Eric Knowles v Paul Hayes - Foreign Market Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

the show that takes the titans of the antiques trade

and pitches them against each other

to see who can make the most money

from buying and selling.

EVIL LAUGH

It's amazing! Truly amazing.

Today, antiques poster boy Paul "Mr Morecambe" Hayes

takes on legend of the trade Eric "Knocker" Knowles

in an all-out battle for profit,

giving you the inside view on the secrets of the trade.

Coming up, it's the ultimate clash between experience and enthusiasm.

-So, why didn't you buy it?

-It was 650 euros.

Oh yes, no, no.

-That was the starting price.

-Right, OK.

No, I didn't pay anything like that.

But sometimes it's the apprentice who pips the master to the post.

Is he looking at that fender?

Cos I had a good look at that fender early on.

And our veteran uses the element of surprise to gain the upper hand.

What are you lot doing here?

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Fasten your seatbelts,

it's a caper on the Continent

as two giants of the antiques world cross the Channel

to wage war on foreign turf.

In one corner, it's Burnley's best,

the Prince of Porcelain,

the self-confessed potaholic Eric "Knocker" Knowles.

What collectors are looking for is absolute perfection.

Just like women do when it comes to men.

And in the other, it's his antiques apprentice, the blue-eyed boy,

Paul "Mr Morecambe" Hayes.

Don't be fooled by the boyish charm.

This challenger will use any trick in the book to seal a deal.

I'm a member of the Royal family, yeah. William. William my name, yes.

These are the lions of Lancashire

and with £750 of their own cash, which they'll be spending in euros,

and their own hard-earned reputations on the line,

they've travelled from "Oop North"

to do battle at an antiques market in the champagne city of Reims.

Their quest is to make as much profit as possible

for their chosen charities, but will it be the seasoned master

or his eager apprentice

who will bag the best buys?

It's time to find out, as we release the dealers.

-Ha-ha!

-Bonjour, Monsieur Knowles.

-Bonjour, Monsieur Hayes.

-Ca va?

I'm very well, thank you.

I've never been to Reims before so this is all news to me.

It's all news to me as well, but how exciting.

We've a wonderful antique fair in the forest amongst the trees.

It's wonderful, isn't it?

What you want to look out for, because we're in France,

-it's a different sort of buying market, isn't it?

-It certainly is.

It's wonderful. Looking around, things are so different.

I'm after some nice, small, quality French bits,

things like porcelain boxes, a bit of enamel work, that sort of thing.

I'm on the lookout for good Art Deco.

Whether I'll find it, I'm not sure.

I don't know about you, Paul, but I'm desperate to go rummaging.

-Same here.

-So let's agree, you go that way, I'll go this way,

-and I'll catch you later.

-Bonne chance, mon ami.

-Au revoir.

Our Lancashire lads start scouring the stalls in their quest

for those elusive pieces with the most profit potential.

In one direction, it's Mr Morecambe.

In the other, it's the antiques Mr Wise.

Hang on a minute, there's something rather familiar about that.

# Bring me sunshine

# In your smile

# Bring me laughter

# All the while... #

So, you do know that I am Mr Morecambe?

That means when it comes to antiques, I must be Mr Wise.

You must be, mate. Go on, then.

They may get on like a house on fire

but both our boys are focused on how to seize victory.

I'm looking for some nice, small items

and at first glance, everything seems to be huge.

I'm sure everyone who lives around here lives in a castle.

Our wide-eyed Lancashire lad needs to keep calm and focused

because the brawn from Burnley is already flexing his muscles.

I'm looking for good Art Deco,

I'm looking for good Art Nouveau,

and French art glass in general.

So whether I find it, I don't know but I'm...I'm feeling lucky.

-It's always a good sign.

-That's the spirit, Knocker.

While Paul combs every inch of the place with cautious concentration...

Try and buy perfect, Paul. Perfect.

Quality, quality, quality.

..his nemesis plunges straight in

with the confidence of the experienced veteran.

The name you think of with anything like this is Lalique

but this is not a Lalique design, just a nice piece of art glass

at an affordable price.

Our ceramics king bags the Lalique-style glass dish

for just under £23.

I think I'm in with a profit on this.

With his first purchase under his belt,

Eric sweeps straight down onto number two.

It's a quality clock set

insofar as this is actually faced in onyx.

You've got a sort of pale caramel colour

and then you've got this sort of, sort of brown onyx as well.

On top of that, you've got a good stylised Art Deco floral design.

