Episode 28 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts

with £200 each, a classic car

and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

Going, going...gone.

Yes!

I'm lovin' that bird.

The aim? To make the biggest profit at auction,

but it's no mean feat.

Yes!

There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

Don't I look handsome?

So, will it be the high road to glory

or the slow road to disaster?

I'm going now.

This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah...

The sun has come out in Gloucestershire

for antiques experts Charlie Ross and Thomas Plant.

Spirits are riding high

for the start of the third leg of their road trip.

-Cows are going nuts.

-Look at them! They are...

THEY MOO

Cuddly Thomas has over 20 years' auctioneering experience

tucked under his belt

and he's not afraid to use it.

For goodness' sake, for 32,

-you're not going to ask for discount?

-I am.

I am! Come on!

Rumbustious Charlie is even more of a veteran in the trade

and is blessed with dazzling powers of persuasion.

I'm going to ask you a straightforward question here.

-You can say yes or no.

-No.

Ha...on we go.

Our valiant experts began the week with £200 each,

but two auctions later, a rather large gap is appearing.

On the net now at 30...

Do you know, it's not pain, Thomas.

It's agony.

Charlie suffered a few losses

and kicks off this leg back near square one

with £195.36.

Not happy.

Thomas, on the other hand, has made some astute purchases,

more than doubling his money,

giving him a magnificent £416.88 to play with.

Happy.

Our chaps are nipping about

in their natty little 1971 Triumph Spitfire

and isn't this just the weather for it?

This week's Road Trip is whisking us over 400 miles

from Watchet in Somerset

right up to Shropshire via North Wales

before looping back down

to finish at an auction finale in Bedford, Bedfordshire.

Today, we're kicking off in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire,

then heading for delightful Worcestershire,

before motoring north for an auction showdown

in Wrexham, North Wales.

Sitting near the River Severn is the town of Tewkesbury -

a little piece of the Middle Ages preserved in time -

although some parts are better preserved than others.

HE LAUGHS

Alongside its charming 12th-century abbey

is one of the best black-and-white timbered medieval high streets in Britain,

home to two antique shops on opposite sides of the road.

Perfect!

-What a splendid establishment.

-Oh, look at that!

BOTH: Oh!

-Good luck, old bean.

-Good luck to you.

I'm off. Bye-bye. Find yourself a shop.

Be careful with your £400.

Sh!

Look at him go!

Charlie's shop du jour is Coach House Antiques -

an eclectic mix of traditional furniture,

shabby chic and retro.

Talking of retro...

-IMITATES TOMMY COOPER:

-I'm looking for some bargains!

Ha-ha-ha!

Oh, lordy.

And after a good old sniff about...

I'm inexorably drawn back to this cabinet.

Which is owned by dealer John, who, luckily, is here today.

These are fabulous pot lids.

The Duke of Wellington's funeral.

-Framed, ready to go.

-Yeah.

-How much is that one?

-195.

-Yeah.

But it is quite a rare one.

That's a rare lid. That's such a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Yeah.

Blow your money on one thing, Roscoe...

Uh-oh...

In the mid-19th century,

new printing technology allowed multicoloured transfers

to be printed on pot lids and other everyday wares.

Pot lids like these are now highly sought after

for their technical excellence, variety,

and their value as social and historical records.

This one depicts the funeral of the Duke of Wellington

and has a ticket price of £195.

Wonderful. I can remember Winston Churchill's funeral,

um...as if it was yesterday - 1965.

And that was a fabulous occasion.

-How much is that?

-To you?

-To me. Well, 600 to me!

CHARLIE LAUGHS

-I'll give that to you for £100.

-Would you really?

-I will.

That is a good buy.

I'm going to ask one question from a psychological point of view,

not really a financial one.

Could it be £95?

Only in so much that it's psychologically better than 100.

-Yes.

-Are you sure?

-Yes.

That's just under half your entire budget, Charlie!

You are a brave man.

A wonderful man, sir. Thank you.

WOMAN CLAPS

A round of applause!

A round of applause.

Charlie's not finished yet.

There's something else tempting in John's cabinet -

a very old-looking bottle, possibly Roman.

Extraordinary condition, isn't it?

"Riga Balsam."

-That's quite a rare thing, isn't it?

-Yeah.

I don't know that it's Roman. So I'd be taking...

They are very hard to...

I'd be taking a complete gamble.

It's in extraordinary condition if it is Roman, isn't it?

It is, yeah.

The ticket price on the bottle is £35.

