Episode 2 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip

Some of the nation's favourite celebrities...

Why have I got such expensive taste?

..one antiques expert each...

..and one big challenge - who can seek out and buy

the best antiques at the very best prices...

Answers on a postcard.

..and auction for a big profit further down the road?

There'll be trouble if you're wrong!

Who will spot the good investment? Who will listen to advice?

-Do you like it?

-No, I think it's horrible.

And who will be the first to say, "Don't you know who I am?!"

Well done, us.

Time to put your pedal to the metal.

This is Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

We're in the green and pleasant heart of England for another celebrity battle

to create colossal profits from antiques.

Venturing out from behind the microphone

are two giants of the airwaves.

Each clutching £400, Radio 2 stars Janice Long

and Ken Bruce.

So, here we are - two days out on the road.

It's Thelma and Louise all over again, with one slight difference.

-We're not going off a cliff, are we?

-That wasn't the difference.

When he's not doing a poor impression of Thelma,

or was it Louise, Ken Bruce reaches over eight million listeners a week

with his morning shows on Radio 2, and he's definitely the PopMaster.

He shot to fame in 1985 after succeeding Terry Wogan on the Breakfast Show.

I was surprised. Amazed, even.

But delighted.

Since then, the Tracks of His Years have included

25 years commentating on the Eurovision Song Contest.

We'll all be there straining for the off at eight o'clock on Saturday night.

And he clearly had a premonition of today's battle.

It's a fairly intense affair from a fairly formidable woman.

But he's not planning to let that stop him.

Oh, no.

Much as I love spending the time with you, Janet, I do intend to win this.

I'm going to absolutely grind your face into the dirt on this.

-I'm going to make a fortune.

-Want to bet?

-No, actually, I don't.

I'm not taking sides, but you'd have to concede Ken's mastered the 1980 Corvette Stingray with aplomb.

Anyway, back to formidable women.

Janice is quite capable of introducing herself.

Hello. My name is Janice Long. I was the first woman to do a daily show on Radio 1.

I'm now on Radio 2 five nights a week, proving there's life after midnight.

LAUGHTER

Not content with winning The Weakest Link,

and making radio history,

she was there for Live Aid, and regularly hosted the iconic Top of the Pops.

I think we should have a look at the charts now, and we shall start at number 40.

Actually, these veterans are number one when it comes to broadcasting,

and Ken wants the same from his antiques expert.

I hope I'm going to get somebody really experienced, who's got the best eye for a bargain.

Somebody who's been around a long time. Perhaps an older person.

Someone just like Christina Trevanion.

I was born the year that Ken Bruce started work on Radio 2.

Magic!

Yes, our radio twosome are en-route to rendezvous with antiques experts Christina Trevanion and Paul Laidlaw,

and Christina's feeling frisky.

I tell you what, this is living the dream, isn't it?

Isn't it? Driving through the English countryside in a beautiful car.

With a handsome man.

Where's he? Is there somebody in the boot?

I wondered what that banging was coming through the back.

There's not much room for a man in the boot of their 1964 MGB Convertible,

but it's no problem - Christina finds other things handsome.

I think I've fallen in love with a brick.

She learned to spot peeling things while training at a major London auction house,

and now heads up the jewellery department of an auctioneer in Shropshire.

An avid collector of teapots, she also writes and lectures on things with bling.

SHE LAUGHS

Burning the rubber is Paul Laidlaw.

An antiques geek from childhood, he's never stopped being fascinated.

That's working on many levels for me.

After a brief flirtation with accountancy, he abandoned totting up in favour of lotting up...

-My kind of job!

-Good man, good man.

..and realising auction houses were a good place to indulge his passion

for arms and armour, and all things Georgian.

As long as it's not the car that's making that smell.

-That burning smell.

-Might be me.

Because you're on fire, baby.

Well, I hate to douse the flames,

you two, but you've a road trip to think about.

Hot pursuit of the perfect purchase begins

in the Northamptonshire town of Brackley,

takes a delightfully dotty meander to the Chilterns and Cotswolds,

and ends, a mere 11 miles from the start,

at an auction near Banbury in Oxfordshire.

Ta-da!

Christina and Paul are first to arrive in Brackley,

a traditional, quiet market town for 364 days of the year.

Hey, but today is Brackley Carnival Day,

and you'll never guess who's accidentally taking part.

Ken? How did you get us involved in this? A carnival.

I blame you. You're the navigator. I'm simply the driver.

I recognise that!

That's a cool car.

Got expert written all over them. Hello.

-I take it you're lost.

-Yes, yes.

-How did you manage to...

-We've been very lucky.

He went, "I want to be in that carnival."

Showbusiness, you see. I've got to be in it, I've got to be in it.

We won't hold you up. We'll see you in a second.

Find us a way out.

A few nifty manoeuvres later, it's time to get properly acquainted.

Here we are, here we are.

How are you doing? I'm Paul.

Paul, good to see you.

Janice!

-Good to see you.

-You've lost the wheels. Where are they?

I've left them back up there. The pipe band are looking after them for me.

-They can always be trusted.

-Is that your own personal band?

It is. They follow me everywhere, like my private army.

-What happens now?

-We're going to buddy up.

-Lady's choice.

I'm going to split these mighty Scots up,

because I think they might be too strong.

And also, I'm a bit of a PopMaster fan.

Gosh, she is keen on Ken.

-Come with me.

-I'm really sorry you're losing today.

Fighting talk.

With teams decided, everyone's started their quest here in Brackley.

So, have we got a plan?

Well, no. No, in a word.

No. I just think I'll look for something nice.