So all in all, it's a good-looking clock set.

Eric moves in to negotiate.

At 150, which is about £135,

I can tell you now, I'm not going to argue,

I'm simply going to buy it and whisk it away

and hopefully make a profit.

Two-nil to Knocker.

He set out on a quest for Art Deco

and the clock fits the bill perfectly.

But Eric's not the only one who can spot quality at 50 paces.

This is the sort of thing I'm looking for. Look at that perfume bottle. Does it get any better?

Very, very old. 19th century.

Look at the wonderful painting on the front, can you see?

It's obviously a French factory.

It's got A on the bottom, which I think is for Marie Antoinette.

That really is lovely. Look at that.

Gilded cartouches with honey gilding,

where they used to put honey into the gild

to give it a lovely soft finish.

Impressed, Paul wants to haggle down the 50-euro asking price.

-Well, quarante?

-No, no, no.

-No?

-Il faut manger, ah?

-Oui.

I think, I'll translate. "He has to eat."

The dealer's playing hardball, and our Morecambe gent decides to take the deal.

-Je peux acheter pour cinqante.

-Mais oui.

Merci beaucoup.

At just over £45, that's Paul's first buy in the bag

and it seems Mr Morecambe's regal air has not gone unnoticed.

-Voyez-la.

-Famille Royale?

-Mariage, oui.

Ah, La Famille Royale? I'm a member of the Royal Family, yeah.

William. William, my name, yes.

Armed with a smattering of pidgin French phrases...

Bonjour. Ca va?

..and that killer smile, it looks like our handsome prince

could be set to take this market by storm.

It's great, this.

Hello, bonjour.

Je ne parle la francais...un peu.

Sortez. I'm trying to...

And it's not long before

our Morecambe magpie spots something with real shine.

There we are, look at that.

Solid silver dish here. Beautiful.

It feels totally different quality,

very unusual, we'd never see that in England, that design.

Then you've got Minerva's head in the middle, the mark for silver.

In England we have a lion stamp,

the lion passant, in France they have Minerva's head.

That's 385...380 euros,

which is about £350.

The price is too high, but to get it down

Paul needs to try and get the vendor onside.

-Yeah, 18...yeah.

-Napoleon...

-Napoleon Deux.

-Trois.

-Trois.

-En Angleterre...Victoria?

-Oui, OK.

She's saying it's 1818, Napoleon III.

I'm saying it's Victorian, that's what we call it.

He's piling on the charm, but will it bring the price down?

Votre meilleur prix, s'il vous plait. Your best price.

Deux cent cinquante.

-250.

-Oui.

-250.

I like.

J'aime beaucoup.

Paul takes the deal at just over £227,

taking it to two-all in this buying bonanza.

But not for long,

because Knocker's hunted down his third buy of the day

and yes, it's more Art Deco.

Although it said 40 euros on there

I managed to get it for 30 euros.

But the nice thing about it, it's got some size

and that's what people who collect Deco want.

They don't want what you might call small objects, knick-knackerama.

They want an object that makes a statement.

Now I can think of at least three people who would go for that.

And if for any reason they don't,

well, I'll simply recommend they make an appointment with their GP.

Yes, that's how passionate our Eric is about pots.

One Art Deco vase purchased for just over £27.

Here in Reims, our resident potaholic

is falling for porcelain at every turn.

It's just a joy to hold.

MUSIC: "It Must Be Love" by Madness

And what collectors are looking for is absolute perfection.

Just like women do when it comes to men.

# It must be love, love, love... #

You're probably thinking I'm sad, aren't you?

How can a grown man like me get excited about holding a teapot?

Yeah, I know, maybe I should get out a bit more

but I tell you what, that is so, so very beautiful.

HE KISSES IT

With his rival going potty,

Mr Morecambe is busy seeking out his third potential purchase of the day.

Look at this. It's so rare to find these things complete and perfect,

a good old Victorian decanter set.

It's got a fantastic walnut box with brass mounts.

That really is the business. Look at that.

Clock the back, it's 650 euros

which is far too expensive for me.

But if you're entertaining, that's a lovely item to have.

What a great presence that would make for somebody

but 650 is too much for me, I'm afraid.

Never mind.

Well, 650 euros would have wiped out most of Paul's budget in one

but interestingly, our boy didn't even make a play for it.

Instead, he moves on

to purchase a porcelain miniature painting of a lady.

For 40 euros, it's a bargain, a...

I don't know how to say that in French.

I'm not even going to try. It's a bargain.

Paul's francais has deserted him

but he adds the miniature to his swag bag for just over £36.

He's gaining momentum, but what of his nemesis?

Know what's strange? I haven't run into Eric.

The fair is very small.

He must be lost in a sea of glass somewhere, I can see it now.

Or he might be in the champagne tent. You know what he's like.

Funnily enough, Paul, your nemesis has got bubbly on the brain

but unfortunately for you, he's the picture of pure professionalism.

It's very appropriate, isn't it?

Here we are in the champagne district of La Belle France

and there's a Moet Shandon ice bucket

and it's got some age.

Because the decoration on the handles

tell me that this probably dates to

probably around 1920

or maybe a tad earlier.

It's 50 euros. Well, we'll see,

because I spotted that, and I just spotted something over here as well

so come and have a look at this.

It's simply that you'll find a lot of pressed glass in France,

and you get a lot of these ceiling lights as well.

And if I can pop that one down for a moment,

I'm going to see if I can buy the two together.

Just follow me, come and have a look at this.

I want to put that up to the light

and you'll just get an idea of that colour, lovely sort of peachy colour,

nice floral design,

and what's that?

Well, that's at 40.

I'm interested if he does it for 30.

I'm interested in the ice bucket if he does that for 40,

so we'll see what the best price is for the two together.

Excusez-moi.

Monsieur! S'il vous plait. We have, um...

-Ca, je prefere quarante.

-Oui.

Et ca, je prefere trente.

So, for the pair, we're looking at...

If I've got that right, that's 30 and that's 40,

that's exactly how much I wanted to pay. I didn't want to pay any more.

So, um, at that price, I think again,

we're going to do business.

Ooh, la la!

Just under £64 secures our Eric two great items

for exactly the amount he wanted to pay.

A show of supreme skill from Burnley's best.

Time for Mr Morecambe and his wise opponent to compare notes.

How was your morning, young Mr Hayes?

I really enjoyed it.

I think it's definitely one of my favourite fairs, this.

It's a great source for quality, quality, quality.

But you have to be really quick

because I've seen two things that I've looked at this morning,

been thinking about, gone back, gone.

He who hesitates loses.

I think I might have mentioned this to you in dispatches before today.

Yeah, you did. It's an education.

It's a learning curve, Eric, and I'm learning from the best, mate.

You are to a certain degree, but don't patronise me, Hayes.

Don't patronise me. I'm here to give you a good run for your money.

But how far... This market isn't that big. How far do you want to go?

Listen, before we go anywhere, knowing you're from Morecambe,

can we negotiate a price first?

It's 3 euros and it's anywhere you like.

-OK, take me to Paris.

-OK.

Hey, not so fast, you two.

There's still bags more buying to do.

Our comedic couple came to France

with £750 of their own money to spend.

Eric has bought five items, parting with nearly £250,

which leaves him with just over £500 to play with.

Paul has splashed out on just three items so far,

and has spent a touch over £309,

leaving him nearly £441 in his kitty.

Hold on tight, this continental caper is about to shift up a gear.

Our bantering booty hunters

now need to get to the remaining treasures before their opposition

and our wily old veteran

has been making a careful study of his irrepressible young rival.

I think, what it is,

I think the minute he gets outside of Morecambe,

he discovers there's another world out there.

And, you know, I've got to say,

there are lots of pitfalls in a market like this

and I'm hoping that his enthusiasm has not got the better of him

and that he's been buying sensibly.

Why do I say that?

Well, maybe because it's the paternal instinct in me, and nothing more

because truth be told, I'm out there to beat the lad.

Eric is determined to unearth something special

and it's not long before the Burnley Bomber sniffs out a corker.

But hang on a minute!

That decanter set looks strangely familiar!

Yes, Mr Morecambe admired it earlier

but he was put off by the 650-euro asking price.

But Knocker doesn't walk away so easily

and our veteran hammers the price right down

to just over £318.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Merci beaucoup.

No sooner has Eric sealed the deal than hawkeyed Mr Hayes is onto him.

It's all there! All the bits and bobs...

Excuse me, Mr Knowles. I was looking at that not five minutes ago.

-Is that a fact?

-Yeah, I was.

-So why didn't you buy it?

-It was 650 euros.

-Oh, yes.

-No, no. That was the starting price.

-Right, OK.

-No, I didn't pay anything like that.

-Did you not?

-No, I didn't.

-What can I say?

-Good luck with it.

It's a great item. I'd love to have bought that myself.

Paul, tell you what. If you want to offer me a profit on it now...

-Are you sure?

-You're all right.

He's really frustrated. Poor lad.

And while the young apprentice exits kicking himself,

the master is triumphant.

I'm very pleased with this box. It's a lovely little liqueur set.

What's remarkable is all the original little liqueur glasses are there.

I think this is worth at least £500 to the right person.

Eric reckons he's found his secret weapon

and, spurred on by his success,

he moves on to pick up a coloured ice bucket.

Well, that's nice, isn't it? A little sort of... for your ice cubes.

What a lovely colour.

I think it probably dates to 1920s, 1930s.

Is there a better price than this? Just...

-I can... 25?

-25.

For 25 euros, erm...

-I'm not going to quibble. Do I pay you or Madame?

-Madame.

-Madame, it's always Madame, isn't it? Madame, s'il vous plait.

-Merci.

That's just under £23 spent

and Eric's vast experience seems to be giving him the edge.

Next to catch his eye

is an 18th-century Chinese plate on the same stall.

PLATE RINGS

Hairline cracks are a devil to see

but they're much easier to hear

because if there is a crack in there, it'll snare,

it'll make a distinctive noise. But it's ringing like a bell.

Satisfied, Knocker hands over £27.

He's bagging items left, right and centre.

The man from Morecambe desperately needs to get back into the race.

He's spotted a 19th-century brass fender,

not exactly the small item he set out to find,

but it seems for the second time today, great minds think alike.

Oh, I saw that.

Just look at this lad.

Is he going to buy that?

Is he...is he looking at that fender?

Cos I had a good look at that fender early on.

It looks like it, Eric.

The gentleman wants to sell it to me

and he's trying his best, he's offered me for 150 euros,

which is about £135.

Three, five...

And you know what, I'm going to have a go at that, I think.

Oh! He's gone for it.

Now it's Knocker who's beaten to the booty.

How quickly the tables can turn.

The man from Morecambe shells out just over £136

and his rival swoops in for some post-sale analysis.

I learned from the master.

No, well, listen, I'm learning from you now,

because I think we're Even Stevens.

I looked at that and thought, I'll come back later

-and if it's still there, I'll ask the price.

-Did you?

-I promise.

-How weird, we spotted the same things.

Our Paul's really gaining confidence now.

This would go in your place, you know that fireplace...

-Yeah.

-In the middle room.

I don't think Mrs Knowles will go for that.

It's the final mad dash for the finishing line

and every second counts for our two treasure-hunting Trojans.

I'm going to have a real good scout now

cos we're coming to the end of the actual...

Sorry, I'm talking to myself.

I'll work my way back now.

You see things that somehow you missed

the first and second time around.

Down this way and back up the other side.

MUSIC: "Let's Go Around Again" by The Average White Band

We come back to this Vespa again.

Knocker's sitting pretty with eight items in the bag.

But Mr Morecambe has rooted out just four.

Just when he needs it most, though,

his profit-seeking radar leads him to one final buy.

But what on earth is it?

It's actually part of a champagne press

and what would happen, there'd be two of these

and the two of them would support a very, very large beam.

And in a big bucket, there would be lots and lots of grapes

and these could be wound down, the beam lowers down,

and the grape becomes grape juice, becomes wine, that's the idea.

But what a fantastic thing.

What he has told me, this is 18th-century

so we're looking at something very traditional to the area,

a champagne screw.

Doesn't that sound like an attractive item now?

I'm thinking, somebody who has a lovely wine shop

or into vintage wine and champagne,

This could be a good visual prop for a shop window, that sort of thing.

I think it's such an unusual item.

Have you ever seen one before? No.

Come on then, Paul.

-Dazzle us with your deal-doing!

-La derniere price est cent.

-C'est cent.

C'est cent. OK. Je voudrais le prendre, monsieur.

-And Paul seals the deal at 100 Euro.

-Merci beaucoup.

Je...now...I'm now going into the wine business. There we go!

That's just under £91 spent

and a triumphant finish for the man with the indomitable spirit.

It's been a truly epic battle today

and as we ring the final bell, let's find out who spent what.

Eric and Paul crossed the Channel with £750 each to spend.

Eric ended up spending just over £618 on eight items.

Paul has made just five purchases,

spending slightly less, at just over £536.

But before they head back to Blighty with their treasures,

our tow profit hunters assess each other's wares.

And it's Paul's final find which is first under fire.

-What is that?

-Well, believe it or not, to the untrained eye, Eric,

-it looks like a big screw, doesn't it?