Can John do another deal?

-It can be yours for £20.

-Could it really?

-There's no downside, is there, at 20 quid?

-That's right.

Oh, what the heck. I like this.

No downside at all.

So, Charlie's raid on John's cabinet

has resulted in a Victorian pot lid and possibly Roman bottle

both for £115.

I am a compulsive shopper.

Thank you very much indeed, sir. Well done.

Now, let's see if Thomas is as flash with his cash in Attica.

Hello, I'm Thomas, Thomas Plant.

-What's your name?

-Mark Turner.

Mark, nice to meet you.

Get browsing, Thomas.

There's something about shells and purses with me, isn't there?

I should have been a girl.

No comment.

Ooh, I think something's caught his eye,

with a ticket price of £20.

Solid pair of field glasses.

But what's interesting about them

is they've got the broad arrow mark for military issue.

"11089" - that's interesting.

So these are probably First World War.

So those, you've got 20 on.

What can be the best on the binoculars, please?

-15.

-15...OK, cool.

Could I offer you 12?

MARK SIGHS

-Make it 14.

-Make it 14.

-Yeah.

-And it's a deal.

-Yeah.

All right, OK. I'll have those.

First World War binoculars at 14 can't be bad.

I'll have those, thank you very much.

Not bad at all - in fact, quite an eye opener.

Ha!

Is it me, or does our Thomas remind you of a teddy bear?

Now, here's something Winnie the Pooh

would definitely like.

I do love that.

It's for drizzling honey.

Honey pourer-drizzler.

The honey goes in there and you drizzle it out.

You can see, it's almost like a honeycomb

but the construction of that is just beautiful.

That has been made on a wheel.

I think it's incredibly stylish, actually...

It is so stylish.

What can that be?

I wouldn't want to go lower than 12.

It's something quite quirky, quite unusual,

it's got a real charm about it.

It has got a charm. It has got a charm.

West Country, Bristolian charm.

All right, all right...

You're pressing my buttons. You know you are, Mark.

So, what's the best on that?

12 on that. I couldn't go any lower.

-So that makes those two 26...

-14 and 12, 26.

Can we do the two for 25?

-Um...yes.

-Keeps it...

No, that's fine, I'm happy with that.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

Well done, Thomas! Two items in the old bag.

With his shopping for the morning completed,

Charlie's heading 14 miles northwest to Malvern.

For a man not only passionate about vintage cars

but who also auctions them off for a living,

our Charlie is in for a treat.

Malvern is the home

of one of Britain's best-known classic sports cars - the Morgan.

Morgan roadsters and three-wheelers epitomise timeless glamour.

Outwardly, they've changed little

since they were first made over 100 years ago.

Charlie's going to be shown around - lucky dog -

by the managing director, Steve.

Ah-ha! Do I see the managing director?

Charlie Ross.

-Good to meet you. Steve Morris.

-Steve, hello.

Morgans have been made here in Malvern

since the early days of the motor car.

Back in 1909,

25-year-old Harry Morgan invented his first three-wheeler,

a car so light and affordable,

it was to bring motoring to the masses.

I can't help looking at this

and thinking, "Why three wheels? Why not four?"

It was cheaper to run, cheaper to manufacture.

Even back in the early 1900s,

I think tax played a part in the affordable part of motoring.

Yeah...gosh. And it's got no steering wheel.

No, it's a tiller-style steering, so you're steering off a handle.

Is that steering the back wheels or the front wheels?

-Front-wheel steering, so...

-Yeah. Gosh.

They may not seem fast by modern standards,

but early Morgan three-wheelers were demons on the racing track,

winning a string of trophies.

Ah! Brooklands!

This is HFS and Ruth Morgan

in an early trial at Brooklands, on the race track,

so possibly testing, it could have been speed trials,

-it could have been general...

-Speed trials? No crash hats!

-No, no...

-They wore woollen bonnets!

Do you know - long before my time -

but my father raced at Brooklands in a home-made car?

I bet it wasn't as quick as a Morgan.

And knowing my father, it used to break down.

By the '30s, Morgans evolved to meet demand for family cars,

developing their first four-wheelers.

They've changed little on the outside ever since.

That, I think, is as attractive as any car you've ever made, really.

Early '60s car, that. It's what we call a drophead coupe.

-The actual car was Charles Morgan's mother's car.

-Really?

Yes - it's got quite a lot of history, with the car.

So why did they ditch the three wheels in the end

and go for four wheels?

I think there was a requirement - the world had moved on.