Something nice. Something that you like.

If I think it's attractive, surely somebody else will think it's attractive,

and they'll pay lots of money for it.

-Well, it's a vague plan.

-Yeah.

-Come on. Let's go.

Could this be the same Ken who was going to grind Janice into the dirt?!

Without further ado, let's see if Team Bruce can up their game

amidst the delights of Brackley Antiques Cellar.

This is huge.

Spread over 30,000 square feet,

it has over 160 dealers in antiques and collectibles.

A preliminary scoot around reveals Ken's diverse tastes,

and he gravitates to his own field of expertise.

Here's a radio. Let's see who's on it.

SHE LAUGHS

Oh... Radio 2.

Ah, but actually, it's on longwave, so it would now be Radio 4.

So this predates 1978.

-I've got this dated already.

-Yeah, you have.

This is '60s or '70s. There's a Radio Times here as well.

-Think you might be in it?

-Probably.

Which year was it?

1937. Oh, yes, I am.

So, collectible but not antique yet, Ken.

Come in. We're open.

-Where are they?

-I don't know. Already probably buying stuff.

Is that them with a shopping trolley?

Janice and Paul are hot on the heels of Ken and Christina

IF they can work out a plan.

-Where shall we start?

-What are you likely to be drawn to?

Are you jewellery? Is it going to be something random and -

Sort of sculptures. It might be a painting.

Um...

Could be a box.

-Could be a rug.

-Frankly, it could be anything, I think is what we're saying.

Yeah, anything, eh? Go for it, Paul.

What's your knee-jerk reaction to the bamboo easel?

Ugly, but at the same time it's got an appeal.

Ugly ugly.

I love bamboo furniture when it's of an age.

-In this instance, that's...

-How old is that?

That's a Victorian piece.

The manufacturing of mass-market bamboo furniture

peaked in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

Just about anything that could be made from it was,

from beds and tables, to jardinieres and whatnots.

I think that would be quite striking.

I'm loving this. Keep selling it to me.

-Price tag on that.

-Could we put that on the list?

-Maybe we can.

-How much is it?

£75. It's £75. It's got legs, but I'd love to be able to buy it for £50.

OK, that's one that might have potential.

Janice and Paul might be onto a roll, and Ken definitely is.

Oh, drum roll! I like it.

Keep that noise down, Bruce.

-How did she know?

-Well, I think we ought to go for something musical, really, hadn't we?

-It's not a very good snare, though.

-Is it a little bit bitty?

-Yeah.

-It's pretty light... I'm a drummer.

-You are a drummer?

-In a band.

-So, what do you call yourselves?

Well, we started off calling ourselves No Direction, but...

I think Bandwidth is what we call ourselves.

Bandwidth as in...?

More to do with the waist.

Wonder if they'll get a record deal...

Speaking of which...

Excuse me.

Do I sense a bit of self-indulgence here?

Sorry, sorry.

I was just looking at that - way before my time, this Top of the Pops album.

But very funny when I was a kid.

They always had these albums, and generally the woman on the front was in a crochet bikini.

Was it itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny too? Ooh!

Ah! Better get back to business, eh?

A wooden plaque here of some age, and I can tell you straightaway

that you're almost certainly at the 19th Century.

You're no later than, let's say, 1920s.

I'm guessing it's not love at first sight.

Why am I looking at that?

-Well, we've ascertained -

-Tell me why. It's horrible.

Look at the quality of the workmanship there.

I need to get closer.

It just looks really...tacky from there.

That's not some 1920s chap doing a little bit of DIY arts and crafts metalwork.

That's a trained artisan. That's good work.

Now, you put that in any sale, and I'm telling you, that is worth £30 to £50.

-Look at the price tag.

-£15.

If it was about numbers, we'd be looking at this.

And you know what, it is about numbers,

and I'm going to take it off the wall unless you say, "I'm disowning you if you do"!

-You're on your own.

-I think I'm disowning you.

You hate that, don't you?

You don't have to take it home.

I'll think about it. Honestly, I'll take your advice, but I just find it particularly ugly.

Persuading Janice that it could ever make a profit is going to be tough, Paul.

Christina's letting Ken's preference rather than profit guide their browsing.

This little curling stone...

cos I actually was captain of curling at school.

-I played curling.

-Really?

-Yeah, for about four years at school in Glasgow.

I became the Captain of the curling team.

In Scotland it's still a big sport, cos there's natural ice, of course, in many places.

Usually in the summer.

The stone is a charming little ink well, but even Ken's not convinced.

On the other side of the Cellar, Paul and Janice have decided to buy the bamboo easel,

so it's time for a pep talk on haggling.

What are you like at turning on the charm?

Are you...

I'm absolutely useless at haggling, but in this instance I will do it.

My advice? Cry if need be.

Do what it takes.

Beg.

You're shameless, Mr Laidlaw.

The dealer isn't there, so seller-owner Jim Broomfield steps in.

There are a few missing.

I would call them pattery.

That's our route in. Would you mention that?

I'll give him a ring, and be straight back in two minutes.

-Thank you.

-Really appreciate that.

Paul's hoping to get the easel for £50.

Here's our man. He's got a smile on his face.

I phoned the dealer, and he's a big fan of yours, Janice.

-Is he?

-He is.

-£45.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks. That's great.

-Thanks.

Inspired, Janice decides to buy the brass plaque she hates.

Is the dealer going to be glad to see the back of that?

-I would be.

-Janice will be.

Don't slip it in my suitcase.

Jim's call to that dealer reveals another Janice fan.

At a discount from £15 to £8.

-We'll go with that, definitely.

