Eric Knowles v Catherine Southon - Showdown Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, the show that pitches

Britain's best loved antiques

experts against each other in an all out battle for profit.

Let's make hay while that sun shines!

And gives you the insider's view of the trade.

Who's there?

Each week, one pair of duelling dealers will face a different

daily challenge.

The original cheeky chappy!

Lah-vly!

-Putting their reputations on the line...

-And I'm truly rockin'!

..and giving you their top tips

and savvy secrets on how to make the most money from buying and selling.

Get in there!

Today, hold on to your hats for the greatest antiques

challenge on television. Prepare for the pyrotechnics,

as the Prince of Porcelain, Eric Knowles,

takes on the first lady of auctioneering, Catherine Southon,

in the fearsome Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Showdown.

It's going to be explosive.

Coming up, Eric gives his expert advice on price setting.

If you think that may be worth, you know, £10, you start at 15.

Are you with me?

Catherine faces the perils of buying something you've not seen.

Oh, gosh!

It's not even that brilliant.

And Eric lets the showdown pressure go to his head.

Hang on, hang on. They can't see it.

Keep going, Eric. 12 is bid.

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Welcome one, welcome all,

to the pinnacle of the Put Your Money pentathlon.

Our two tenacious traders have been slugging it out all week

and if they think that's been tough, they ain't seen nothing yet.

The showdown requires buckets of brawn,

the very finest wheeling and dealing

and every last ounce of knick-knack knowledge,

but there can only be one winner, so who will shed blood,

sweat and tears to emerge victorious?

And who will end up crying alone in the corner?

Let's meet the contenders.

First up, a man who masters momentous missions like this.

He's brave in his bargaining, skilled in his selling,

and after nearly 40 years in the business,

he's cemented himself as antiques aristocracy.

Please be upstanding for Eric 'Knocker' Knowles.

What an international dealer, eh!

His opponent will push him all the way.

A dealing diva who drives for discounts,

then makes mountains of cash in the flash of a lash.

Her expertise is extraordinary

and she's a fearsome fighter who takes no prisoners.

Show your appreciation for 'Cunning' Catherine Southon.

Wham-bam, thank you, ma'am.

These two titans of the trade can take on any tussle,

but even they will struggle to survive in today's mega challenge.

They'll be fighting it out at their normal haunts,

a car boot sale, an antiques fair, an auction, and a foreign market.

So, they'll need their wits about them.

They've each got £1,000 of their own money to spend

and any profit they make will go to their chosen charities.

So, brace-brace, everybody. We're ready to rumble.

Eric Knowles and Catherine Southon,

it's time to Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

-Good to see you.

-And you, too.

-How are you doing?

-Oh, I'm doing fine! But we're under starter's orders.

-We certainly are!

So, start the ball rolling.

Well, Eric, "Welcome to the mighty Showdown. The rules are simple.

"You must each buy two items at every one of your regular

"Put Your Money challenges.

"You have £1,000 to spend."

"You can sell up to four items wherever you want.

"The rest will be sold at an auction in direct competition

"with your opponent.

"The winner is the dealer who makes the most profit."

And it ends by giving us both a little bit of good luck.

-We might need it.

-I think so too.

-You take the high road and I'll take the low road.

-Good luck.

They both seem nervous.

Maybe it's the prospect of the terrifying Put Your Money

Showdown auction that's giving them the jitters.

First, they dive into round one, the car boot sale.

For this, they are in Battersea in South London,

so what superb strategy does Southon have?

My plan for the showdown is to spend as little as possible

in order to maximise on the profit.

So cunning Catherine will be

exercising her hardest hammer haggles. Watch out, Battersea.

Eric also has a clever plan.

With a car boot, the tricky thing is finding it,

but if I can give you a tip, and that is, look at the tabletop,

but then look underneath the table

because quite often good things get relegated under there.

He's done this before so Eric goes off to search high and low

and Catherine may have already found her first item.

She's having a good look at a bracelet.

Stamped on the back 925.

Which would suggest silver, but it's not English silver, it's continental.

Let's see how much it is.

-How much is that one?

-15.

-15!

-Is that too much?

-Yeah. I tell you what, I'll give you eight for it.

-Does that sound all right?

-No.