I think there was a requirement for family transport,

for more travel, more distance, more comfort.

-Presumably, you can put more power into four wheels, can't you?

-Yeah.

If you put a V8 engine into that three-wheeler...

-You could have a problem.

-You'd be dead within the week.

THEY LAUGH

Morgan's success has been to stick at what they're good at -

making the quintessential British sports car,

some of which even hark back to those early days.

And what am I looking at, straightaway?

A car from 1910?

No, it's very modern,

the very latest Morgan three-wheeler.

-You're making three-wheeled cars today?

-We certainly are.

We make 12 a week, every week.

To me, as a layman, it looks virtually the same.

Yeah. I mean, it was styled with the original three-wheeler in mind,

but obviously with a modern twist to everything.

What sort of performance would a three-wheeler like this have?

-It's phenomenal.

-Really? Quick?

Yeah, you'll do 120mph, it's...

CHARLIE LAUGHS

Quoted 0-60 in, you know, late five seconds.

-Really?

-Yeah, six seconds.

-Like flying a Spitfire!

They're very quick - and, of course, you're so low,

you're so open to the elements,

but you certainly get out of it with a smile on your face.

Each one is hand crafted and made to order.

But if you're after one, there's a year-long waiting list

and be prepared to fork out up to £135,000 for the pleasure.

It's more than most of us can afford,

but for lucky Charlie, dreams do come true.

I've got one last wish here, Steve, you've been so good to me -

can I drive one of your cars?

-You certainly can - I've got one outside you can drive now.

-Come on!

A proper driving experience.

CHARLIE LAUGHS

You can actually drive a car like this without smiling.

I don't want to buy antiques any more -

to hell with antiques!

I just want to spend the rest of my life driving this car.

Sorry, Charlie.

You've got to get back to the Spitfire, I'm afraid,

although I wouldn't turn my nose up even at that.

While Charlie's having a spin,

Thomas has travelled to the small town of Upton-Upon-Severn

for a spot more shopping.

Now, what does this rather fetching establishment have in store?

-Hello.

-Hello, how are you?

-I'm Thomas.

-Hi, Thomas. I'm Lee.

-Lee, nice to meet you.

-You too.

Everything in Croome Antiques has been chosen by owner Lee

and there's all kind of quirky things lurking about.

Oh - there's a teddy, Thomas.

And is it real?

-What the dog called?

-Jerry.

-Jerry.

Hello. Are you going to come and say hello?

Hello...

He's the complaints department.

-Has never bitten anybody yet.

-Oh, OK. OK. That's a warning.

After him, Jerry!

And now, anyone for the races?

There's more to this horse and rider than meets the eye.

This is a spelter table light.

So what you do, there's meant to be a little...

This is the post where the horse is tethered to the jockey

and there's meant to be a little striker in there

and it's filled with, uh...paraffin.

And you can take it out and you can strike it on there

and you can hand the lighter round to your colleagues after supper

to light one's cigars or cigarettes with.

So it's a Deco table light.

I quite like that.

It's missing its striker and there's some damage to the base,

so the ticket price on this table lighter is £98.

One to think about.

What a fabulous, fabulous spirit kettle on a stand.

Look at that!

Straight out of the Art Nouveau period, by WMF.

Wow!

What a thing.

Oh, look at that cane handle.

What a thing of beauty.

Ho! Ho!

What a fabulous thing.

I think he likes it.

Oh, and it's the early mark, as well.

Oh...!

Right, so this is a really early mark for WMF.

It's the ostrich in the diamond, there.

Badly bashed.

From its early days in the late 19th century

through to the First World War,

German manufacturing company WMF

became one of the most prolific producers of elegant designs

formed in metal and glass.

This piece is stamped with the rare ostrich mark,

which was replaced in 1907 by a simple WMF.

What a thing of absolute...beauty.

What a thing. But it has seen slightly better days.

I like that. I'm going to ask about that,

see what can be done.

That's two items to consider. Could this be a third?

That's lovely, isn't it?

It's Art Nouveau. It's in pewter.

You've got the two flower heads. You've got the sinuous stem.

It would have been a drinks...

It would have been a tray for drinks.

But it is very attractive and that pewter look is good-looking.

And it's so cheap - £18.

I think that's quite a good thing. I think that could make money.

So, there's the pewter plate, the WMF kettle

and the jockey table lighter.

-What can you do?

-OK, well, the horse, um...we've got 98 on,

so we'll do that for 80.

-OK.

-OK?

The WMF, um...