-That's a difficult one.

Brilliant. Absolutely. You did a great job for us. Thank you.

That's two items, and one very manly hug in the bag.

Meanwhile, Ken's still pursuing his passions.

Ah-ha! Now, look.

-Bus stop.

-Oh, right.

-Bus stop. This is perfect for me.

-Why?

-Because I have buses.

-You have buses?

-Yeah.

-Buses plural?

-God, it's heavy.

Proper London Transport request bus stop.

Right, OK.

I am a bus man. I bought a bus along with some friends a few years ago, and we now have a total of six.

Ken's a real enthusiast who knows all about authentic liveries,

period wing mirrors, and the like, and he passed the test

for a bus driving licence.

There's a big sort of transport memorabilia thing, and too often these things are reproduction,

but this looks totally original.

-It's got the rust on it.

-It certainly looks like it's been...

..liberated.

I do like this. I know a lot of people who are also interested in this sort of thing.

OK, that is music to my ears. Brilliant. What's the price on that?

-£68.

-£68...

Ken and Christina call in owner Debbie Perry.

Price tag says £68,

which I think is a little bit on the high side for this.

The best we can do is £50, but I think that is very resalable.

I think you could do very well with that.

I'd be happy to pay £50 for that, if Debbie would be happy to accept.

-I'd be very happy, yes. That'd be great.

-Sounds like a deal.

Sounds like a deal. Let's shake your hand. Thank you, Debbie.

-I don't have a spare hand.

-I'll take the sign.

Thank you very much.

So, the Ken Bruce buying spree has started...

with a stop sign.

But it's Ken and Christina's cue to head for Wythall in Worcestershire

to indulge his passion further.

The journey is Christina's chance to put the question she's been itching to pop.

It must be quite...odd being a radio personality.

-Do you get recognised a lot when you're out and about?

-No, not too much.

I get... Sometimes I get some looks, as if to say,

"Do I know you from somewhere?" which, you know, could have been the pub probably.

And sometimes when I speak, people suddenly do a double take.

And they say, "Goodness me. That young man's voice is coming out of an old bloke."

SHE LAUGHS

Ken and Christina's road trip is making a request stop that should be Heaven for a bus enthusiast.

Hello. Hi. I'm Christina.

-Hello, I'm Pete.

-Hi, Pete. Nice to meet you.

Welcome to the Transport Museum, Wythall.

We've got vehicles ranging from the '30s to the '70s up there.

-Gosh, right through. Whole spectrum.

-Right through.

-You've got some more inside?

-Yes. Would you like to come this way?

Brilliant.

The museum's volunteers are dedicated to the restoration of West Midland's public service vehicles,

including Midland red buses.

The collection's oldest bus is partway through restoration.

Oh, wow, this looks amazing.

-Gosh.

-A beauty, isn't it?

-This is our 1913 Tilling-Stevens.

-Petrol-electric.

-Petrol-electric?

So you have a petrol engine driving a generator, driving an electric motor.

-Right.

-So when they talk about the modern motors with petrol-electric drive,

they'd done it in 1913.

-It's 100 years old.

-Exactly 100 years old.

-Oh, my goodness. Wow.

-Can we go inside?

-Yes.

Ken's buses all date from the 1960s, so this centenarian is unfamiliar.

Oh, it's quite a leap, isn't it?

A leap of faith.

And there's lots to learn.

-Come.

-Heave-ho.

The vehicle that you're sitting on, the body that you're sitting against

is the only original part of the vehicle,

which actually was used as a greenhouse.

-And we found it.

-There's nothing else. There's only a wheel, and a handbrake.

Yes, yes. We need to acquire some more things, like the control gear in the front.

Oh, right, that's what I was wondering.

-You've got the steering wheel.

-Yeah, that's good. The wheels move.

With a top speed of 12 miles an hour, thank goodness bus technology has moved on.

HE LAUGHS

And it's all here for Ken to enjoy, but he seems easily diverted.

There's one thing I notice, Pete - there's all these buses, and then I see this,

which is demonstrably not a bus.

-Well, it's a fire engine.

-I thought that, I thought that.

It's a 1935 Leyland fire engine,

but the ladder that you see on it is a Metz ladder.

That's a German ladder.

And this was built, obviously, before the war started.

The ladder was used to rescue people from burning buildings,

notably during the bombing in Coventry in World War II.

These days it's simply a fascinating window on the past.

With early vehicles, your accelerator was in the middle.

The brass pedals have got A, B, and C.

Accelerator, brake, clutch.

If you forget, you can have a look.

-But not while you're driving.

-Not while you're driving.

But you are an emergency vehicle, so...

Stand well back.

Come on, stop playing. We're talking about buses.

Well said, Christina.

I think you'll recognise this one, Ken.

Ah!

-A Routemaster.

-Yes.

But your vehicle is an RM. Ours is an RCL.

RM? RCL? Come on, Christina.

Hang on a second. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Right, start again. This is a Routemaster bus.

-It's a Routemaster bus, yes.

-But it's a Routemaster coach.

-Right.

-This is a coach.

-What does that mean?

That means it's more comfortable inside, it's got a parcel shelf inside,

and it had a different diff.

If you're finding this DIFF-icult,

it boils down to a vehicle design for longer journeys

out into the home counties.

It's a country cousin to Ken's buses.

-We've got...

-Green ones?

-No, we've got red ones.

Six of these red ones.

Yeah, yeah, and I occasionally get out and drive them myself.

-Brilliant.

-Would you like to drive one of ours?

Oh, now you're talking. Lead on, lead on.

Here's your bus that you're going to drive.

