddha and a pearl necklace for £115...

Thank you so much! Thank you so much.

..leaving over 500 in his wallet.

While Anita wasted no time splashing her newly acquired cash,

picking up a coffee table,

a cocktail set and bronze figurine for £300.

-She's a bit saucy!

-Yes.

Meaning she now has over £3,200 left for today's purchases.

Thank you.

My advice to you is, keep your eyes open for a Buddha.

Ha-ha! I think I might be growing into one.

Yeah, you are a bit of an Eastern deity.

Later, they'll be making their way up north

for an auction at Bolton,

but our next stop is the village of Elham,

where in the 1930s,

a very young Audrey Hepburn attended boarding school.

This is an Aston Martin.

This is a James Bond car!

I wonder if I could afford it.

I could just see myself as Miss Moneypenny,

or Pussy Galore!

More like Goldfinger on this trip, Anita.

Hi, I'm Anita.

Hello, I'm Julian. Welcome to Elham Antiques.

It's lovely to be here. Fabulous stuff!

A lot of huge big architectural items here.

Yes, we've got quite a few big heavy things.

There's a lovely car out here - is that for sale?

No, I don't think you've got enough money for that!

-You could maybe have a ride in it later.

-All right.

Oh, yeah? Well, there's an offer.

Well, joyride or no, there's plenty to tempt our record-breaker

in this establishment.

Look at that.

This is quite an interesting and unusual umbrella stand.

And if I look at the back, I'm looking for

a lozenge which will tell me that it is made by Coalbrookdale.

Yep, and there it is.

And I'm very happy about that because Coalbrookdale

was a quality, quality item.

And this is quite an unusual one.

Makes a nice contrast with the more industrial output, too.

Probably dating from about 1840 to 1870.

The piece is called Boy With Serpent.

Now, there is a loss here.

This is where the serpent's head would be.

So, it's not complete.

But this piece has so much charm.

It's priced at £175, so I think I'm going to go for that!

-Julian?

-Yeah.

-This boy...

-Oh, yes.

..wrestling with a serpent has taken my fancy.

It has, has it?

I'm hoping that because some huge bird has come down and pecked...

-The head off.

-..the head off the snake,

that you might be able to give me a little discount.

-I'm sure we can.

-What's the very best you can do?

It's got 175 on it.

It could be 125.

-125.

-You've got to make money on that.

Put it there. That's great. Oh, he's terrific!

Three figures for the second time on this leg, eh? Anything else?

What a sweet little thing!

It's a little miniature Regency tilt-top table,

which has been inlaid to form a chessboard.

There has been some damage and there's some restoration underneath

but it's not bothering me one jot.

This is the type of thing

that a chess player will fall in love with.

Reassuringly expensive, Anita. And let's see what Julian can do.

-I quite like this.

-It's super, isn't it?

-It's terrific.

-It is.

I wasn't sure if these chessmen

were of the same period as the table.

When I look at the knight, that's simple,

that's not a thing which has been carved by a craftsman.

-I see what you mean.

-But I still like it.

Buy the table, the chessmen come free.

ANITA LAUGHS

Nice gambit. Now, on to the price.

It could be - give you a chance - £180.

-180?

-Yeah.

-Mm-hm.

-I'm so tempted.

-I'm sure there's a profit in that.

-You think so?

-Yeah.

-Aye, let's go for it! I like it!

-OK. Well done.

That's terrific.

I wonder if I could checkmate Raj

with this little chess set.

Beware the black queen, eh?

-£305.

-Thank you.

It's not often that the Antiques Road Trip

hands over that type of money.

No, it's not. That must be a record.

SHE LAUGHS

Quite. I think a spin in the posh car is in order, don't you?

-There we are.

-I've never been in an Aston Martin before.

-Ah!

Was that a hint, Anita? Maybe next time you'll get a bit of an upgrade.

You can be James Bond and I'll be Miss Moneypenny.

Meanwhile, Raj seems happy enough with the Spitfire.

He's making his way towards the coast and the port of Dover,

where he's come to find out about the vital role that the town

and this man, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay,

played in one of the most important operations of World War II.

-Welcome to Dover Castle.

-I'm Raj.

-I'm Gavin. Pleased to meet you.

What an amazing place!

As guide Gavin Wright reveals,

there's been a castle at Dover for well over a thousand years.

With very good reason, too. This is Britain's front line.

22 miles from France, 22 miles from Europe.

We've not always been friends with everyone in Europe,

so it definitely gives it a really special place in British history.

During the Napoleonic Wars,

the Norman castle was further fortified with

a series of tunnels excavated to accommodate around 2,000

of the soldiers garrisoned here.

Those same tunnels would later have a very different use

during World War II.