I haven't got a lot of manoeuvrability with that,

I'll be honest with you.

We've got 110 on it.

-Mm, you like it, though, don't you?

-I do, I love it. Yeah.

I could hear the noise and the commotion when you...

Yeah, it's very nice, it's a nice thing.

-So, £100.

-Oh...!

LEE LAUGHS

Yeah.

-And the Art Nouveau tray is 18.

-Yeah.

We'll do that for 15, of course.

Um...

Cos that's damaged, I was thinking that should be...a bit less. 60.

60?!

I was hoping for 70 for the kettle and stand.

-For the tray, I get it.

-Yes.

-That's fine.

How do those figures grab you?

60, 70, get the tray.

OK - tray at 15, that one...uh...

-I'll accept 60 on that.

-OK.

I'll go to 90 on that, but no less.

And I think that's a very good buy at 90.

Make it...150 for the lot, and you've got a deal.

THOMAS LAUGHS

-155.

-Oh...!

LEE LAUGHS

And that's a good price.

(Oh, 155...)

So that's one, two, three...

OK...

-We're splitting hairs, really, aren't we?

-We are.

-Come on.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you, Thomas. Appreciate it.

Lee's done you proud there, Thomas.

This is the most I've spent in a shop for ages!

Yeah - well done, you!

After that flurry of purchases, there's only one thing to be done.

Both experts deserve a little lie down.

Sleep tight, chaps.

It's day two and Charlie's fretting over yesterday's purchases.

-It's all going horribly wrong.

-Does it matter, though?

We're here, in the open-top car...

This is the most beautiful county.

That's the spirit - peckers up!

Charlie spent £115 on two items -

the pot lid depicting the Duke of Wellington's funeral

and the Roman unguentaria bottle,

leaving him with £80.36 to play with.

I am a compulsive shopper.

Thomas, meanwhile, has splashed out £180 on five items -

a honey drizzler, a pair of WWI binoculars,

a pewter plate, a WMF spirit kettle and table lighter - lordy -

and that still leaves him with £236.88 to spend.

Flash Harry.

I better give you some money.

Now, this should be interesting.

Our sparring partners have returned to Malvern

and their shops are right next door to one another.

Ha-ha!

-Roscoe.

-Do your worst, Planters.

Oh!

Come on, Roscoe! Bounce out!

-You're remarkably lithe, aren't you?

-I'm fit, aren't I?

Fit for shopping, I hope.

Thomas has bagged Foley House Antiques Centre.

-Hello, Thomas. I'm Bridget.

-Bridget. Very nice to meet you.

-Well, I'll have a good look around, if that's all right?

-Please do.

Thank you very much.

Yesterday, Thomas went on a shopping frenzy,

snapping up five items in two shops.

Let's see if he's still on a roll.

Have a good scoot...

Uh-oh - has he run out of steam?

God, there's stuff everywhere, isn't there?

Bridget, there's stuff everywhere.

Yes, Thomas - it's a shop, don't you know?

Frustrating...

I haven't even looked in these cabinets here.

It's extraordinary.

Um...

Oh, Bridget, I feel your pain.

It's a no. It's a no.

God, I'm being a pain.

I give up. Quick, let's go and look next door.

Charlie's making himself at home in Promenade Antiques,

watched by friendly owner Mark.

-Anyway, may I have a look round?

-You're more than welcome.

See what I can find.

As long as you do more than just look, Charlie.

That is an enormous dinner service.

That's a real gamble lot, something like that, isn't it?

If you went to buy that, it would cost you...

..£3,000?

-Each plate's £30-£40.

-And there's 12 of those.

£50. There's 12 - 5, 12, 60...

I bet there's £3,000 worth of stuff there.

This has hardly been used -

a lot of these were bought as wedding presents,

put away, never used.

That's a lot of dinner service.

Not sure I've got quite enough money for that.

Yeah, the dinner service has £170 on the ticket.

Best aim for something more suited to your budget,

like this.

-I like your toffee hammer.

-Memories of childhood.

Memories of childhood - isn't that wonderful?

Look at that - toffee hammer.

But you have a slab of toffee,

and the retailer would smash up the toffee and sell it in chunks.

That's a wonderful thing, and it says "for toffee".

Isn't that delightful? What a wonderful memory.

That's well worth considering, that is.

I might as well ask a question - um...

That's not something I would normally buy,

that dinner service, as you know - there's so much of it.

And it would be a complete gamble at auction, but...um...

I've got just under 100 quid, it's not going to buy that, is it?