-Oh, right.

-A nice 1950s City Standard.

Hup.

-Well done.

-Amazing what they could make a man of my age do.

Ken's all set, but Christina's a rookie at life on the buses.

If you stand here, you can be like the clippie.

BELL

That's stop, but to go is...

RINGS BELL TWICE.

-OK, are you ready?

-I think so.

-OK, start it up.

-Go, go, go.

It's all looking good, apart from two backseat drivers.

-Where's he going? Oh, he's going the wrong way, but it's all right.

-We're supposed to be going right!

Watch this tree, OK?

I think he needs to learn which is left and right.

-So, you're turning right.

-Right!

Right. Watch the car.

Despite the racket from the back, Ken is a smooth operator,

and that's exactly what's worrying Paul Laidlaw.

Ken, is he a canny Scot? Is he going to be very, very shrewd in the purchasing?

He's very benevolent when he goes to the pub.

Janice and Paul have left Brackley behind,

and are heading for the Oxfordshire village of Hook Norton.

It's best-known for its brewery, but our dedicated duo

pass it up in favour of an antiques establishment nearby.

Out we get.

Janice and Paul have come to navigate through a vast selection of goodies

with help from James Holiday.

-That looks like a big barn.

-It's a big barn...

-Full of...

-Treasure.

James Holiday Antiques has three warehouses crammed with furniture,

pottery, porcelain, and quite a few surprises too.

PAUL GROANS

What is it? Marbles!

More marbles than you can shake a stick at.

Wow. I used to love them.

There's some old ones in there. Now...

We've got common or garden cat's eyes

you and I played with, but look at the wear on some of these.

Ancient marbles.

If that was inexpensive, that's got to be worth £40, £50, 60 quid at auction, hasn't it?

Really?

Have a good root in, Janice, and assess whether Paul's lost his...

marbles?

That's good fun, is it not? 19th Century.

Late 19th Century novelty desk ornaments.

Geckos, lizards, skinks, call them what you will.

One-eyed, that old chap.

Green glass eyes, brass, and then an agate...

sphere, bobble, ball,

but his buddy...

Ink pot.

So could be paperweight, or simply an ornament.

-And the well.

-And he's got two eyes.

He's all there.

Fancy ink wells had their heyday from the late 16th to the late 19th Centuries.

But the arrival of reliable, refillable fountain pens

around 1880 was the beginning of the end,

and the invention of the ballpoint pen made them redundant as all but novelties.

Very pretty. You want to feel them, don't you?

Tactile. They are, aren't they?

Pricey?

Uh, they can be 45 quid for the two.

-Let me show you something else.

-OK.

This purports to be a bronze spearhead.

Looped. So we have...

..a leaf-shaped leg,

a socket for the shaft, and these loops here

were used to whip it

to cure it to the shaft.

That's all very well, but is it Bronze Age, or bogus?

Look at the damage.

OK?

That hit something, and was deformed.

And maybe for that reason, it was lost or discarded.

I think if you're faking something like this,

I don't know that you contrive the deformation and the damage.

But I'll tell you what - if it's not expensive,

it's a gambler's piece to take to auction.

-I'm not gambling.

-I've got to ask the question, James...

-What do you want for that?

-It can be £40.

It's too much.

The bottom line - if we took the three, in the real world...

..what's the pounds, shillings and pence on it?

£65 for the three.

I still don't know if it's real.

There is that.

I wish I could hand on heart say to you, I understand these things.

It's definitely period.

James, IF the spearhead is rejected by my compatriot, as I fear it has been.

-They can be 40 quid for the two, and that's it.

-I think that's a deal.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

An honourable gentleman.

With a deal on the lizards, and the spearhead on the backburner,

Janice and Paul hunt for other treasure,

and ponder the lifestyle of the late-night radio host.

I'm really lively at half-past two, three in the morning when I get home

because the adrenalin's still running.

I've nobody to talk to, and so I have to listen to music,

go online.

And come down before I go to bed about half-five in the morning.

-You're nocturnal, aren't you?

-I'm not really. I'm a morning person, if the truth be known.

You'll still be here come morning at this rate.

More browsing turns up an ink stand that's attractive, but at £80, the price isn't.

It's crunch time.

What do you want to do? We want to buy something else today.

-Do you want to buy a bucket of marbles?

-No.

Do you want to buy a potentially Bronze Age artefact?

There'll be trouble if you're wrong.

But...

We'll go with the bronze artefact thing.

Is that a deal?

So, the spearhead and lizards are eventually snapped up for £60

with a caveat...

If it doesn't work, and you feel yourself sitting on something sharp later, you'll know what it is.

Ouch! Best to call it a day right there, teams.

Night night.

It's a new day, and as they hit the roads of Oxfordshire

Ken and Janice are comparing notes on purchases.

We got something really good. Really, really good.

A definite winner, I'd say.

Really?

Meanwhile, Christina's keen to impress Paul with Ken's purchase.

It is very relevant to what his passions are,

and his hobby, so I was very pleased about that.

Paul won't be outdone.

Waded in and bought just about everything I needed yesterday.

-Oh, really?

-Four things.

Oh, wow. The pressure's on for me today.

Well, I hope so!

So far, Janice and Paul have spent £113 on four items.

The bamboo easel, the brass lizard desk set,

the purportedly Bronze Age spear, and last and definitely least in Janice's eyes,

the Arts and Crafts brass plaque,

which leaves them with £287 to spend today.

What fun.

I won't divulge how much, but I have some money left.

-Money?

-A substantial amount, I think.

So what you bought yesterday basically was all tat, is that what you're telling me?