-It does, yes.

-Which is a fair comment, but it's a champagne press.

-Oh right.

Doesn't that add a bit of character to it, a bit of romance?

Have you done any market research on the demand

for champagne screws back in the UK?

I think I'm going to be the only bloke trying to sell one.

That makes me unique, Eric. Enough about that. What about yourself?

I notice you bought something I had my eye on.

In all fairness, Paul, we did seem to go after the same things.

I am pleased with this.

I don't want to rub salt in the wound, I really don't,

but I think that's a little treasure.

The Lord works in mysterious ways, because I'd got my eye on the fender

and was weaving my way back,

and you'd gone and bought the damn thing!

I bought something you wanted, you bought something I wanted. Swap?

Paul, listen, you're welcome to it...

because I just think what I have got there

is that little bit more saleable but hey, listen,

time will tell.

The thing is, time is now of the essence,

-because we've got to start packing, mate.

-Good luck.

-And you.

For these two antiques generals,

that frenzied French buying campaign

was just the first skirmish of an epic war.

Back in their Blighty bunkers, they must now hurl themselves

into flogging their booty for the maximum profit possible.

At his lair in Buckinghamshire, the great veteran is armed to the teeth

with a whopping eight items at his disposal.

I do like my lustre and amethyst glass vase.

It just looks the part.

I think I've somebody in the North West

with the right type of hotel for that.

A Chinese plate, that little ice bucket,

a champagne ice bucket. Very pleased with that.

Ceiling light here, from the same period,

an opalescent glass dish that has you thinking lalique.

What can I say? What about that art deco clock?

Such a treasure of an art deco clock.

While we're talking about treasure, the ultimate treasure,

this beautiful little liqueur set.

I want to kiss it.

Don't go soft on us now, Knocker.

Everything must go, because this is war!

Back at his bolthole, the young pretender

knows that with just five items, he's got to make every sale count.

He's coming out fighting.

What I found in France was some great items.

There's one object missing. You might have noticed.

It's the fantastic champagne screw.

I put that into a wine auction which is going to happen very soon.

Quite excited about that.

This one, for example, comes from a lovely French chateau.

It's early 19th century.

It's called a genet and it's a fireguard with these

wonderful grotesque figures on top. A very good collectable item.

A beautiful scent bottle here, porcelain,

a bit of French silver, that was about £225,

and a miniature. Here we are.

There are some great items to be sold

and I can't wait to find those lucky buyers out there.

So, in a bold opening move,

the blue-eyed boy has already arranged for his champagne screw

to go under the hammer at a specialist auction.

These two Lancashire hotpots must pull out all the stops,

to find the best deal for their items. But until they shake on it

and the money has changed hands, no deal is truly sealed.

Knocker's first move is a strategic one,

to spend some of his unspent kitty on his biggest purchase,

the decanter set. He's brought it to restorer Roderigo in London.

At first glance, the kind of feeling I get from this box,

is that it probably was an officer's drinks box,

whereby they would take it with them on a campaign,

you know, Waterloo, you can see where I'm going with this...

-I'm thinking it could be...

-Very possible, of those wars...

It would have come out in the evenings

when they get together.

If it could only talk to us. Well, if it did,

I would be at a loss because it would speak to me in French, wouldn't it?

It really would. A quick - to use an Americanism -

ballpark, for something like that, would be, what?

OK, well if we were to clean the top, put back the string,

inside's OK, we don't have to do anything on there.

-Suspense.

-It is a limited budget, I will say that, but go on.

-I would say, we could probably do something there for £60.

-OK.

Well, Eric's has got just over £150 left in his kitty from France.

So that is plenty to cover the cost of restoration.

I'm looking forward to spending some good money on it,

because I'm going to be asking some good money for it

when Walt's finished with it, just how much, watch, wait and see.

Yes, that's a man who is quietly confident. But what of his opponent?

Paul is also in London, and armed with the fender that he purchased for just over £136.

He is calling on one of the names at the very top

of his contacts list, auctioneer Tom.

Paul wants to maximise his potential profit on the piece

by putting it under the hammer.

-Yeah, these do all right.

-Great. What's it worth?

-Is worth 300 to 500 quid, Paul.

-Wahey, fantastic.

Because this gilded ormolu mouse is fantastic.

It's got a nice bit of Kansas leaf. Look at that facial mask, really well cast, better than usual.

Look, we have a fine arts sale in three weeks time,

rather than our weekly general sale which is more of a chance. Can we put it in that one?