How much, just under?

Started with £195 and I've got 80 quid left,

so I don't know whether...

That's probably not going to do the trick, is it?

-I did have some breakfast cups that went with it.

-Yes.

-And I sold those yesterday to a lady.

-Did you?

To match her own service, presumably?

-And she gave me a good price for them.

-Yeah.

So...as that happened, in that case,

I could go that for the money that you're offering.

Could you?

I think that's a phenomenal offer, I have to say.

Heart over head, isn't it?

The thing I like best of all is your toffee...

Yeah. It's good fun.

That's a great thing.

So Charlie's hoping to snaffle up the toffee hammer

AND the dinner service for his remaining cash.

If I gave you £80.36 - and that is my total wipe-out -

could I have that and the toffee hammer?

Seeing as you like the toffee hammer, I'll do that.

Are you sure? That's really kind of you.

And just like that, Charlie's spent out.

Now, how's Thomas getting on?

I've been perusing. I've been perusing.

And because I have an Art Nouveau pewter plate,

-it would fit quite nicely with this mirror.

-Oh, right.

-Because that's Arts and Crafts as well.

-Yes, yes.

Um...well, Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts.

For goodness' sake, for 32,

-you're not going to ask for discount?

-I am.

-I am! Come on!

-Oh...!

Come on. See, they would fit well together.

A plate and a mirror.

Ah, so Thomas wants to put the mirror in the same lot

as the pewter plate he bought yesterday - cunning.

-It's quite cheap.

-I know it's cheap. So you don't need discount, do you?

-£20 would be buying it.

-25 would be buying it.

20 and you've got a deal.

-Go on, then. Go on.

-Superb.

You're very sweet. Thank you very much.

Phew! He's bought something at last,

putting us all out of our misery.

-Super. Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

-Our first sale of the day, as well.

-Is it?

-Of course.

Shame it took all morning.

Eh? Ha!

The chaps are leaving Malvern behind

and are heading nine-and-a-half miles north

to the city of Worcester.

Worcester is most famous for its well-known sauce -

uh, I mean cathedral,

the earliest parts of which date back to the 11th century.

-Look at the cathedral.

-Oh, yes, look at that.

It's also the place most associated with one of our national treasures -

the composer, Sir Edward Elgar.

Glorious.

But it's not the music Thomas is here to explore.

He has an appointment with something altogether more grisly.

He's heading to the George Marshall Medical Museum

to meet curator Frank Crompton, who's going to show him around.

-So, you've got some interesting things to show me.

-Absolutely.

-Ah, well, lead on then, Frank.

-Right.

Most of the artefacts in this museum

were collected by one man, George Marshall.

He was a consultant surgeon at the Worcester Infirmary

from the 1940s to the 1960s and an enthusiastic collector

of old medical and surgical equipment.

Over the course of 50 years, he amassed several thousand objects,

each telling its own story of the history of medicine -

and some of them are rather macabre.

So, Frank, what are these here?

These are death masks of prisoners

who were hanged at the jail in Worcester.

As soon as the criminal was taken off the rope, so to speak,

-they did a plaster cast of his face.

-Yes.

They weren't buried until they'd actually been used for dissection.

In the 19th century,

death masks of criminals were taken

because it was believed they could be used

to predict criminal behaviour.

I was going to say, what's wrong with this poor fellow?

He's a microcephalic,

which means he's been born without the upper part of his brain

and so he would have had the intellect of a four-year-old

if he was lucky.

He was working, as far as we know, as a farm hand

and he was brought before the court for setting fire to a hayrick.

Now, normally, a person in that circumstance

would have been commuted to transportation to Australia

-or somewhere else.

-Yeah.

He was hanged.

Whilst studying the workings of the mind was still in its infancy,

so too was 19th-century surgery.

I'll show you the operating chair here.

This was made between 1840 and 1850

and, basically, if you wanted to do an operation without anaesthetics,

they were actually strapped to this chair.

And so these little holes here would take straps...

Leather straps or webbing straps, we're not sure.

..to strap the poor person down.

There were various techniques which were used to try and dull the pain -

sometimes alcohol was used, the person consumed some alcohol,

which would desensitise them.

But normally, they were simply strapped in there

and there would be some fairly hefty people around

to make sure they didn't squirm about too much.

Doesn't bear thinking about, does it?

Ugh!

The instruments used by surgeons were no less brutal.

-It's actually a surgeon's kit.

-Right.

It was in use in the Crimean War and we've got a number of items in here.

You've got the saw for going through bones.

The saw for going through bone, yes.

-Is this...is this a catheter, here?

-That's a catheter there.

Oh, my God, that fills me with utter horror.

Before that, you would actually use one of these flesh knives.

You actually cut through the flesh, you got down to the bone

before you took the saw out.

The saw would work much more efficiently.

-That was the last thing, the saw.

-Yeah, the saw was the last thing.

Somewhat horrific.

-How far we are removed from it.

-Absolutely. Thank God.

Amputations in the early 19th century

were carried out without any anaesthetic,

but in 1847,

chloroform was introduced for the first time.

This is showing an example of how an operation, an amputation,

-would have gone on in 1860, 1870.

-Yeah.

Looking at his apron, just imagining,

-it doesn't look like the most hygienic place in the world.

-No.

It wouldn't have been the most hygienic place in the world.

When we become aware that there is such a thing as a germ,

which is going to cause things,

they began to try and do something about that

by bringing in the use of an antiseptic spray.

-So was it a sawdust floor?

-Yeah, it would have been.

-Like a butcher's, so to speak.

-It would have been.

You simply sweep up the mess that's caused by the operation.

Frank, I have to say that I'm very pleased I live now.

When people say to you, "Do you know what?

"I'd love to live in the 19th century,

"it would have been - or the 18th century"...

I wouldn't even want to have been born in the 1950s, for God's sake.

I was born in the 1940s.

-Yes - I wouldn't even want that!

-Primitive.

I'm going to go away feeling, um...a little bit nauseous,

but I think I'll survive.

But, also, I've had my knowledge increased.

-Yeah.

-It's been a pleasure.

What a fascinating - albeit rather gruesome -

visit for Thomas.

Now it's time to meet up with old Roscoe,

because it's the moment of truth,

when our experts reveal all to each other

and where better than in the shade of the great Worcester Cathedral?

It's too wet for me to reveal my fine goods.

-Is it?

-Yes.

-Will it get damaged?

-They're all papier-mache.

-Oh, are they?

CHARLIE LAUGHS

Come on - whip it off, Charlie!

# Dah-dah-dah... #

Roscoe! Is that it?

What do you mean, "is that it?"

There's quite a lot of it.

That's a Royal Doulton dinner service.

-What have you done, buying that?

-Well...

-How much was it?

-101 pieces, £80.

-£80 - right, OK...

-Total gamble.

-Hm.

I'm not sure Thomas likes it, so what's next?

-What have you done, buying a pot lid?

-I like pot lids.

-Do you?

I still love pot lids, I do,

and I bought Old Wellington's funeral.

-Right.

-I'm a great fan of Wellington.

-And it's got a pretty border.

-Well, it's in very good condition,

it's almost as good a condition as you can get.

-I don't like this frame, but...

-How much was that?

-£95.

-GASPING: £95...!

-And what is...?

-I want you to take a look at that, please.

I wanted you to tell me how old it is?

-This is Roman.

-It is Roman.

This is a Roman flask, definitely Roman.

-How much was that?

-20 quid.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-God, that's rather wonderful, isn't it?

-It's a super thing.

-Love your toffee mallet.

-Do you?

-I love your toffee mallet.

-It was 36p.

-Oh, that's so sweet.

That could be, proportionally, on this trip,

-the biggest profit.

-It could.

Thank goodness he likes something.

Now, time for Charlie to be the judge.

Hm...

Wait for it...

£400. Didn't quite make £400.

-Are they military?

-Yes. Yes, they are.

-Probably First World War.

-Yeah, yeah.

Those are of a price

and they probably cost between 15 and 20 quid.

-£14.

-Good valuation.

-£14.

That's...rather charming.

I like that style and I think the spout is to die for.

-Isn't it lovely?

-Who made it?

-WMF.

-That's WMF?

-It's very early.

That surprises me. That's a pleasant surprise.

It's got the early ostrich mark on the base.

And you got a table lighter there?

A slightly damaged table lighter.

-Have you got the lighter bit?

-No.

It's quite nicely modelled, isn't it?

-Beautiful thing, isn't it?

-Quite nicely modelled.

-You've missed out the best thing.

-I haven't come to it yet.

-Wonderful cocktail...

-No, no, no!

-Is it not for cocktails?

-Not for cocktails.

-What are you dispensing with that?

-Honey.

-Honey?

-Honey dispenser. It's a honey drizzler.

-Look at the shape of the cone.

-Oh, I can feel it.

-It's had honey in it.