-Oh, go on.

-OK then.

-Take it for eight.

-Great.

Don't think even Catherine expected that to work.

Let's see her face again. Yes, delighted.

The lady she bought it from looks a bit miffed though.

But she's off and running

Across the sale, Knocker is picking up speed.

-Do you mind if I fondle this?

-No.

I'm just making sure there's no chips or cracks.

-What sort of money have we got on it?

-£10.

I will give you £10 for that but the next time somebody comes

-they will probably say to you, "What's your best price?"

-OK.

If you think that may be worth £10 you start at 15 and then you...

Are you with me?

Ah, the old master passes on his knowledge to the newcomers

but if you ever see him selling, you now know his little secret.

This is cut and pressed glass. That's electroplated nickel silver.

It would have been silver like the underside but that's worn away.

This dates from around 1890.

It's got all the trademarks of what you want in an object

but one thing it lacks at the moment are buyers.

Leave off the selling for now, Eric.

There's still a long way to go before you get to that point

although Knocker is soon a step closer.

I've just paid £25 for a 1920s or '30s ceiling bowl,

which is made from a soft stone. This is actually alabaster.

I think it was money well spent.

Eric has sated his antiques appetite for now,

which means Catherine needs to pick up the pace and get her second item.

I love this sign.

"Police. Slow-down."

French. Probably '50s.

-Excuse me, how much is it?

-It's £90.

-SHE GASPS

-Oh! Would you take 50 on it?

-The very best would be 65.

Right. I'm going to show you the colour of my money.

I thought she was saving her money.

That's a lot to spend on a single car boot purchase

but she clearly loves the police sign.

Will it signal an enormous profit? Find out later.

That's the car boot conquered. Let's assess their assets.

Eric and Catherine started the showdown

with £1,000 of their own money to spend.

Eric "Knocker" Knowles has spent £35, leaving £965 in his wallet.

"Cunning" Catherine Southon said she'd spend as little as possible

but she's actually spent double Eric's outlay.

£73 gone, meaning there's £927 left in her kitty.

And with that, our pair of dealing dynamos move on to round two

- the antiques fair. And this is a tough one.

They are at Ardingly in West Sussex,

which claims to be the largest fair of its kind in southern England

so how will they each pick out the best two items on offer

when there's 1,700 stalls to trawl?

When you're in the business of buying and selling,

I know it sounds a bit daft, but you've got to think about now.

So I'm not thinking Victoriana I'm thinking retro,

I'm thinking Arts and Crafts, I'm thinking Art Deco.

That's what I'm thinking, but will I find it?

Where there's a will, there's a way.

We'll see how that pans out but Eric needs to hurry up because

Catherine's already locked eyes on her first potential purchase.

For some reason I kind of had it in my head

that I wanted to buy an ice bucket today

and I like this one purely and simply because of the shape.

It's got a really beautiful shape - nice, fluted edge,

nice, fluted edges and also the handles.

It is chrome plated

and I can imagine this with a finest bottle of champagne inside it.

Catherine buys the bucket from someone who's a little camera shy.

She pays a cool £23 but there's nothing chilled about this

ticking time bomb of trader versus trader.

Talking of ticking, Eric soon clocks his next target and quickly buys it.

Well, I wasn't going to leave this for £55

because it's a good clock from probably around 1930.

The size of it tells me that it probably stood in a boardroom

cos it is larger than most but it does need a bit of work.

You can see here that it has suffered the ravages of time.

It's a good looking piece of 1930s horology.

And Eric stays true to his mini mission of Art Deco items.

Our bullish bargainers each need one more item here in West Sussex.

The competition couldn't be closer.

Excuse me, can I have a little look at this? The little dog.

Is it the top of a cane? It's not a cane, is it? It's like a whip.

-Yeah, it's a whip.

-Ah-ha.

Now, this isn't to everyone's taste

because of the hunting scene that's on it and the hunting associations

but let me tell you, this is something that is very interesting

and something which is really quite unique.

So the top of this, we've got a carved head of a hound, a dog,

and then a whistle at the top.

And he has got his original glass eyes which is really nice

because often these can be missing.

And then we've got a silver collar.

This dates to the beginning of the 20th century.

-How much for your whip?