This is an amazing room.

Tell me what this was actually used for during World War II.

Well, these tunnels had been, in a sense, recolonised.

Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay was asked to come here to set up a naval base.

He had an awful lot to do. Churchill really rated Ramsay.

He was a tremendous organiser.

He had spent a lot of time in the Dover area in the First World War.

So he knew the Dover Strait like the back of his hand.

Which was just as well, because several months later,

in May 1940, the Admiral was to face a supreme challenge.

After a period of some inactivity,

the Germans started to take aggressive action through

Holland and Belgium and then through northern France,

with the result that the British Expeditionary Force,

who'd been sent out there to counter that,

were eventually trapped up on the beaches of northern France.

Which led, of course, to the necessity for Operation Dynamo.

That operation to evacuate them and bring them back to England.

When the War Office made that decision on the 25th of May,

Admiral Ramsay, with several hundred vessels

of varying sizes under his command,

set about the complex and constantly challenging task

of trying to get as many as possible

of our allied troops across the Channel.

In those nine days, the amount of activity, the regular Navy,

the Merchant Navy, all those little boats,

those pleasure boats that had been secured from all the way

around the coast of southern Britain...

-They must have had nerves of steel to be able to do it.

-Wow!

Admiral Ramsay barely slept during the nine days of Operation Dynamo.

Hardly surprising, because without troops,

the eventual fate of the war looked decidedly bleak.

Churchill had actually announced that we might have to prepare

for very heavy news indeed.

They had expected that they might be able to get

45,000 troops, mainly, back from the beaches.

But how many were there out there?

It was over ten times that, Raj.

But despite huge losses, Operation Dynamo was ultimately a success -

with morale hugely boosted by that Dunkirk spirit

and many more troops rescued than they dared hope for.

It must have been a hell of a sight.

I mean, standing here, watching all those small ships

-heading off to France.

-Absolutely.

By May 29th, they were going backwards and forwards constantly.

-They actually managed to bring over 338,000 back from the beaches.

-Wow!

And Churchill was, obviously, like everybody else,

elated about the fact that something

which could have ended so badly had ended so well.

But he did warn that wars are not won by evacuation.

Famously, he reported that it was a miracle that this had happened,

but the war was not over.

Well, this particular road trip is nearing journey's end,

with Anita on the way to the hamlet of Smeeth and her very last shop.

Not your average retail outlet, though, by any means.

-Richard?

-ANITA LAUGHS

-Sorry about that.

-Richard, I'm Anita.

-Hi, Anita.

This is a true restorer's workshop.

The smells are so exciting.

-The varnish, the shellac.

-Smells good.

-I want to buy some antiques.

-Let's go and sell you something.

Ah, there's nothing quite like a dingy storeroom

to gladden the heart.

Have a little look around, see what you can find.

Good luck in there, Anita.

It's all a bit of a jumble here,

but that makes it more exciting,

and as the plaque says, "Seek ye first.

"Everyone that seeketh findeth."

Let's leave her to rummage and take a peek at Raj,

as he travels up the coast to

Folkestone, and his very last chance

to catch Anita up,

with over £500 still in his pocket.

-Hi there.

-Hi, Raj, nice to see you.

-And your name is?

-Paul.

-Paul, nice to meet you.

-Welcome to Rennies Seaside Modern.

-Thank you.

This isn't your average antique shop either,

because they specialise in 20th century British design.

There's lots of badges,

and these over the years have become really collectable.

In fact, if we look down here,

there's one that reminds me of my youth.

It's my cycle proficiency test.

That was the badge I got, and I used to wear it with pride.

Small British classics - and big ones.

What's the most expensive antique that you've got in here?

Er, this wardrobe by Gordon Russell from 1923.

It's design number seven.

-Oh, is it?

-Yeah.

-There we go.

-And how much are you selling that for?

Well, we'd like £12,500 for it.

Wow!

Unlucky, Paul. Wrong expert for you today.

Now, I wonder what Anita's unearthed.

I've found a croquet set that is probably one of Richard's projects.

The contents are all there -

we have the croquet sticks, we have the hoops,

we have all the original balls.

The box is not in good condition.

Now, I'm sure that if Richard worked on this,

he could make it a thing of absolute and total beauty,

but he hasn't started yet, and he's got hundreds of other things to do.

So maybe he would be interested in

selling this one to me for a good price.

Still after the very best deal, I see, despite her squillions.

-Richard!

-Yes, Anita.

-I've found a croquet set.

-What have you found?

-Yes, you have.

-And I think it's a big restoration project for you.

You know it is, you can see, but it's so wonderful and original.

I'd love it if the box was in better nick,

-and I'd love it if I had a maker's name.

-Right.

What's your price on that?