-It's lovely.

It's not that old, probably 1970s, 1960s.

-That cost...?

-11.

Well, that doesn't really matter.

It doesn't really matter. Inconsequential.

Well, the whole thing will hinge on this...ghastly dinner service.

-It's not ghastly.

-Oh, I don't like it.

-Right, Roscoe.

-Good, good.

-Let's get out of the rain.

Keep hold of that brolly and take me away somewhere.

So, they were a bit cagey there, weren't they?

Let's hear what they really think.

The WMF - I thought it might have been Benson or someone like that,

not WMF, but it's very stylish.

But who buys them nowadays? That's the point.

Oh, God, you know...it is awkward, really, isn't it?

Cos I don't really like two of the items he's bought -

the pot lid and the dinner service.

Oh, Roscoe, please make some money, please -

I feel sorry for you.

It all comes down to the Doulton.

If the Doulton makes £200-£250, I'll catch up a bit.

If it doesn't...we'll have to go on to the next one.

Crumbs! Is that dinner service a gamble too far?

Will there be tears at teatime?

Let's get to the auction and find out.

Thomas and Charlie's third leg began in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire,

continues northwards into the lovely county of Worcestershire,

and now, they're finishing up at an auction in Wrexham, North Wales.

-Blimey!

-God, I never realised Wrexham was so busy.

-It's because you're here, Thomas.

-No, it's because YOU'RE here, Roscoe.

After you...

All our chaps' items will be going under the hammer here

at Wingetts Auction House,

an establishment which has been selling off goods

for almost 50 years.

In charge of today's proceedings is auctioneer Richard Hughes.

Well, I like the table lighter.

Little bit of damage on the base, which is going to affect the price.

I was thinking, perfect, £100-£150.

As is...probably more like £40-£60.

Prattware pot lid, in good condition.

I can't see any major damage or faults with it,

so...I'd be hoping for in excess of £100.

Well, that would be nice.

So, Charlie started this leg with £195.36

and spent the whole lot on four auction lots.

Are you sure? That's really kind of you.

Thomas began with a whopping £416.88

and spent less than half - £200, to be precise -

on five auction lots.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you, Thomas.

As ever, it's anyone's game.

I think I'm in for a bad day.

You're in for a stormer.

First up is Thomas's honey drizzler.

£10 to start, then - got to be that, surely.

£5, only bid - standing with you, sir, now.

That's the main - but eight in front, if you want it?

At £5, I'm only bid, standing - eight bid. Ten.

Nearly into a profit.

Lady's bid in front. Only bid now.

Is there ten in the room? You're out?

Your bid, madam.

Oh.

But the great thing about only spending £11 -

-you haven't lost a lot.

-No.

True, although it will be more than £1

once the auction house takes its well-earned commission.

Apiarists should stay at home and look after their bees.

It's the first of Charlie's big purchases up next -

his pot lid, bought for £95.

Give me £100 for it.

Got to be that, surely.

£50 to start, then.

-All gone quiet...

-Oh...

I'm only bid by the doorway there, £20. Now 25...

You'll be fine, it's OK.

£25, the bid, standing at the back of the room.

30 in front, sir. Five, sir. 40.

-And five. 50...

-Halfway...

60. And five, sir. 70.

-£65.

-Go on...

-More!

65 bid standing.

Goes with you, sir.

Thank you.

-Oh-ho-ho...

-Oh, shut up, Roscoe.

THOMAS LAUGHS

Ouch! Charlie really needed to make a profit there.

Got any tissues, Thomas?

I'm crying.

There's always the dinner service.

But now it's time for Thomas's binoculars.

£5 to start, then. Five, I'm bid eight. Ten, sir.

There's a man next to me, bidding.

15. 18. 20.

And two. 25.

-28.

-Oh...

-30.

-Ooh!

30 - fresh bidder, two.

£30, your bid, sir, in the room, in the centre at 30 bid.

32, lady's bid. 35, sir.

If you like?

Sold in front.

-Thomas...

-35.

First handshake of the day.

Well done, Thomas. A solid gain.

There's a difference between you and me, isn't there?

What do you mean?

One of us makes a profit.

Now, don't give up yet, Charlie.

It's your toffee mallet, bought for 36p.

£5 - £5, I've got. Bid eight.

Bid ten, sir? 12. 15. 18...

Roscoe!

20...

£18, now, I'm only bid with you, madam.

Should have bought five of these.

Sold at 18.

Well done, sir. 36p to £18.

Yep, that's the way to do it, boy.