-I would love you to put it in that one, yes.

-Give it a chance.

Yes, it's a big boost when a fellow trade expert shares your enthusiasm for a piece.

But only time will tell if the fireguard will fetch

the £300 at auction, and double its original cost.

Knocker has hit the road once more,

but of all the places to visit in this sceptred isle

our Eric has chosen none other than the hometown of his archrival -

the audacity!

Yes, Mr Morecambe, I'm on your patch.

Behind me is that wonderful expanse that is Morecambe Bay.

I'm here to do business in a wonderful art deco hotel,

an art deco moderne hotel, because I've got a wonderful piece

of art deco moderne glass, which I intend to sell to them.

Now, I'm not going to let this go for less than £100.

So, I'm on my way to do a little bit of business in what is

probably one of the most famous pieces of art deco architecture you'll find in the Northwest.

Knocker paid just £27 for the vase, and his hopes of a belting profit

rest on getting hotel manager Matt onside, and enthused.

Tell me a little bit about the history of this place,

because it fascinates me.

The building opened, initially, in 1933.

Very modern, very daring for its age, really.

Went through a bit of a chequered history,

a lot of very well-to-do people, famous people of different eras have stayed here.

Fell into decline, really, in the '70s and onwards.

Eventually closed, and was reborn three years ago,

and seen it go from strength to strength, really.

So, I'm always delighted when anybody brings anything

to our attention that we might be interested,

whether it might be stories of Morecambe,

or pictures of the hotel in years gone by,

or indeed pottery, ceramics...

-Or glassware!

-Or glassware, indeed.

Well, I'm hoping that this little treasure in my hand fits the bill.

-Do you want to hold it?

-Yeah, thank you.

-There you go.

I know it looks black, but when you look,

it transmits, as you can see, a very deep Amethyst colour.

The lustre decoration is platinum lustre.

It's actually perfect for something I have in mind.

I'm looking to sell that for somewhere in the region of £120.

I'm sure that's excellent value,

I would perhaps say that £100 would be even better value.

£100, is there any point of us meeting halfway on that?

Is there any point at all?

-OK.

-£110?

-£110.

-£110.

You have got yourself, I tell you what,

I don't feel I'm selling it at that price, I feel like I am donating it!

Oh, nicely done Eric. That dazzling deco deal kick-start Eric's

profit pot by nearly £83.

Well, that was a celebratory sip for, what I think was

a pretty good deal, with a reasonable profit,

and I'm beginning to wonder whether this just may be

our Mr Morecambe's favourite watering hole?

I'm also beginning to wonder whether the boy might just be at home?

What he really means is that he's just pulled off

a corker of a deal on Paul's patch,

and now he fancies a bit of a gloat.

-Hey, come here.

-I recognise that face. How are you?

What are you lot doing here? How are you?

We thought you might be good for a cup of tea, my old mate?

Kettle's on, Eric, mate.

Paul, I don't think it's really fair for us

to say too much about what's been going on

in the buying and selling, but you have every reason to be nervous,

and I won't say any more than that.

No, it's fine. I'm surprised you're still actually doing it,

because I've sold everything of mine, it's all gone already.

-Has it, really?

-Fantastic.

There's nothing like a spot of psychological warfare,

and our Eric could not resist winding up his opponent.

But nothing puts the man from Morecombe down,

and it's not long before Paul is in Stratford-upon-Avon,

gearing up for the auction of his champagne screw.

He's got the standard auction fees to pay,

and hasn't put any reserve price on the piece,

so this is a move that could win big, or be a disaster!

Do you know what, I'm really nervous about this.

It's out of my hands, really. I'm in the hands of the auctioneer.

It's something I haven't sold before,

I've never bought one before, so, what it's worth, who knows?

We need at least 110 quid.

Fingers crossed, let's see how we go, here it comes now.

Very interesting item indeed.

Who's got a couple of hundred for it?

100 to get me going, come on, surely?

-Nobody interested, no interest.

-'Oh, this isn't looking good.'

He's going to withdraw it, I think. 50 quid, dear me.

-'Oh, not looking good at all.'

-Come on. 30, 40. Worth every penny.

Can I just butt in?

There are two of these for sale in California,

if you can get out there, for nearly 3,000 each!

There we go. 3,000 in California.

-I was hoping for a bit more than this.

-New bidder, at £50.

-Is it 60? 60, surely? Have another one. 60, sir.

-It's worth every penny.

-He's going to let it go.