-The very best is £90.

Could you say 85?

-Go on. 85.

-Is that all right?

Thank you very much indeed. I really like that.

That's Catherine done and dusted for now.

As she hightails it to round three,

Eric's hunt continues but he might have just

-found something and it's more Deco.

-I like your mirror.

It's in wrought iron. It's nice. What is the best?

-£50.

-Put it there.

-OK.

-Thank you.

-You can assure me that's a slimming mirror, can't you?

I can assure you it's a slimming mirror, yes.

Very important when you buy a mirror,

make sure it's a slimming mirror because there are fattening mirrors

and it's only women that know the difference cos I haven't got a clue.

He's a real charmer, isn't he?

Our showdown ship is moving on

but before it docks at the next location, let's tot up the tallies.

After two antiques events, Eric has spent £140 on his four items

so he's got £860 left in his kitty.

Catherine, meanwhile, has spent a little more - £181,

meaning she has £819 to play with.

Our count and countess of collectables

move on to round three, the auction.

Our gavel wise go-getters are in Nottingham

at the Mellors And Kirk saleroom.

They have both scanned the catalogue and had a decent poke around

so they've got a good idea of the lots they love

but as ever at auction, they need their wits about them.

The observant Catherine has scanned the room and she's got a plan.

Some of the jewellery seems to be going quite cheaply.

There's not a huge amount of people bidding here.

I have seen a rather nice ring.

190. 200. And 20. 220, now.

220 I am bid. 220. Going once at 220...

Oh, she's in.

At £250 over here. I sell.

That's what you call an impulse buy.

It could be a very big oops.

Already doubting herself?

Catherine has just blown a whole load of money.

Including the saleroom fees she pays £302.50.

Once she gets up and close with the ring, is she impressed?

Oh, gosh.

It's not even that brilliant.

It's not really nicely made.

It's not the best quality I've seen, I must admit.

But 18 carat white gold ring with stepped centre ruby

and these trapeze cut diamonds on the side.

Is someone going to pay £400 for it?

This is a lesson to you all.

Look, look and look again before you buy.

Could that rush of bidding blood to the brain prove fatal?

Has she just ruined her campaign in one fell swoop? Let's hope not.

Catherine does choose her next lot with caution

but more bad news for our lady.

Eric is targeting it too

so who will win the clash of the condiment set?

And Catherine's got an inkling of what's going on.

I've got a feeling Mr Knowles might be going for this.

110. 120. 130.

140. And I sell for £140...

Oh, she was too late. A dramatic last-minute change of mind.

Eric is elated and Catherine's saleroom struggle continues.

Knocker gets his first auction purchase for £169.40 with fees.

This is my Mappin & Webb cruet set.

I get two mustard pots, two salt cellars and two pepper pots

but I also get the little spoons and they are all marked.

It's always nice when you get something like this

in its original presentation box.

So Eric is full of the joys of silver

but Catherine has lost her cunning streak.

First impulse and then hesitation have weakened her position.

How will she fare with the next lot she's interested in?

An Arts and Crafts brass jardiniere.

35 for it.

40. 45. 50.

-50, I'm bid.

-Eric's bidding against her.

No? £70.

The lady's bid over here and I'm selling at £70.

(I was the underbidder.

(And that cunning girl was the successful bidder.)

Anyone would think he bid her up on purpose. Naughty Knocker!

As a result Catherine paid £84.70 including fees

but it doesn't matter. She is pleased with her lot.

It's brass, a sheet of brass but it's got these embossed flowers on

so it has got a little bit of style there but it's not too fussy

and that was the whole ethos behind Arts and Crafts

in the late 19th century period.

It's what William Morris was shouting about.

He wanted good design but he wanted things that could be useful.

-We've got it there, in a nutshell.

-Nice to see Catherine smiling.

Eric rounds off the auction action by buying three plates.

They all come together in one lot and he pays £30.25 with fees.

They are all made by different makers.

This one, as you can see, with wonderful iris type plant on it.

It says here, Coalport 1860.

This one is all hand-painted on a dark cobalt background.

The third one, which is the one that really attracted my eye,

is in fact Royal Worcester and it's signed by an artist called Phillips.

This is all hand-painted round about 1910 or 1920.