A well-needed sweetener for Charlie.

50 times what it cost.

CHARLIE LAUGHS

Now, what about Thomas's pairing of the pewter dish and the mirror?

£20, then - mirror and the dish for £20.

Got to be that, surely.

£20, I've got - thank you, madam.

We're away now...

Thomas, we're away.

And five. 40. And five.

50. And five.

60. And five.

70...

Good night, Road Trip.

-Shut up, Roscoe!

-And seated...

I'm not very good at this, Roscoe. I'm not good at this.

False modesty is most unbecoming, Thomas.

But well done all the same.

-Do you know, Thomas?

-What?

I couldn't be thrashed by a nicer person.

Shut up, please. You're not being thrashed.

It's Thomas up again now, this time with his early WMF spirit kettle.

£50.

£20, I've got five bid. 30. Five, sir.

40. And five.

50. Five.

60. Five.

Five bid, 60.

70. 80.

I'll take 75, if you want, then.

At £70, the bid's on the left. £75, madam. 80.

And five.

£80, standing.

All done and finished...

-Ooh...

-Well done. Washed your face.

-Mm.

-Just a tad...

Certainly not what Thomas expected. That's a loss after commission.

Oh, God, that was quite...

-You're quite pleased, actually, aren't you?

-I am.

I am really pleased.

Glad YOU are.

Now it's Charlie's big gamble. He needs to make up a lot of ground

and it all comes down to his enormous dinner service.

£20 - all right, I'm bid, standing on my right with you, sir.

Maiden bid at 20. Now five bid. 30, if you like, sir.

-At £25...

-Oh, dear. It's not looking good.

35 bid. 40. And five, sir.

50. 50 at the back. And five.

It's quite a big chunk -

bit of lifting there.

You'd think if someone wants it for...oh.

At 60 bid, seated with you, sir.

We need a little bit more.

You need a LOT more!

CHARLIE SIGHS

I have to say, that's a lot for the money, isn't it?

It certainly is - someone got themselves a bargain.

Stop laughing! I've started with a modest loss.

Now, will Thomas's table lighter make it out of the starter's block?

£20, I've got, then - thank you, madam, at the back.

Five bid. 30.

Five, sir. 40. Five.

45. 50. Five.

55, sir.

60.

Five. 70.

Five. 80.

-Five...

-This is a masterclass in dealing.

I'm bid 85. 90.

-Ooh!

-Get in there!

100.

110. 110, sir?

Jumping over there. Go on, 105!

105. Ten...

Break the seal.

120. And five.

130. And five.

140. And five.

Selling and going at 140...

Oh!

Roscoe, Roscoe!

A stonking profit for Thomas

as his table lighter streaks across the finishing line.

-Have you ever seen me sulk?

-No, and you don't sulk.

-You're about to see me sulk.

-You don't sulk. You don't sulk.

I'm going to sulk now. I'm not speaking again today.

Don't be moody.

Now, Charlie, it's the last lot of the day

and it's your Roman bottle.

Nice antiquity there.

Give me £50 for it.

-2,000 years old.

-Yeah.

-£20 to start...

-Nearly as old as me.

In the corner, now, and I'll take five.

Maiden bid. 25 bid. 30.

Five, sir. 40.

And five. 50.

And five, sir.

-60...

-Do you think it's going to make a million?

-£65...

-This is at £65,000.

60, back in. Five.

70.

Oh, brilliant.

Go on!

Sold at 65.

That's a very good return on my money.

Well done, Roscoe.

Hurrah! At last, an extremely respectable profit for Roscoe.

This is the nadir of my existence.

You're going to turn a corner and you're going to nail me -

nail me, from now on in.

Well, that remains to be seen.

So, Charlie started off this leg on the back foot

with £195.36

and has - oh, dear - made a loss of £24.80 after auction costs.

That leaves him with a depleted £170.56 to carry forward.

Don't cry, Charlie, please. It's humiliating.

Thomas's winning streak, though, continues unabated.

He began this leg with £416.88

and has made a profit of £68.96.

That means his total soars again.

He had £485.84 to spend next time.

Well done.

Gosh...do you know, I've never been in a car with such a rich person.

Right - there's only one way I'm going to win this competition.

Scaring you.

Goodbye, Wrexham. Hope I never see you again!

It wasn't that bad!

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip, Charlie has hair issues.

Do I need a nit comb?!

And Thomas is...well, just hair-raising.

WARPED: Roscoe, this is Planter, your merciless Mysteron!