Just cheap rubbish. Tuppence.

Ken's in no position to mock. He and Christina have only made one purchase,

spending £50 on the bus stop sign.

They'll have to buck up and get busy if they're going to spend the remaining £350 today.

But Ken's preoccupied with professional matters.

Shall we put the radio on, see who's on the radio at the moment?

See if there's anybody good on. Mind you, there can't be anybody good on.

-We're both in the car, aren't we?

-No point.

-No, no, leave it off.

One day with Janice has rubbed off on Paul.

Antiques are the new rock'n'roll, have you heard?

No, I haven't, and I don't think I'll ever hear that again!

Our fab four are making their way southeast to the foot of the beautiful Chiltern Hills

to the village of Tetsworth.

Here they are.

Our two teams are reuniting here. Janice is raring to go, and a stuck car door can't stop Ken.

I can't get the door open. Wait a minute...

-How do we get you out?

-I think I'm going to have to...

-Do a climb.

-Dukes of Hazard style.

Come on. Just jump.

ALL LAUGH

Barring further hiccups, both teams will be exploring The Swan,

a former coaching inn that's now home to over 80 traders, spread over 40 rooms

and dealing in everything from country furniture

to fine art.

Ken and Christina get off to a slightly shaky start.

I thought that said £45, and was thinking it was a bargain. It's £450.

-Need to go and get some new glasses.

-I need new glasses.

Either that or I'm a hopeless optimist.

An optimist in need of an optometrist.

And speaking of spectacles...

Janice, Janice, Janice? This isn't the biggest thing...

Might need this.

Get my tool out.

Can you see it?

I can see your future.

That didn't work.

-I love magnifying glasses.

-You love magnifying glasses?

Go on then. Love that.

-So, it's all right?

-The horn?

-Yeah.

-Lose no sleep.

Not an endangered species, nothing exotic.

That's a ram. It's a sheep.

-OK.

-I'll lose no sleep over the sheep.

All right, OK. Well, that's fair enough.

I love magnifying glasses. Oh!

See even more wrinkles!

-20 quid.

-In your hands.

For £20, a Victorian pocket magnifier.

Well, I think we should go for it.

-I think we've found it.

-I like it, you draw me to it.

We reckon we can make money on it.

-A deal.

-Done.

Done, done, done.

Paul's confident of a profit on the magnifier, so he and Janice hand over the ticket price of £20.

Not far away, a caddy has caught Christina's eye.

That, I think, is quite fun.

Georgian ones...solid tortoiseshell or Georgian ones are incredibly valuable,

but this looks quite a lot later.

Dealer Julia has had a chance to study it.

It's imitation tortoiseshell. It's actually a form of early celluloid that's printed.

So, it's printed with a tortoiseshell pattern.

It certainly looks the part, doesn't it, and I like the way...

The Georgian ones, originally, were tea caddies, so you would have opened them up,

and you would have had your divisions, but this is much later.

It was made in the '20s, and I think it was still made probably as a caddy.

Julia's prepared to reduce the price from £275

to £160, but Ken and Christina decide to check out some other options

before deciding what to do.

That's unusual.

It's an ocarina, so a whistle.

You blow through there.

-As you're the musical one.

-I'll try it.

BLOWS

Oh, wow. So, you put your fingers on the holes, and it adjusts the...

The ocarina was used very famously in the recording of Wild Thing by The Troggs.

The instrumental break in the middle is an ocarina.

Hardly ever used in popular music, but it was used on Wild Thing.

I can't play that, I'm afraid.

# Wild thing... #

A rootle amongst stock that's just arrived is fruitful.

There's a set of four blue glass piano castors,

and they're all in perfect condition as well,

which is quite nice.

Quite often you find pairs.

-And musical...

-Again there's a musical link.

Brilliant.

What sort of money are we looking at on those, Julia?

I think probably 25 quid for the four.

OK, so those MIGHT be a possibility.

I like those. I think they're attractive, and that's the sort of thing I would go for.

-Just such a great, vivid colour.

-They're a fantastic colour.

Piano castor cups prevent damage to floors and carpets.

These glass ones would have been made in a mould,

and similar ones can be found in a range of colours.

The castor cups and caddy seem good contenders for the auction

IF Christina can clinch a deal.

Go, girl.

I think you said £160 on the caddy, didn't you, and £25 on the feet.

Would there be any movement in there at all, if we were say £150 on the caddy,

and possibly £20, so £170 all in?

Yeah. I think if you make it £175, that would be...we'd have a deal.

Ken Bruce. How often do you get Ken Bruce?!

Thankfully, not very often, she says.

I could leave him here with you.

You've been really, really kind. £170 would be brilliant.

If you can stretch that far, it would be really, really kind.

Yeah, go on.

Oh!

What a star. Thank you very, very, very much.

-Thank you.

-That's fantastic.

On the road, Paul and Janice are squabbling over the brass plaque he persuaded her to buy.

Are you going to beat me round the head if it makes a fiver at auction?

-With a wet kipper.

-You said it was going to make a profit!

You silly man!

Silly or savvy? The jury's out.

But with no wet kippers so far,

Janice and Paul are bidding adieu to Oxfordshire

in favour of Gloucestershire, and the town of Northleach.

-Hi, Keith.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Lovely to meet you too.

A lovely sunny day you've brought us. Welcome to our Museum of Mechanical Music.

If you'd like to come this way.

Keith Harding's World of Mechanical Music

houses an ever-changing selection of self-playing musical instruments.

For Janice, who's spent her career playing vinyl records and their successors,

it's an insight into the popular music of past centuries.