-65, surely? Last chance at £60. Are we done?

SOUND OF AUCTIONEER'S HAMMER

Oh, dear. There we go, that really hurts, doesn't it?

There we go, we can't win them all.

Oh, it's a tragedy for Mr Morecambe,

our northern warrior took a leap of faith,

but he's hit with a loss of just over £47.

Knocker has no idea of the disaster that has befallen his rival.

He's been delving deep into his contacts book,

and he is now brought his art deco mantel clock to gallery owner John.

The clock cost him just over £136.

So, first impressions, John?

OK, well, it's got good proportions. It looks a good-looking piece.

It looks in good condition. The colours are great,

and it's got that rich, opulent look for art deco.

Very much of the period.

I was hoping for somewhere in the region of around about £340, or thereabouts.

Right. I would be looking at nearer, something around 280 for it.

If we pushed the boat to the magic three,

do you think we might be able to do business at 300?

-OK.

-If you're not happy.

-Arm-twisting again, I'll be happy to go with that.

-You sure?

Yes, I think I can do that with this clock.

The great maestro strikes again, more than doubling his money,

and proving that his art deco quest in France was a cunning strategy.

That's nearly £164 profit.

Whilst he's there Eric convinces John to buy the seething bowl

and Lalique-style dish for £40 each,

banking him a total profit of £30 for the pair.

With Knocker riding high, we've reached the halfway stage in this

profit-hunting bonanza, and what a rollercoaster ride it has been.

Eric hit the ground running, he's now sold four

of his eight items, and banked just over £276 profit.

His fresh-faced rival has had a troubled start.

He's sold just one of his five items,

and made a loss of just over £47.

But, the battle's not over yet.

All the pressure is now on the man from Morecambe.

He's in London where his fireguard is about to go under the hammer.

He paid just over £136 for it,

and he desperately needs a great result.

OK, I'm quite nervous, now.

This is one I stronger items that I bought in France.

With a bit of luck, we're looking at between 300 and 500.

That would give me some good profit, some good money.

Otherwise I'll have a face like one of the guys on the item.

Let's hope not Paul.

A 19th-century, late 18th-century,

early 19th-century French chenet, here.

A good thing, who will start me £200 for this?

-Here it goes. £200.

-Come on. 200, we're in!

-220, 230.

-Come on.

-240, 250.

-That's great, that. That'll do me. That's fantastic.

Come on.

-270.

-That's great.

-Final on 260. Gone, your bid. 260.

There you go. How fantastic is that?

At £260, hammer price, which is great.

That gives me a really good profit.

Mr Morecombe strikes back.

After sale room fees, our boy thanks just over £67 profit,

what a result.

But Paul is not the only one seeking profit in the metropolis.

Eric's set up a meeting with Sam, the co-owner of a distillery,

who's expressed an interest in his champagne bucket and ice bucket.

Together, they cost Eric just over £59.

-What is going on here?

-It's an unusual set-up, isn't it?

It's a very exciting one.

This is the first copper distillery in London for 200 years.

A real piece of history that we've got.

We've handcrafted, in really small batches,

batches of vodka and dry London gin.

It's a real reflection of what old distilleries used to be like.

I can see that you have an interest in things related to,

whether it's brewing, or distilling, or in this case,

it could be champagne.

Without question. Everything in the drinks industry fascinates us.

It's your lucky day, son. These can be yours.

If you are going to ask me that question, I would say to you,

somewhere in the region of around about £150 for the two.

£150? Well, I would have probably gone, I mean, they're both gorgeous,

I'm going to offer you 100, on the nose.

I tell you what, I tell you what.

If we go almost halfway, let's go to 120.

-I'll do that.

-You'll do that? Good lad.

Bottoms up. Burnley's best held firm,

and nets himself nearly £61 profit.

And our antiques agent provocateur is keen to see his wares in action.

AS SEAN CONNERY: Remember, always shaken, never stirred.

Name's Knowles, Knocker Knowles, licensed to thrill.

GUN SHOT

In east London, our other action hero is seeking out

the sweet smell of success, as he unveils his scent bottle

to perfumiere, Angela.

Is this the sort of thing that you would be interested in for your wonderful establishment?

Yes, it's a lovely bottle, Paul. It's very pretty.

So, if I was to ask you, sort of, £65?

Would that be within your budget, do you think, or is that a bit..?

What about 50?

Well, it stands for me at 45,

so there's room for a little bit of profit. You can't make it 55?

-I think we could probably make it 55. No problem.