Hopefully I'll find a happy owner.

Eric, as ever, happiest when he's perusing the porcelain.

That's three rounds down. Let's do some number crunching.

Both our dealers started the challenge

with £1,000 of their own money.

Eric has spent £339.65 so far,

leaving £660.35 for the final round.

Catherine has spent considerably more - £568.20.

That means she's got £431.80 left to play with.

So we move on to our final rendezvous.

Round four is the foreign market.

Our sparring Spartans change their leftover pounds into euros

ready for a final forage in France

at the upmarket St Antoine flea market in Paris.

This place is renowned for its high prices but that shouldn't matter.

They've both got plenty of cash to splash.

Before they embark on this last lap,

Catherine takes some time out to go over her gameplay.

Two pieces that I'm looking for today for my showdown

have to be "wham, bam, thank you, ma'am".

They have to be things, for me,

-that are going to go to the auction.

-Very wise.

Already planning ahead to avoid the terror of the showdown auction.

And while Eric wanders around,

Catherine spots some powder boxes made by Tiffany.

It's saying 350 euros for the three.

That's really too much money.

They are beautiful and they are top, top quality

because they are retail by Tiffany. Sterling silver at the top.

Beautifully cut. And this guilloche enamel is just perfect.

-A really pretty pink colour.

-Deux cent quarante.

-Allez.

-Oh, 240.

-Deux cent trente? C'est tout? That's it.

-Voila.

Merci, monsieur. Merci beaucoup.

230 euros. I must be mad. (But I love it!)

-It is Tiffany, darling.

-Oh, darling.

Our little luvvie got a massive discount.

Converting the price back into sterling,

Catherine pays £209.10.

Eric is still walking around frankly getting nowhere as Catherine

prepares to pounce again.

These are sales catalogues, auction catalogues from Sotheby's,

mainly in the '70s.

These, now, are essential reference guides.

Catherine knocks the seller down from eight euros to five

and strikes a deal.

That works out at £4.55. Catherine can relax.

She's got her eight buys in the bag.

Time to catch up with Eric. He's spotted some quizzing glasses.

What would be the best? I know.

Je prefere cent cinquante.

-Which is?

-150.

-150. OK.

-OK.

-Can I buy that?

-Yes, of course.

Eric's oddly quiet there.

He pays £136.36 and didn't even haggle.

Does he think he is on to a winner?

I just spent 150 euros on a very small object

but it is an exquisite object insofar as the decoration,

which is called pique work.

It appears to be either gold or silver

which has been inset into tortoiseshell.

This dates to probably round about 1870 - 1880s.

So it is well before the legislation

that, quite rightly, protects turtles.

A lorgnette is essentially a sort of quizzing glass.

Something you need when you just want to examine

a little bit more detail on something.

Let me just take a closer look.

Yes, yes. You are looking bigger, everybody. You are looking bigger.

Is he trying to tell us we need one of his famous slimming mirrors?

Cheeky monkey! Eric is fully focused and soon spots something

that could be his final find.

This is quite a pretty piece. It's got a lovely amethyst...

It matches your top, darling. No, no, no, no.

-No, oui. Mauve, mauve, mauve.

-Ah, oui. OK. OK.

Colour-coordinated dealer.

Is 120 possible?

-120?

-140.

-140.

-140, 120.

-120? OK.

120. Madame, 120.

-Oui.

-OK. D'accord.

-Fantastic.

That was rather confusing for the lady but just to be clear,

Eric pays £109.09 for his box and he's as pleased as punch.

This is a lovely little purple glass box and cover.

It is made by a firm called Moser in Carlsbad which at that time

was in Czechoslovakia.

The decoration is using an acid cut technique so they lay on a stencil.

You've got this continuous band of what appear to be Amazon women

all heightened in gilt so all I can hope now

is that these girls strut their stuff and get me a profit.

There we are.

All they've got to do now is sell everything and that's the hard bit.

Before the fun really starts,

let's have a look at their final spending figures.

Both our bargain hunters joined the showdown

with £1,000 of their own money to spend.

After all eight purchases are accounted for,

Eric has paid out a total of £585.10.

Catherine has spent almost £200 more at £781.85.

Before they attempt to turn all that into spanking great profits,

who feels they spent most wisely?

-So that's the buying done.

-The showdown is over.

-It is.

-How has it been for you?

-Well, I'm OK.

I'm sure that my quizzing glasses will come good

because it's just the most exquisite quality. What about you?

My favourite purchase of the showdown has to be my auction catalogues,

which I paid five euros for.

-Well, may the force be with you, my sweet. OK. All right.

-And you.

-Bye.

-See you in Angleterre.

Yes, they head back to Blighty because

although they've bought their booty, the showdown is not show-done.

In fact, far from it.

Eric and Catherine must now transform into selling supremos

as they try to off-load every last item for maximum profit

but that's even harder today.

You see, the showdown has a twist - the auction.

A place where they have no control, no chance to haggle,

persuade or sweet talk.

The selling prices are completely out of their hands.

Our trading tycoons must put at least four items under the hammer.

They could see their profits soar or they could lose everything.

Both our experts return to their respective bases to draw

up their battle plans and crucially decide which items they will

sell privately and which will stand their ground in a saleroom.

Back at Knocker HQ in Buckinghamshire,

-Eric has got it all worked out.

-This is my almighty haul,

including my wrought iron French demilune wall mirror,

my silver cruet set and on top of that

my Moser amethyst glass box and cover

and my French lorgnette with beautiful intricate pique work.

And for auction, one English cut glass biscuit barrel.

I've also got my alabaster shade, date-wise round about 1925.

My three plates, the most important of which is the Royal Worcester

example, which is actually signed.

Finally I've got my Art Deco clock,

which looks as though at some stage it has graced

the boardroom of some city firm.

I am playing all my cards.

The question I'm asking myself

is does my competitor have an ace up her sleeve?

Let's see, shall we? Cunning Catherine is now home in Kent

and she's nearly made up her mind about her battle plan.

Now, the items I know that are definitely going off to the auction

are the catalogues, the whip - I think it's fabulous,

it's got a lot of things going for it - and the powder bottles.

They're pink and they're perfect. I've just got one more to choose.

It's definitely not going to be the jardiniere,

cos I've got somebody in mind for that,

and my piece de resistance is my fabulous police sign.

The ring, this is something that I bought at auction completely blind.

I looked at it and I realised that it's actually not fabulous quality.

This little bracelet I paid eight pounds for.

It's nothing particularly special but there's something in that.

The bucket is not going to set the room alight.

All in all, not a bad selection but some are better than others.

Always the way Catherine, always the way.

Both our dastardly dealers get to work finding the very best buyers

who will hand over masses of cash.

With the showdown auction looming,

they don't have any time to hang about and remember,

until they have shaken on it and the money has changed hands,

no deal is ever sealed.

Cunning Catherine is straight out there.

She is near Westerham in Kent and is hoping to plant a profit with

her brass jardiniere from the late 19th-century.

It owes her almost £85.

I've come to the gorgeous village of Brasted to see Jonathan

who runs an antiques shop here.

I've come to see if he will buy my rather smart jardiniere.

-What do you think? Arts and Crafts?

-Arts and Crafts.

-It's nice.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

-It's brass, not copper, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-I thought the design was simple yet very attractive.

It's super. Yeah.

So surprise me how little you want for it.

I would quite like 150.

I'm thinking about 125 for that.

If we could shake on 130, Jonathan, I would be jolly happy.

-OK.

-Could we shake on that?

-I would do that for you.

-Thank you very much.

-That's a nice thing to own.

Catherine makes an impressive start.

The jardiniere pots a profit of £45.30.

Eric is aiming high with his first attempt at a sale.

He's ventured into the heart of London with his quizzing glasses

and he's just across the park from Buckingham Palace.

I've been in touch with this remarkable jewellery shop

who have expressed an interest in my lorgnette.

And I'm not one to name-drop but the Queen actually buys here

so as we say in my part of the world,

if it's good enough for 'er, it's good enough for me.

Let's hope your lorgnette is good enough for them.

It cost Eric just over £136. He's meeting Stanley.

When I came across this little lorgnette I was totally smitten.

How lovely.

The pique work, I think, is a mixture of two coloured golds.

Yes. It's lovely with the yellow gold and the rose gold.

It's quite unusual because normally it would be silver and gold.

I was thinking date-wise somewhere round about 1890 or thereabouts.

Spot on, yes.

-I was hoping for somewhere in the region of around about £600.

-Really?

Tortoiseshell is not always the easiest thing to sell.

I would have thought 260 to £280.

If we met at the halfway mark?

I think at £300 we would have a deal.

-I think at £300 we've got a deal.

-Thank you very much.

That's a pleasure. Thank you.

It might be a long way from what he wanted

but it's an excellent start nonetheless. £163.64.

So Eric leaps into the lead and Catherine has her work cut out.

But she's upping the stakes by trying a double deal.

She's brought her bracelet and ice bucket to Otford in Kent.

She needs a total of £31 to break even here

so will antiques dealer Angie help her out?

First of all, have a look at that.

-Oh!

-Rather pretty bracelet.

-I thought, this to me looks like malachite.

-It does.

-And silver.

I am looking for around 50 or £60.

-What do you think?

-40?

-40.

-40.

OK, 40. We'll go for 40 if that's what you're happy with.

-I think that's brilliant.

-I'm sure you do. £40!

-Second item, ice bucket.

-That's nice. Yeah.

-It's all right, isn't it?

I mean, there's not a lot you can say about it.

-What would you offer for that?

-Gosh. I don't know. 25.

That's what I paid for it

so I couldn't possibly let you have it at that.

-35.

-40. Go on.

-All right.

-Yeah. OK.

-Happy with that?

-Yeah. That's good.

So, Catherine achieves the double deal

and more than doubles her money.

The two sales combined bring in a total profit of £49.

Our cunning cat is going great guns, three sales to Eric's one.

But he's hoping for big things from his condiment set.

I'm in London's Chancery Lane and if you're talking silver,

that means the London Silver Vaults.

I'm here to meet Joel Langford,

who's expressed an interest in my condiment set by Mappin & Webb

and sadly, I think I'm going to be parting company.

At auction, Eric paid just shy of £170

for the six piece set that dates to 1919.

But will Joel be impressed?

Looking around, Joel, it's very humble, what I have to offer.

But have a look, because they are at least all original

and they're in the original presentation case.

-Have a look.

-Inspect them?

-Please do.

-OK.

There's a little dent there, I noticed. Let's have a look.

It's nice that it's got the spoons. They look original, which is good.

And that's in good order. Same date and the maker. Dings can come out.

In this case, so far, so good. Well, that one seems OK.

And all the blue glass liners are original and in good order.

-So, I was looking for around about £300 on this.

-I would say £230.

-£230. There's my hand. There's the shake.

-Why, thank you very much.

Yes, you get the idea he could have eked out a bit more there,

but no matter. He still heads home with a profit of £60.60.

Eric is still in the league,

but Catherine is a force to be reckoned with.

She's travelled to Weybridge in Surrey to try her luck with

what she calls the piece de resistance - her police sign.

I've come to see Rob.

He owns an online business selling French bits and pieces

and I have a feeling this is going to be tre fantastic.

Her confidence is sky-high,

so will Rob part with more than the £65 Catherine forked out?

-What do you think about that?

-Wow. That's really...impressive, huh?

-It's good, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-They're normally sort of the UK size, the little...

-A lot smaller.

I'm going to have to put it down because it is incredibly heavy.

I could see a market for it.

-I'd be looking at between £100 to £150.

-Wow.

-Probably looking just under that, maybe £90.

-100?

I'll do 100 but that would be as far as I'd go.

That would be as far as you go. Let's shake on it.

And I wish you lots of luck with that

because I think that has fantastic potential.

So, the sign shows her the way to another £35 of profit,

which means the ruby and diamond ring that

she was so unimpressed with will be going to auction.

And with Catherine all sold up, Eric needs to pull his finger out.

He sells his Art Deco mirror for £65 to a dealer in Chiswick

in West London and that brings in another £15 for his profit pot.

For his final item, Eric decides to leave the capital.

He motors up to the Midlands with his purple box.

Well, I'm in Birmingham

and I'm here to meet a collector of Continental glass.

Now, I've sent him an image of my Moser box and cover and he likes it,

so, so far so good.

He's seen it in two dimensions, he's now going to see it in three

and, hopefully, he's going to buy it.

Attila has quite a collection of continental glass.

Eric's box cost just under £110.

Have a look.

The gilding is quite good.

I'm hoping that it appeals enough for you to want to buy it.

Yeah, well, it depends on the price.

I mean, I was looking for £190 or something like that.

-How about 130?

-For 140 I'll sell it to you.

-140 is all right.

-Is 140 all right?

-Yes.

-Put it there. OK.

You're a star.

And that last private sale makes Knocker a profit of £30.91,

so there we have it.

All that's left is the showdown auction,

but before we brave the bidding,

let's see how their figures are adding up.

Both our daring dealers have sold four items so far.

Eric "Knocker" Knowles has done well.

At the moment he is £270.15 in profit.

Cunning Catherine Southon is looking less impressive.

£129.30 so far,

but her three most expensive items are still to be sold.

So, the time has finally arrived.

The moment we've all been waiting for.

It's the mighty showdown auction,

the antiques version of a penalty shoot out.

Dreams are made and hearts are broken

and our dealers can only stand back and watch as the great

British public helps them to win big or makes them lose everything.

All of Eric and Catherine's remaining items will go under

the hammer at the Diss Auction Rooms in Norfolk.

Our experts are in the hands of the auctioneers now and must pay all

the usual selling fees and Catherine, in particular, is feeling the fear.

I am scared. I've got really risky stuff today. Yours is not so risky.

True. True. But I have learnt my lesson in years gone by.

I'm just holding my breath today, it's as simple as that.

So, before the fun starts,

Eric and Catherine check out each other's lots one last time.

Eric only paid £10 and is estimated at 25-30, he's got no worries there.

It will walk out.

I'm not so sure that there is much of a market for old catalogues.

I hope I am wrong because I've got about 2,000 at home.

Again, not my cup of tea, not something I would focus on,

but he's seen them, he's seen that he can make money

and he's going to walk away with cash in his pocket.

Looks painful whatever it is. I'll give that a miss.

Well, he's done it again, hasn't he?

I mean, he's bought something low value,

£25 and it's got £20-30 on, so he's got profit written all over it.

She paid £200 for these and a bit more

and they've estimated them at 80-120, which I think is a bit mean,

so I think she will come good with these.

It's Art Deco, it's very sleek,

it's slim and it's just classy.

That is going to make a large amount of cash.

I know she paid 300 for it. They estimate it at 60-80.

Well, with all due respect, I am not a jewellery expert,

but that has got to be worth more than that, surely?

The auction soon gets under way

and first up is Catherine's riding crop that cost her £85.

It's an interesting object, isn't it?

I think it's got quite a lot going for it.

40 bid, sir. 45. 50, 5.

60, 5. 70. £70. Are you all done?

Once auction fees are deducted, Catherine makes a loss of £27.90.

Don't worry about that too much.

-I think this is the first of many today.

-Don't say that!

-We've got to be gung ho.

-Positive.

-We've got to be positive, exactly.

Well, Mr Positive is up next.

-It's the plates that cost him just over £30.

-40 I will take.

30 then to start. £10 a plate. 30 bid in the galleries. 32 downstairs.

-35 in the gallery and selling.

-35.

There may be a loss after paying my charges there, you know.

-I think there will be, Eric.

-Ouch.

Yes, they're absolutely right.

After fees, Eric digests a loss of £2.91.

He has a little more luck with his Victorian biscuit barrel.

At 20 and selling.

£20 hammer price and once the fees are taken,

it makes a profit of £4.60.

Next, it's the turn of Catherine's auction catalogues.

She thinks they are a useful reference tool for antiques' lovers,

so she is hoping they will fly today. She paid £4.55.

If the estimates are anything to go by in these catalogues, this is my

only hope because I paid under £5 and they're estimated at 20-30.

Start me at 20.

-Ten, I will take.

-Oh, ten he's offered.

-£10 is bid.

They will sell by main bidder at £10. £10.

Well, I have doubled my money.

Well, normally, that's a good thing but once fees are deducted,

she makes a profit of £1.55, which, let's be honest,

doesn't really help.

The auction soon comes round to Eric's alabaster light fitting.

He paid £25 but he's not feeling confident.

I don't mind telling you, Catherine, this is my weakest card actually.

Start me at £30.

It's Alabaster, it's lovely. £30 a ceiling bowl.

-20 I will take. Come on. Surely?

-Hang on, what's he up to?

-Hang on, they can't see it.

-Keep going, Eric.

Our auction action hero gets involved.

He will do anything for a profit.

-Hat, bowl?

-22 by the door. Any advance on 22?

Well done, Mr Knowles.

Oh, well, all the jumping about didn't really do the trick.

The alabaster makes another loss, £8.70 this time.

Eric has just one item left,

so will his Art Deco clock chime in a massive profit? It cost him £55.

It is going to do well. This is your best item in my eyes.

£30 and start me. It's 30 bid. 32. 35, 40, 45, 50 is bid.

-50. That's not enough, is it?

-That's a loss, isn't it?

-It's a loss.

-£50.

Oh, the auction has not been kind to our Knocker.

Taking the fees into account, the clock yet makes another loss.

£14.90.

If your good things are doing badly,

-what chance have I got with my bad things?

-But you've got glitter.

Well, everything could well turn on its head.

Catherine still has her two most expensive lots left -

the ring and the powder boxes.

If these two well, she could blow Mr Knowles out of the water.

The ring is up first but she is not confident.

It owes her just over £300.

-This is the one you have been losing sleep over.

-It's just awful.

It's a ring that will fit a lot of fingers.

-Catherine is very anxious. She's certain it's going to bomb.

-100.

110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170,

180, 190, 200, 220, 240,

260, 280, 300, 320, 340.

For sale for £340.

-I don't believe that.

-340. And, you know, I had all this.

Are we on the right lot?

Listen, this was on stand-by for you and we don't need it.

I'm sorry but I really genuinely don't believe that.

Catherine is shocked, but the evidence is right there.

She makes a much smaller loss than expected, £15.90.

So, it all comes down to Catherine's final lot,

the Tiffany powder boxes that cost £209. She's not confident

about these either, but will they go the same way as the ring?

Let's hope so.

I have bids on, I have to start in straight in at £100.

£100 I have. Who's a ten?

110, 120, 130, 140,

150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220.

-Bid's 220 at the moment.

-Come on. Give us a bit more.

And that's a final loss.

£24.50, but Catherine expected that to be a lot worse.

So, their mammoth challenge is over and they are all sold up.

We will find out who is the showdown champion in just a moment,

but before we do, let's remind ourselves who spent what.

Both our dealers started out with £1,000

of their own money to spend on eight purchases.

Eric did not go wild. He handed over £585.10 all up.

Catherine did spend considerably more, £781.85,

but all the hard work is now out of the way.

Let's find out who sold best.

All of the profit that Eric and Catherine have made will be

going to the charities of their choice, so let's find out who

is today's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is showdown champion.

-How are you?

-I'm fine. I'm fine.

I found this a little bit tricky and also the auction, I was lucky.

-What about you?

-Well, the auction was a bit of a non-event for me too.

What about the things you sold though?

I managed to sell my silver cruet set, my Mappin & Webb.

-Oh, yes, I liked that.

-What about you?

I had that nice road sign, do you remember that?

-That wasn't bad but everything else was OK.

-OK.

-Shall we have a look?

One, two, three.

Oh, Eric! You've really done very well.

Yes, Eric wins hands down, but both our experts have been

building up their profit pots over a week of challenges.

They have struck over 130 deals in total,

so let's reveal the overall winner.

-Are you ready?

-One, two, three.

-Oh!

-Well done! You did brilliantly!

-That's really generous of you.

-Gosh, you did really well!

-Not that far behind.

-It's been such great fun.

-It has been good fun.

And I've seen an awful lot of Britain. I don't know about you.

Yes, Eric is this week's master of the mission, but between them,

our dealers have made close to £2,300 profit

and every last penny will be going to their chosen charities.

The charity that I have chosen to send my profits to is UNICEF.

My charity is Demelza Hospice,

which looks after children with terminal illnesses.

It's been a week of no-holds barred combat.

Our excellent experts have really put their money

where their mouths are and showed they can make a convincing profit

from buying and selling antiques when their own money is on the line.