The oldest instrument we've got in the museum

is this English chamber barrel organ made in 1740 in London.

It's a lovely piece of furniture.

The front's all dummy, you see, because this comes out, and you can see the mechanism.

And the essential thing is the programming device,

which is this cylinder, and when I turn the handle

the cylinder goes round, operates the keys,

and the bellows, and you get the sound, you see.

MUSIC PLAYS

Oh, that's great!

That's fantastic.

A beauty like this would only have been found in a grand house,

but the advent of cylinder music boxes made things more affordable.

This is a very nice box. Beautifully inlaid, you see.

This was the music centre of the home,

so they had this wonderful inlay, and it's got bells as well as the music cones, you see.

Wow!

It's wound with a lever.

Like that, and here goes.

MUSIC PLAYS

That's lovely.

The little birds - petits oiseaux - hitting the bells.

-How many teeth are on that cylinder?

-About 10,000.

What?!

Sometimes, when they're damaged, we have to replace them all.

My word. And they were each individually applied when that was made?

Yes, they would be. They still are today when we re-pin them.

Then as now, in the music business, technology was soon driving things forward.

About 1875, they invented the world's first floppy disc.

It does exactly the same as the cylinder, but instead of tiny pins 12,000th of an inch in diameter

you've got these solid projections, and as this goes around

it turns star wheels, which part the combs on either side.

So you can see where it's going, can't you? It's heading towards vinyl.

-Well, it is in a way, because the shape is right.

-Yeah.

This is live music, but a record plays a copy of a sound made a long time ago.

It's not quite the same thing.

And one of the advantages of this thing is it plays louder than a cylinder box,

so you can have a big machine coin-operated in a public house for public performance, you see.

-Wow. So that was like a jukebox.

-Like a jukebox.

I'll show you one of those if you like.

PLAYS MUSIC

This is a top-of-the-range machine made in the late 19th Century.

This one, you can actually choose the tune, you see.

-I don't know if you'd like to choose a tune.

-You choose one.

Oh, my word. Look at this. How good is that?!

Ave Maria will do me.

Would you like to put the silver thruppenny piece in that slot?

OK.

Now, in fact, I can open this, and you can see inside...

..how it works, you see - it's lifting the disc.

And it puts the disc on, which then plays, and when it's finished

it takes it down again.

PLAYS

Oh, that's beautiful, isn't it?

I think they're all having a little moment here.

Let's leave them in peace, shall we?

I think I'm going to cry.

Ken and Christina are dealing with humdrum matters, though.

I live not far from here, so I'm on my home territory.

Ah! Good, so you can be our sat nav.

-It doesn't mean to say I'm not going to get lost.

-Ken nav.

I could be your sat nav voice.

That would be brilliant.

Go straight across the roundabout.

Take the second exit.

Oh no, we're going to take the third exit.

See, I told you I didn't know what I was doing.

What you need to be doing, Ken, is recalculating,

and heading for the Oxfordshire village of Ascott-under-Wychwood.

The exact destination is a beautiful stone house, typical of the Cotswolds.

Parts of it date to the 12th Century, and it's the base

for antiques seller and restorer Robert Gripper.

Welcome.

-How are you doing?

-I'm very good, and I'm Robert.

Nice to meet you both. Welcome to Manor Farm.

-Have a rummage round, see what you can find.

-And give you a holler if there's anything...

-Absolutely.

-Terrific.

-Thank you.

Ken and Christina's first find is pretty but puzzling.

-Oh, that's rather lovely, Ken.

-It's quite nice, isn't it?

Elizabeth...

S-T-W-E-S it looks like.

Stowes?

Stives.

Stives maybe.

Stews.

I would imagine that's probably titled St Ives.

St Ives. Oh!

Stives!

That well-known artist Elizabeth Stives.

THEY LAUGH

Now that you mention it...

Glad we sorted that out. Now, how about some serious shopping, eh?

Little watches in there.

Yeah, two little watch faces.

They might well be gold.

The watches are more likely to be worth their gold weight

rather than to have much intrinsic value.

Close scrutiny in daylight tells Christina the essentials.

Just take the face out, and usually you can find some hallmarks in the back.

Oh, there we go. That's interesting.

OK, so we've got a nice gold hallmark - 375.

Which is nine carat gold, which means there's 375 parts gold to every 1,000.

So nice thing if we can get it.

Yeah. At the right price. Right, OK.

-At least we know.

-Speculate to accumulate, Ken.

The watches go on hold while the search continues.

-This is quite nice, Ken.

-What's that?

This is quite nice. A bit rickety, but...

-Come and have a look.

-Still got the leather...

-Is that a writing tablet?

-Writing slope, yes.

So it's got a bit of a spring in it there.

-But it's nothing. At least it's still there.

-That's reparable.

-Yeah, so...

-Looks rather nice.

Often you find that these bits have gone.

-That might be worth... If again, the right price.

-Again, yes.

If we can do the deal. Thank you.

Ken and Christina have £180 left to spend.

The items aren't priced, so now it's time to see if deals can be done.

Can you give us some sort of vague prices on things?

Certainly.

This walnut writing box... Rather nice slope.

It's got its original leather with its gilding.

But then, the other thing about these... I don't know if you know,

but most of them have secret drawers.

We call them sovereign drawers, and I think on this one

we pull this, and these are our sovereign drawers.

Any sovereigns in it?

Robert's looking for £95 for the writing slope,

and £50 for the two gold watches.

But he's flexible on the writing slope.

Yes, now, I think I could do you a bit on that.

I could do that one for £60.

-£60 for that...

-Top end again, isn't it?