-That's it.

-Shall we shake on that?

-Yes, let's.

A £9.55 profit isn't earth-shattering,

but it's a solid step in the right direction.

Now, Paul has two items left to sell - his silver platter, and his miniature.

But it seems once again the good ship Morecambe could be

sailing into troubled waters.

His miniature has been rejected by the potential buyer he was placing his hopes on.

You're definitely not interested?

-Definitely not.

-I can't twist your arm?

-No.

And then things go from bad to worse.

With the clock ticking down to the selling deadline,

Paul is forced to take the desperate measure

of trying to offload his last pieces at a car boot sale.

He sells them both, but at a loss.

The miniature sells for £30,

and Paul gets £200 for the silver platter,

but minus car boot fees, he's left with a dent

of just under £35 of his profit pot.

But, what of Eric? So far,

our Burnley boy has been steadily plugging away.

But now, Knocker is bringing out the guns.

I'm in Northamptonshire.

I'm here to meet one of this country's top antique box experts.

He's expressed an interest in my liqueur set.

Now, what can I tell you? I can tell you it's back from the restorer's.

He's done a fabulous job. It now stands me at around £390.

Now, I know when I came across this initially, I got all excited,

but having done a little bit of research,

I've realised that I'm probably in for about £500.

Eric needs to sell the box for about £390 to make a profit.

But, will collector Mark be willing to pay that kind of money?'

-It looks like Mulberry to me.

-OK.

-I'm pretty sure it's Mulberry.

The handles are beautiful, too.

It's exactly, it's typical of the French craftsmanship.

It's absolutely beautiful.

I want some of your expertise,

because when it comes to dating it, I had this down at around about,

maybe 1830, maybe 1840, or could it be a little bit earlier?

I think you've hit the nail on the head.

I think it is about 1830, 1840.

Decanters obviously tell us quite a lot.

And also locks and hinges, and everything of that style

that was being done at that particular time.

It is a fabulous piece, Eric.

There's a little bit more work we need to do to it.

In all fairness, I'd like to start with a £600 price tag.

Now, where do you go with that?

Knocker's fate hangs in the balance.

Will his buyer stump up his asking price? We'll find out later.

As the final bell tolls on this selling spree,

it seems that it's not just Paul who has faced some challenges.

Despite his best efforts, Knocker couldn't find a buyer

for his Chinese plate, and loses just over £27 from his profit pot.

This battle has had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster,

but both our boys have fought bravely.

They started out with £750 of their own money.

Eric picked up eight items and spent just over £690,

including his decanter set restoration costs.

While Paul only bought five items, spending nearly £538,

including fees.

But now it's all about how much profit our boys have made.

All of the money that Eric and Paul have made from today's challenge

will be going to a charity of their choice. So, without further ado,

it's time to find out who is today's

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

-Eh, hello Eric.

-It's great to see you.

-You, too.

-You take me to such lovely places.

-I do. I know some great places.

Talking of lovely places, wasn't France fantastic?

I so loved it out there.

I've got to say, I was gutted to sell my liqueur set.

I mean, I would have loved to have kept it.

-You mean the one I looked at, and left behind?

-I'm afraid you did.

-But, hey ho, it had to go.

-Shall we find out then?

-Shall we do it?

-Are you ready?

-I'm ready when you are.

-BOTH:

-Three, two, one.

-400 quid!

-Oh, what happened there?

-To be honest, it was a complete disaster.

-No!

I don't know what happened. The main thing was that champagne screw.

They sell well in America, but they don't sell in England.

Yeah, well there you go. You can't win them all.

Oh, Paul's been totally trounced.

Knocker was like a profit-hunting torpedo,

but just how much did his decanter set actually make?

-500. You've got yourself a deal.

-£500, I've got myself a deal.

-I've got myself a deal.

-Thanks, Eric.

Yes, Knocker's top treasure clears him nearly £110 profit.

Our Morecambe man just didn't stand a chance.

I should have bought that fantastic decanter set

that I did see before Eric,

and I'm delighted I did buy that fantastic chenet, or fireguard.

Do you know what? I made a £5 loss. C'est formidable.

The big bonus for me was buying the art deco glass vase,

because it gave me the opportunity to take

the long and winding road to the seaside resort of Morecambe, where,

I have two say, I enjoyed the hospitality at chez Hayes.

Eric may have clinched this victory, but it's not over yet.

There's more challenges to come before any profits can be banked,

and tomorrow they'll be battling it out at an antiques fair in Malvern.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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