-I would like £150 for this.

-£150?

Oh, you just did that slightly widened eyes moment then.

What's the very, very, very, very best you can do?

-£125.

-£125! 125...

-Yeah, it's a good price, Anita.

-Let's go for it, that's great.

-I think there's a profit in there.

And you never know, Richard -

that might come back to you as a restoration project.

-More than happy to restore it.

-She's into three figures yet again.

-100.

-Thank you.

-25.

Back on the coast, Raj has a more modest outlay in mind.

It's got a bit of sparkle to it.

-It needs a bit of a clean-up.

-It does need a bit of a clean.

Paul, I really like this garnet brooch.

-I know you've got £45 on it - can I make you an offer?

-Go on.

-£20.

-I'm sorry, I can't do that.

-But if I go to 25, what do you say to that?

-Go on, then.

-OK, lovely, let's shake hands on it.

-All right.

-Thank you very much, Paul.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

That's all, folks...stone!

So, with those final buys wrapped up,

let's take a peek at what they'll be bringing to auction.

Raj parted with £140 for a pearl necklace,

a Buddha, a spice tin, a garnet brooch, and a spectacle case,

with which he may make a spectacle of himself! Ha!

While Anita spent £730 on a croquet set,

a cold-painted bronze figurine, chess table,

an umbrella stand, and a joint lot of cocktail set and coffee table.

So who did good - or best?

He hasn't spent a lot, but he's spent quite wisely.

He bought those lovely pearls with a nine-carat gold clasp for £40.

He's got to make money on that.

The Coalbrookdale stick stand - I love it!

I think she's made a fantastic buy at that price.

He's taking a leaf out of my book with the Buddha.

He paid £10 for it!

That's probably all it's worth!

After setting off from Headcorn in Kent, our experts are now

making for their final auction in the Lancashire town of Bolton.

But does Raj have even the teeniest hope of catching Anita?

There's nothing that I've bought that's going to get me

up to the £4,000 mark unless that Buddha takes off.

That is my only hope.

And that'll never happen(!)

Well, I'm sure the good people of Bolton Auction Rooms will do

their level best, though.

They have internet bidding too.

-Last one, Raj.

-Last one, yeah.

I wonder what auctioneer Harry Howcroft thinks

will wow the Boltonians.

The nicest thing is the spice tin.

Maybe not the most expensive thing in the sale, but it's a nice patina.

We love this and we'll get that away.

The cast-iron figurine of infant Hercules.

Nice looking thing. It has got issues.

OK, here we go, then, and someone's already making quite an impression.

Raj, I love your waistcoat today. Is that the Bisram tartan?

-No, this is the Manning tartan.

-Is it?

-This is for you.

You are too, too kind.

Perfect for a game of croquet, eh? Anita's first lot.

-£34, we've made 34...

-£34!

-£34 bid.

With me, on commission...

-I've 36.

-36, I've got...

-Oh, the internet.

-Here we go.

40, 42, 44, 44,

46, 48, 50, 52 takes me out.

Are we all going to finish at 52? 52, back of the room at 52...

-HAMMER BANGS

-Aw!

-Thank you.

A great bargain for some lucky malleteer!

Let's hope that whoever's bought it

-will get it restored and play with it.

-I'm sure.

-Yeah.

-I'm sure.

Raj took a bit of a gamble on these pearls.

I've got a little bit of interest. I can go straight in at £42.

£42!

-I've 44.

-44, I've got 46 with me.

I just need it to get up to the thousands.

-I've got 50 with me, 55 anywhere?

-55!

-55, 60 anywhere else?

A £55 bid on the internet, is there 60 anywhere?

-All done, then.

-Very cheap.

-55...

Yeah, yeah.

It's a profit, it's a profit.

No doubt about that - he's just got a wee bit closer.

Well done, darling, well done.

Time for Anita's slightly saucy cold-painted bronze.

I've got a little bit of interest here. I can go straight in at 44.

-Oh, got a long way to go.

-46, I've got 48...

-55!

-Takes me out...

Internet's taking over, internet's going. Good.

I've got 60 now...

-65, I have.

-Have we got 70?

70 now bid. 75, 80, 80, 85...

It's going now, it's going now, it's going, it's going.

-It's got a long way to go.

-On reception at £85? All done at £85...

-HAMMER BANGS

-Aww, jeezo!

I've just lost 100 quid on that one.

Yep, cos it's modern. Spoken like a woman who can afford it, though!

-And she had such a nice wee bum!

-Yes!

Bum job, more like it! Now, Raj and his garnets.

I've got a commission bid of 22.

-Is there 24 anywhere else?

-24!

Yes, keep going, keep going. It's cheap.

-I've got 26 for me on commission. £26 on commission.

-Still cheap.

28 anywhere? All done at 26...

-HAMMER BANGS

-Ah...

A moral victory at least.

You were going in the right direction.

Now, calling all grand masters - Anita's chess set is next.

£22 with me on commission. 24, anyone?

22 - you'd expect a little bit more than that. It'll go, it'll go.

-Takes me out...

-30, 32...

Yeah, internet buyers. They're bidding it up, here we go.

38...

We've 38 on the internet at the moment.

40 now in the room, it's in the room at 40...

Don't worry, don't panic. Look, it's going in the room, it's in the room.

£50 bid, 55, 60...?

-No? £55 bid...

-I think I'm going to burst out greetin'!

In the room at 55...

-HAMMER BANGS

-Oh!

First croquet, now chess -

sport just isn't paying for our Anita today.

-You're now giving me a chance.

-All right.

I might be able to win this leg, OK?

Come on, make it spec-tacular!

I only hope that people will see what I saw! Spectacles?

-No? OK...

-HE CHUCKLES

She gets it, Raj.

44 with me, is there 46 anywhere?

We're into profit already.

46, 48, £50, 55, 60, 55 with me.

With me, then, at 55...

-HAMMER BANGS

-Well done, well done.

-That's good.

-Yeah, that's good, yeah.

I'd say he's odds on to win this auction at least.

Well spotted!

THEY LAUGH

Can Anita finally make a profit with this joint lot?

£24 with me, 24, 26, 28, £30...

This'll go up, this'll go up, here we go.

36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, £50 bid.

It's in the room at £50. Is there 55 anywhere else? Gent's bid at £50.

55, 60, 65, 70, 75?

No? £70 bid. Are we all done and finished? £70.

In the room, then, at 70...

-HAMMER BANGS

-Ah-ha-ha-ha!

Oh, well, she's got an awfully big nest egg to fall back on.

I think I'm still a wee bit ahead of you.

I think you might be a little wee bit ahead, OK?

-Your Scottish accent's coming on terrific.

-It's not bad, is it?

It's not bad!

Raj's bargain spice tin is next to go.

Several commission bids - I can go straight in at...£42...

-Oh, excellent!

-At 42 with me on commission, at £42.

-That's spicing up your profits!

-46 with me on commission.

With me, then, at 46...

Another profit! Well done, Raj.

Oh, I think you're making up on me.

Oh, yeah, you must be worried by now, I'm sure(!)

Now, come on, Bolton! Let's get Anita a profit!

£52 with me, 54 anywhere? At 52 with me.

-You've got 60, I've 60, 60...

-LAUGHTER

-I've...

-65, I have.

Do you want to go 70? £70 bid in the room.

-Yeah, you'll still do it...

-80?

80 in the room, is there 90 anywhere?

-85!

-85, 90?

95, top it up. Top it up.

£100 bid. Is there 110 anywhere? 110. 120.

-130 in the room...

-130! Profit, profit!

At £150. Are we all done and settled at £150?

-HAMMER BANGS

-Yes! I'm happy with that.

Who knows what it might have made completely intact?

Here it is, then, Raj's game-changer.

Around £2,500 should do it.

-There's a little bit of interest, I can go in at £12.

-£12?!

You're in profit!

14 now, 16, 18, 18 takes me out, at £18...

-£18, that's OK.

-..20 now...

20? Oh, my goodness.

I've got a 20 bid, gent's bid at £20, 22 now...

-22!

-£24 bid.

All done, then? Gent's bid at 24...

-HAMMER BANGS

-Well done!

-It doubled its money.

You see, it brought a smile to folks' faces, and they wanted it.

They couldn't help themselves.

But despite Raj's best efforts,

the day and the week are all about Anita.

Anita has actually got the record-breaking profit on

Antiques Road Trip.

So we'd just like to congratulate her on that one.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Bravo! Well done, Anita.

Raj started out with £632.48.

And, after paying auction costs, he made a profit of £28.92,

leaving him with a total of £661.40.

Anita began with £3,543.82.

And she made a loss, after costs, of £392.16.

But she still got a bunch of flowers, and she's still our winner.

All profits go to Children In Need.

This trip has made history. You have made history.

-You are the Queen of the Road Trip.

-I'm lost for words!

And that doesn't happen very often!

Well, there's a first time for everything!

Let's go!

Here we are. Hey-ho.

We're moving in for the kill now.

ANITA LAUGHS

-3,800.

-HAMMER BANGS

Yes!

Thanks for the memories.

Next time, we begin a brand-new Road Trip,

with dapper dandy Charles Hanson...

Look at these lug handles, oops! That's just become detached.

..and the ever jolly James Braxton.

I like to leave as friends, Mike!