-It is quite.

-It is.

-I could do it for £45.

-How about £40?

-Why not?

-£40?

-You don't need me here at all.

-Deal.

-What about doing that...that little box and that...

50 quid?

Um, with the two little... Why not? Yeah.

Shall we do that for 50 quid? Perfect.

-Brilliant.

-And I wish you both the best of luck.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

With the writing slope for £40, and two watches for a tenner,

how much luck will Ken and Christina need, eh?

Janice and Paul can be the judges of that as our teams reveal all.

-Have you enjoyed it?

-I've had the best time, apart from, you know,

looking for objects we think are going to make money.

I haven't laughed so much for ages.

In two days, giggling...

-At him or with him?

-With him, with him.

-Right, I can't wait.

-Are we feeling good about the numbers here?

-Mmmm...

-We'll see what you've bought first.

You do the honours, Janice.

One, two, three...

Whoa! Ooh, yes.

Gosh, interesting things.

Yes.

What on earth is that at the front?

It's a spear shaft, isn't it?

-Spear shaft?

-Spear head. And the shaft goes into it.

So look, it's actually been used, because... I'm talking as thought I know what I'm talking about!

Expert.

Sounded good to me, love.

What did you pay for that?

-£20.

-£20.

-Not bad.

And age, cos that's the most important thing.

I believe that's period, so that's 3,500 year old, Bronze Age...

-Three and a half...

-Looped socketed spearhead.

I think we need to get slightly concerned.

-I'm a bit worried now.

-That dragon, he's rather magnificent, isn't he?

-Do you think so?

-Janice disagrees with you.

-It's a shame you couldn't agree.

-I think the word I used was vile.

OK, OK, come down off the fence.

But apparently, this work is beautiful.

But you don't agree?

And this was quite expensive at eight quid.

Eight? You were done.

That's quite a good price, I think.

But it leaves...

-What's this now?

-What do you think it is?

-An easel?

-Yes.

-Lovely easel. Bamboo.

-Yes.

-Do you know, I often wondered what happened to all the pan pipes after those albums were made.

This is it, this is it.

That's what they do with old recorders.

How much was that?

£45.

That's not much, really, is it?

You've come in well under budget.

Gin and tonics afterwards.

Or a meal.

Time for Team Bruce to fight back.

Ooh!

This potentially could be a bit of a bargain.

Two 9 carat gold-cased granny watches.

But you didn't pay gold prices for those, did you?

I couldn't possibly...

-Come on!

-How much do you think?

You didn't get those for less than £50, did you?

Oh, please...

-You tell them.

-£10.

-No!

Were you packing at the time? Did you have a mask on?

-We bundled it.

-We literally found them at the bottom of a box.

Paul's twitchy now.

That's a really smart little box.

-Yeah, I like that very much.

-Bit of a smart price.

-It was a lot cheaper than they were looking for.

-It was, yes.

The label price was £275. We got it for £150.

Oh, good.

Could be a bit hit and miss.

That's an extremely attractive, lovely thing.

It looks the part, doesn't it, and we couldn't resist this.

No, obviously. Your passion for buses.

I think there's a market for this sort of thing.

-Because this is an original stop.

-Yeah.

-London bus stop.

-What period will that be, Ken?

Um, it's late 17th Century, I think.

It was bit of punt. I think people will go for that.

-I'm with you. How much of a punt?

-Well, that cost us £50.

I think it's going to be an interesting auction.

-I wouldn't take many bets on this.

-It's going to be close, isn't it?

I hope it's going to be close.

-Best of luck.

-Good luck, good luck.

It's all smiles and good sportsmanship in front of the opposition,

but what did the teams really think?

Strong purchases across the board.

The sods.

Well, when they did their reveal, I was, frankly, a bit worried,

because I thought, "Oh, God, there's some really lovely stuff there."

We've a problem. Two nine-carat gold case watches for £10.

Ken's sign... Come on.

That's a cool object.

The spearhead is very specialist, but they haven't spent a lot on it.

-It's very, very specialist.

-Yes, if the right person's not in the sale room...

-Quite, yeah. It's risky.

The box, that's a potential hole. That could be our saviour, to be honest.

At the end of the day, we like what we bought.

-We can be proud of our purchases.

-What can go wrong?

-Quite a lot.

-Toast.

Cheers. Well done, us.

I'll get my own back on Ken Bruce if he wins.

-We'll do all right.

-Hopefully. Fingers crossed.

See you at the auction.

Time now for our pop pickers and lot pickers

to head to the auction just outside Banbury in Oxfordshire.

And the PopMaster still thinks he's the antiques master.

-Do you think you're going to win?

-Well, I'd like to think so.

I'd like to think so, but I'd hate you to have to lose.

But I'm afraid you're going to have to.

SHE LAUGHS

All the same, it's a surprisingly low-key entrance from the celebrities.

-A subtle entrance.

-Yeah!

-Morning.

-No jamboree today, no entourage?

-No, no, no.

-Very subdued.

JS Auctions holds fortnightly sales

as well as regular specialist auctions

of antiques, fine art,

arms, armour, and militaria.

Auctioneer Joe Smith is the man on the gavel,

so what does he make of the teams' eclectic choices?

The Georgian-style silver-plated tea caddy with tortoiseshell coverings,

or faux tortoiseshell coverings, is a very interesting piece.

The London Transport sign - enamel signs are always a good collectible item.

I think this lot could do very, very well.

The spearhead, which... A little dubious about the date on it.

Value-wise, we could be struggling. Could be as little as £20 or £30.

My favourite lot in this sale is the Victorian lizard and hardstone-mounted desk pieces.

They're really nice pieces. Somewhere between £50 and £100 should be about the mark for them.

Each of our teams started with £400.

Ken and Christina spent £270,

acquiring five lots, while Janice and Paul

bought their five for a mere £123.

As the bidding gets underway, our auction novices are apprehensive.

Sixty, and five.

And seventy.

It's in the room now.

-How do you feel?

-Butterflies. Quite nervous.

Feels like a job interview.

I've never passed one of those in my life.

First up is Ken's bus stop sign.

I've got a start here at £35.

£40 is it now? £35.

For the enamel sign, £35, and £40.

And £5. And £50, and £5.

It's going to go.

£70. It's in the room now at £70.

And £5 anywhere now?

£70.

At £70.

That's a tidy profit, and Christina's hoping three come along all at once.

Yay!

Wrong team, Janice.

One down.

Next is the brass plaque.

Janice thinks it's vile.

£10.

£10. £12 anywhere now?

£10 only.

£14 is up. £14.

Come on. It's repousse.

Explain that one day.

£16.

£18.

£20.

£22.

At £22 then.

-Last chance. Selling at £22.

-Come on!

Paul's judgement pays off, so he avoids assault with a wet kipper.

How long is he on for? Is it longer than a radio show?

Seems longer.

He doesn't even need a microphone.

Mind you, he says the same thing again and again.

Just like you.

Now it's the walnut and brass writing slope.

At £60 to start. £5 anywhere now?

£60. £5 now.

Give it a rattle, give it a rattle!

At £65 anywhere?

At £60, you're all out in the room.

At £60. Anybody else want a go?

£60...

Another profit keeps Ken and Christina in the lead.

Great.

Oh, a big tick.

They took a risk on the simulated tortoiseshell, silver-plated caddy.

Now is the moment of truth.

£30, £30.

And £5? £35.

And £40.

They're bidding.

And £60.

And £5.

At £65. In the back now at £65.

And £70.

£75.

It has got a long way to go.

Oh, dear. This bidding's about as dynamic as a tortoise.

Round it up. Come on.

£100.

£110.

She's bidding, she's bidding!

At £110.

Come on.

£110. All done now?

£110.

That wipes out Ken and Christina's profits,

but garners sympathy.

That's made me grumpy. I'm in a bad mood now.

That's very good of you. Very kind. To be grumpy on my behalf.

Could Team Long's lizard set be the chance to scamper ahead?

£35 we can start. At £40 is it now?

Way more than that, guys.

£60, £5.

£70, and £5.

£80, and £5.

£90, £100.

And £10.

It's in the room at £110 now.

Coming back on the phone?

At £110 there now.

£110.

£110.

Are we all sure? Last chance.

£110.

The lizards yield a convincing lead for Janice and Paul.

But with the opposition's bargain gold watches next,

anything could happen.

£25, we can start.

£30 now.

At £25. £30, £5.

£40, and £5.

£50 in the very back, and £55.

£55.

At £55. Lady's bid £55.

A great profit puts Ken and Christina back in contention...

-Nice lady.

-Very nice.

That's good.

..while Janice and Paul wait to see

if the purportedly Bronze Age spearhead was a pointless purchase.

£45. £50 do I see?

£55. £60, and £5.

£70, and £5.

£80 in the back of the room. At £80.

£5 is it now?

At £80. £85 standing.

£90... No, £85 standing bid now.

Last call, and selling.

The gamble pays off, and Paul's safe from a skewering.

Well done.

Janice and Paul's choices are under scrutiny again

with the Victorian pocket magnifier.

£40 would start me.

£40. £20...

£10.

£12 anywhere now? £10. £12 now.

At £10 only.

£12 anywhere? £12.

And £14. And £16.

And £18. £20.

Yay!

£26. £28.

And selling...

£28...

No-one's bowled over, but it's still a useful profit.

Average maintained.

Ken and Christina hope the piano castor cups

will be music to their ears.

£10 I have. £12 do I see?

£12.

£14.

£16.

£18.

Round them up, surely.

£20 in front.

At £20, and £2.

At £22 only.

Only just.

Sold. £22 only.

Oh, dear. Those cups definitely didn't hit the high notes.

It is a profit, isn't it?

Until the commission comes out. Don't worry.

Perhaps arty lots will fare better.

Paul and Janice have their bamboo easel still to sell.

£30 the bid. £35. £40.

£5, £50.

£5. £60.

At £65. £70.

£75.

£80.

£5. At £85 now.

Gentleman's bid at £85.

Way!

Selling...

Team Long's mastered the fine art of making money.

Brilliant. Well done.

Well done. Brilliant.

Our celebrities began with £400 each.

Ken and Christina experienced slightly dodgy reception for their choices in the saleroom,

and after commission lost £10.06.

Nonetheless, they end the road trip with a respectable chart entry.

Janice and Paul were on the right wavelength for making a magnificent profit of £137.60.

So they're today's victors, ending the road trip as Top of the Pops.

Well done, and any profit made on the road trip

of course goes to Children in Need.

-Absolutely loved it.

-Good to see you, and see you back at...

-See you back at work.

-Do you think you've learned anything on the journey?

-Oh, yes.

-What not to buy.

-Exactly.

Tortoiseshell caddies.

He won't buy a caddy again.

But for Ken, old habits die hard.

Before I go, I just want to do one thing.

Can I just say hello to my mum and dad,

wife and kids, Auntie Bet and Uncle Willy, and everybody else who knows me.

I've always wanted to do that.

A pleasure.

Bye.

Bye. Safe journey.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd