Builth Wells Bargain Hunt

Being a presenter on Bargain Hunt really does have its perks!

Mmm. Delicious. Thank you.

These gorgeous girls, our contestants, are so accommodating, so generous and so sweet.

But no amount of buttering-up is gonna make me biased, is it, girls?

ALL: Oh, suit yourself!

Oh, dear. I've got some bridges to build before we go bargain hunting.

Welcome, Bargain Hunters.

We're at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells today.

This place is crammed full

of collectables and bursting with antiques,

so our teams should have no difficulty in finding their three bargains with their £300 budget.

Each team is given an expert and an hour to shop, but it's not all about having fun on this programme.

Oh, no. There is a serious import and that is to make a lot of profit at the auction.

But which team is going to be triumphant today?

-The Reds are Melanie and Julie. Welcome.

-Hello.

-And Mags and Ange are the Blues.

-Hello.

-How lovely is that?

-HE CHUCKLES

Now, Mels and Jules, how did you first meet?

-Don't know.

-We don't really know.

But we think it was about 17 years ago.

-Did you meet in a pub and did it get out of control?

-That's possible.

-Yeah.

-Now we work in the same place, in a primary school.

-A primary school.

-With special needs.

Good on you. Now, it's normal to refer to you as the Reds.

-Yep.

-But you've asked that you have a special team name today.

-What's that?

-Absolutely. We're going to be known as the Antique Avengers.

HE CHUCKLES

Why's that, then?

Because we have a quiz team

-and we like to choose different names.

-Is this a school quiz team?

-Yes.

-Now, your real passion is films, isn't it?

-I love films and my favourite film of all is Gone With The Wind.

-Is it?

Yes. Unfortunately, my children have suffered from that because I called one Rhett and one Scarlett.

-Well, frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!

-THEY LAUGH

Julie, you love films but you like taking stills.

I prefer going out with my camera and taking photographs.

Are you into the digital?

I've bought a digital, but I haven't done much yet.

-They're just brilliant. You'll never look back.

-No.

So what's your ambition with all your winnings today?

-Well, Tim, we're going to go on a cruise.

-A cruise?

-The two of us.

-Any particular place?

-Bahamas, somewhere like that.

-West Indies.

There you go. You've got ambition. That's what we want.

Now, for the Blues. Like the Reds, you two met at school.

Yes, we did. We were about ten years old and we went to a convent, the local convent.

The Reds have a team name.

What team name would you like?

As we're convent old girls, we decided we'd like to be the COGs.

-HE LAUGHS

-You convent girls. There's no stopping you(!)

-Mags, you should be good at Bargain Hunt cos you're a negotiator.

-Yes, I am.

-I sell new homes.

-Yeah?

-It's very enjoyable.

-What do you enjoy about it?

-Meeting different people

from all walks of life and helping them,

from the day they put the deposit down to the day they get the keys.

-Like a cradle-to-grave job.

-Absolutely. Yeah. Very rewarding.

-Yes.

-Yes.

Ange, tell me about the story of your difficulties with the window cleaner.

Well! I went to put my washing in the machine one day, which is not unusual.

My washing machine is out in the garage.

-Right.

-So I put everything in and I stood there and I thought,

-"I'll put my nightdress in too," except I was wearing it at the time.

-Lovely.

So I peeled off my nightdress, put it in the machine,

switched it on, only to see a pair of ladders going past the window.

I thought, "Right, I've got time to get up the stairs and he won't have seen me."

Good plan.

So I ran into the house, up the stairs, just to arrive on the landing

-to see that he was at the landing window.

-What did he say?

-"Nice view."

-THEY GUFFAW

We don't want any of those high jinks on this programme!

Now, this is the money moment.

-£300. There's the £300.

-Thank you, Tim.

Your experts await and off you go and very, very, very good luck.

So who will finish up top of the class today?

Cruising with the Antique Avengers is David Harper

and sticking religiously with the Convent Old Girls is Jonathan Pratt.

-David! Julie!

-What have you found?

I tell you what she's found.

This is Tim's own private transport!

-Wow(!)

-You can't buy this.

-I can see Tim sitting in it now.

I really think it's lovely.

-Do you think it's made up?

-Yeah.

It's the kind of thing that's probably been built in someone's garage. Maybe, what? 1960s?

-Yes, I'd say.

-Yeah.

So it's got a steering wheel. Does everything work?

-Seems to be in order.

-HORN HONKS

Hey! Look at that.

-We've got the Wolseley badge on the front, there.

-Well, I think it's a cracker.

-Good.

-I really do. What sort of money is it?

He wants 85 for it.

-It has to be the cheapest Wolseley on the planet.

-It has.

Get it a bit less and I think it'll be a good buy.

-OK. I'll go and try my best.

-Haggle away there, Mel.

-I will.

So whilst you two shrink yourselves down for a cruise,

Mel shrank the price down to tow the car in at £70.

-What do you think of this little vase?

-Oh, gosh. That's pretty.

-I really like the colours.

-Yeah.

-Little mottled glass vase, for Molino.

-Mm?

A name synonymous with this type of material.

I'd say it's sort of 30 or 40 years old.

-It'd look lovely with some daffodils in.

-Exactly. It's a very pretty vase, isn't it?

It is. Yes. It is.

It's not expensive. The label's on the top.

-£32. What do you think of that price?

-Well, do your best, really.

There's not much room you can squeeze out of it, but squeeze what you can, I'd say!

OK. If we can get £5-£10 off, would that be a good price?

For the first buy, I think that'd be quite good.

-OK, then. Let's go with it.

-Best of luck.

-OK.

Angela squeezed as hard as she could, paying a juicy £22.

THEY CHAT

-What do you think about that?

-I quite like that.

-That's lovely.

-Do you know what it is?

-No!

You're easily pleased, for goodness' sake!

Is it Art Deco?

Art Nouveau. But it's a bottle stand for a wine bottle.

It's devastatingly stylish, but the coup de grace,

-the best thing about this item... Look at the base.

-Oh, look.

-Stamped.

-It's stamped WMF.

-Now, WMF, a German manufacturer.

-Yeah.

Mass produced, you know, knives and forks for many years,

but about the late 19th century, early 20th century,

moved heavily into the Art Nouveau movement. Did a fantastic job.

-I like it.

-I like that.

-Feel it. Very heavy.

-Gosh. Yeah.

-Substantial quality.

-Yeah.

Now, price-wise, how would you value that?

I would say it would be out of our price range!

-200? Something like that.

-You've bought it. Thanks very much!

THEY LAUGH

-£140.

-Right.

-But I think it's good.

I think it might make £200 in a good sale.

-What do you think?

-I think do the deal.

-Yeah.

-Can I?

-I think you can.

-Right. Yes.

-Thumbs up.

-Thumbs up. OK, girls.

And that's exactly what David did.

He handed over a full-bodied 140 notes for the wine holder.

OK, ladies, this box here. What's your first impression?

Well, when I first saw it I thought it looks really decorative, really beautiful,

but then I noticed all of this damage.

Yeah.

What we've got here is an early Victorian rosewood

-and inlaid workbox.

-Yes.

-OK.

Nicely inlaid to the top with mother-of-pearl, brass

and abalone shells. Very typically Victorian.

Sadly, we've got some brass, mother-of-pearl

and a bit of abalone shell missing.

-Could it be repaired?

-It's not a difficult thing.

It's materials which are available to a restorer.

The escutcheon has this nice shield shape to it and then we've got birds of paradise,

so I think that with some tender loving care,

it'll bring it up to being quite a spectacular piece.

He's asking £55 for it.

I mean, even in this condition,

I think it's sort of £60-80, at auction.

That's great. Shall we go for it?

I think you should. One of you's going to have to haggle. Who's going to?

I'm going to do it again.

Good luck. I'm going to go find some more bargains.

OK. We'll go and see what we can do.

See you later.

Keen as mustard is our Ange.

Bargaining for the Blues,

she trimmed the asking price down to £48.

What do you think of this? I found it on the stall there.

Well, that looks like it's more your kind of thing, Julie!

I just like the decoration on the front.

Yeah, exactly. What does that decoration tell you?

The floral one we saw earlier on was Art Nouveau,

so is this Art Deco?

Yes! Well done, you two.

Pair of experts within five minutes.

-And this is silver?

-It is silver.

You can tell by the back markings, here.

I haven't got my silver book so I can't date it,

but it doesn't really matter - we know how old it is.

It's got to be 1930s.

Yes.

-There you go. Look.

-Do you think that's the original?

I was going to ask you that. What do you think?

It seems to fit, fits the space, doesn't it?

-It does.

-Yeah.

-What do you think, Mel?

-And the mirror's quite nice.

-It is.

-Now then, what kind of money?

-It's worth £35, they offered it.

-35.

-Can we get it any less, do you think?

-I think we can go down to 25,

-do you think, Mel?

-Try your best, Julie.

If you can get it for that, I can't see you going wrong.

It's a seller, isn't it? It's got to be.

-£25, then.

-Go for it.

-Do your best!

Gosh. They know what they want, don't they?

Julie was right made up, pocketing the compact for the desired £25.

Jonathan, what do you think to this?

-OK.

-Isn't it beautiful?

-It's very pretty.

First impressions, it's a late Victorian piece

of very likely gold jewellery, hinged bangle,

We've got this sort of,

almost a mill grain or very finely beaded scalloped edge

and these big beads in between,

and this nice, twisted-wire decoration on the shoulders,

which is very nice. Got a hallmark at the bottom here.

And it's hallmarked 9.375 for nine-carat gold.

It's got a chestable mark and it's a G in a scroll which is 1907.

How much do they want for it?

-220.

-£220?

-Yes.

OK. I think if we get the price down, we could make a profit out of it.

We'd better go do something about it

because there's not much time left.

I think we'd better get on, so I'll pop it in to the box and...

off you go. See what you can do.

-We will.

-Thanks a lot.

-Bye.

In the end, the COGs paid a sparkling £180 for the bracelet.

# Tick, tock, tick, tock. #

That's it. Shopping's over.

Let's read the report card and recap on what the Reds bought.

The Antique Avengers motored in with the £70 Wolseley child's car.

They paid a robust £140 for the Art Nouveau wine holder.

And could the silver compact leave them blushing at auction?

Girls, did you have a good time?

-Great.

-We had a fabulous time, Tim.

Now, which is your favourite item?

I think it was the Art-Nou wine-bottle holder that expert picked for us.

-Oh, right.

-That expert?!

-Yeah, that expert.

-Who's he?

-You.

Which piece is going to bring the biggest profit?

-I think we agree that probably is...

-The wine bottle holder.

-Oh.

-And you spent all £235...

-We did.

..which is brilliant. I want £65 of leftover lolly, please.

Thank you very much. There's the £65.

Now we come to that expert.

-HE CHUCKLES

-What will you do with the £65?

I've seen something that's slightly unusual - very silver. Very small.

Potentially not everybody's cup of tea. Slightly irky to some people.

Might make some people want to vomit.

-Really? I'm intrigued, mate. You'd better go buy it.

-I'd better go!

But for us, let's recap on what the Blues have bought.

The Convent Old Girls kicked off with a smashing Molina-glass vase.

Will they contain any profit

with the £48 they paid for the Victorian box?

And finally, could they wrangle a win with the bangle?

Now, you had a lovely time, didn't you?

-We've had a fabulous day.

-You naughty girls.

Which is your favourite piece?

-We think the bracelet.

-The bracelet.

-The bracelet's your favourite?

-Yes.

-Which piece is going to bring the biggest profit?

-The bracelet!

It's a bit of a chorus, this.

Anyway, you've been so good, you've spent £250.

£50 of leftover lolly.

Thank you very much, which goes to Jonathan.

Now, Jonathan, how do you view this challenge?

Are you excited about it?

-Raring to go, Tim.

-Raring?

-Raring to go!

But will you find anything?

Well, I've found one or two things. I think I might have something in mind.

-That's a bit enigmatic, isn't it?

-Yes.

We're back in Malvern at Philip Serrell's excellent sale room with the great man himself.

So, Melanie and Julie, with the lovely David Harper,

have gone with the first lot, which is this pedal car.

Is this any good, Phil?

I think if you're a real petrol head, who knows,

it might make its money, but I think 30 to 50's a reasonable estimate.

I don't know about this petrol head. I think it's more a pedal head.

Anyway, they paid £70 for it.

Now, the next item - this pewter WMF bottle holder.

Is this yesterday's antique?

I like it and WMF was very sought-after, very, very collectable,

but I have a feeling, like you, that it might have reached the top of the hill already.

-What's the estimate?

-80-120.

-Is it?

-Yes.

-You're not going to get tempted to go a bit more than that?

-Well, no.

-No. £140 they paid.

What about this compact? Bit girly for you, I know.

Long time since I've used powder. Polyfilla is more the thing...

So, how much for the case?

I think that's £20-30 worth.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

-£25 they paid. So not too bad.

We'll win with a bit of luck.

So, I've a funny feeling this team are going to need their bonus buy, so let's go and have a look at it.

Now, Mels and Jules, do you remember all that money you gave to David?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-£65 you gave him - you spent £235,

he spent £65 on the bonus buy.

What have you got, David?

-I didn't, I spent

-£10... £10!

It's a 1925 solid silver pill box.

And it's got, frozen for all time in the top, a bug.

-It has.

-Yes.

-A stuffed butterfly,

well, stuffed within a piece of glass.

That would put some people off. Doesn't worry me.

-No. No.

-That's faded. Is that faded?

I would have thought so, yeah.

-What do you think, girls? Are you repulsed by it?

-Not at all.

That's lovely. You're teachers, you've been repulsed by a lot in your time!

A butterfly is what you call chicken feed.

-I think you had a good buy, there.

-I'd pay more than £10 for that.

What would you pay?

-I think I'd go up to 25.

-You'd go to 25.

-Would you, Mel?

-Yes.

-You would.

Anyway, you don't have to decide now.

You'll decide after the sale of your first three items,

but for the viewers at home, let's find out what Philip Serrell thinks about it.

-What do you make of that?

-I prefer it to that one.

-I think there's a profit in that. I think that's £15-30 worth.

-Do you?

-Yeah, I do.

-Well, that's brilliant,

-cos they paid a tenner, you know.

-He's got a good eye.

Anyway, that's it for the Reds.

Now for the Blues, Margaret and Angela,

with Jonathan Pratt. First up is this glass pot.

I suppose that came from the Isle of Wight, did it?

-Yeah, Medina. It's £15-30 worth.

-Well, that's OK. £22 was paid.

-Yeah.

-So that's in with a chance.

-Yeah.

What about this Victorian rosewood box? That's brilliant, isn't it?

-Yeah, that's brilliant.

-Yes.

-That's not quite so brilliant.

-Oh, dear.

-It's had real water damage.

Shame, isn't it, cos all those bits would be very expensive to replace, wouldn't they?

It's actually a crying shame because you've got a box

that was probably £150-250 worth, or more.

-Yes.

-And now, I think it's £30-50 worth.

Well, £48 they paid, so they've taken a bit of a chance with that.

Their last item is the gold bangle.

-Yeah. It's all so small, isn't it?

-It is for a bambino, isn't it?

Yeah. I mean, I think that it's £100-150, if we're lucky.

Well, they paid £180,

which definitely means they're going to need their bonus buy.

Let's go and have a look at it, smartish.

Ready? Ta-da!

-What is it?

-Animal, vegetable or mineral?

-It's a biscuit tin.

-Biscuit tin.

-Made by Huntley & Palmers.

And they presented their biscuits in these lovely, decorative tins.

They became very collectable

and I bought one very collectable example for you.

I spent on this £23.

-Wow!

-OK - £23. Not a lot of lolly.

Admittedly, there's a slight little compression to the top.

It means a dent. That's auctioneer's speak for dent!

Yeah. It's a way of skirting around.

But I did see one on another stall for £100, he was asking.

-Did that have a slight depression on it?

-No, it didn't, no!

-I think there's money in it.

-You do.

-Yes.

-But it's a bonus buy.

-You don't have to decide right now. OK.

-Yes.

You decide later, but for the viewers at home let's find out what the Malvern audience

is likely to make of a Huntley & Palmers biscuit tin.

I quite like it. It's got that Viennese Secessionist look to it.

I quite like this sort of painted-timber effect here.

I'm afraid it's a tin box to me - I know it's been stencilled up,

but I can't get away from the fact that it's just a tin box.

-But some of these tin boxes make a lot of money.

-I know.

-£10-15,000.

-I know, yeah.

-I don't think this is one of them.

-No.

-I think if we can find somebody who will pay £20-30,

it'll be a job well done.

-Actually, Pratt paid £23.

-That's all right.

-So, £23 to £30,

he should get away and make a small profit,

which is nice for the bonus buy cos you know how difficult this is.

It's impossible. Impossible.

-Anyway, you're the auctioneer today?

-Yeah.

-Great. We're in safe hands.

-Now, Mels and Jules, it's a nervous moment.

-Very nervous.

Do you wish you hadn't bought one of the items that you have bought?

-No. I think we're very happy...

-Worried about the wine cooler.

-Dubious about that.

-Don't you worry about that,

it's WMF, we're in a quality saleroom. You'll be all right.

Plenty of scope for lots of fun and games. First lot coming up

-is the pedal car. Here it comes.

-Lot number 253...

is this lovely little pedal car.

A restoration case, this. There you are.

Very polite.

Bid me for that, someone. Start me off. £50.

Well, bid me, 30.

20 I have. At 20. At £20. 25.

25, 30. 30 bid. Commission bid.

At 30. 5, someone. Surely.

At 5 anywhere. £30 with me.

Any more, at all? Come on.

At £30 and I sell at 30.

-Ohh!

-I'm so sorry.

-Not good, girls, is it?

Sorry. Minus £40.

Lot number 254

is the WMF PS pewter bottle stand.

Good looking lot. Bid me for that. £100, someone. Bid me 100.

-Yeah, 100.

-Come on.

I have bid on the book bid. I start at £40.

Bid 5. 45. 45. 45.

At £45 only. At 45. 50. And 5. 60.

-Ooh, that's better.

-Come on!

And 5. 80. 80 bid. And 5.

90 with me.

-At £90. Is there any more?

-Come on.

At £90 only. Any more, at all?

At £90 and done. Thank you.

£90. Minus £50 on that. Not looking good.

Lot number 255

is this rather nice little silver compact.

Bid me for that, someone. £20. 20.

You've all gone very quiet. Who's got a tenner?

£10. Ten. I'm bid at ten. Ten bid.

£10. 15. 15. One more bid, madam.

-20. £20 only. At 20.

-Come on. Let's not make a loss at everything.

Help them out, someone. At 20. 20 bid.

5. 25. 30 now. At £25 only.

At £25, and I sell then, at 25 and done. Thank you.

Wiped your face!

OK. Fine. You're minus £90. OK. What are you going to do?

-Are you going to go with the pill box with the moth?

-Absolutely.

-It's going to fly away.

-Yes. It's going to fly out.

Lot 259 is a really nice

little silver hallmarked patch box

fitted with a butterfly under the glass.

-There you are.

-A real asset.

Bid me for that. Start me off. £20, someone, quickly.

Who's got a tenner? Quickly. 10 everywhere. 10. 15. 20.

5. Yes, come on.

-Come on.

-Any more?

We'll need about another 100, I think.

Is there any more? At £25. There's the bid!

At £25 and I sell then at 25 and done. Thank you.

Wow. Brilliant. Well done.

Plus £15. That's all right.

However, I'm sorry to tell you

that we're nevertheless £75 down the drain. Minus 75.

-Are you sure?

-Recount!

You're minus £75.

All right. Tell you what,

for the fun of the game, don't tell the Blues anything.

-No, we won't.

-Looking really positive.

-Yeah. We are positive!

-It's a winning score.

-Oh, dear!

So, Mags and Ange, do you know how the Reds got on?

-Not at all.

-Not at all.

We don't want you to, which is brilliant.

-How do you feel about things generally? Margaret?

-It's brilliant.

-You're very confident?

-Yes.

First up is your Medina glass flask. Here it comes.

Lot number 277

is the Medina, or Mudina bottle-shaped vase.

There we are. As you see it.

Bid me for that lot, someone. Who's got £30?

10 I'll take.

10. 10 bid.

At 10. 15. 20. 20 bid.

Go on.

You're in profit. £25.

At 35. Here's the bid. At £35.

Any more? At £35 and done. Thank you.

£35. That's a miracle!

Plus £13. Look out,

Here comes your rosewood doodah.

Lovely sewing box.

Well, the front half of it's lovely.

There you are. A real good quality item and I am bid £20, surely.

Straight off. 20 I'm bid. At 20.

20 bid. Take him on, someone, at 20.

5. 30. 5. 40. 5.

45. 50. 50 bid. There's the bid.

We're in profit at £50.

At £50. And I sell at 50 and done.

What a treat. Plus £2 on that.

Lot number 279 is the nine-carat gold lady's Egyptian-style bracelet.

Who's got £200 to start? £150.

-Oh, dear.

-£100 I'm bid.

At £100 only. 100. 110. 120. 120.

120. At 120 bid. 130. 130.

140. And 150. 160.

160. 170.

At 180 bid on the book.

-Never.

-Come on.

We're there.

At £180 only.

Any more, at all? I sell then at 180 and done. Thank you.

Yes! £180 - wiped its face.

Gosh. Anyway, listen girls, this is a surprise.

That is plus £15.

-You're £15 in profit.

-£7.50 each.

I want you to think biscuits. Are you going to go with this bonus buy?

What are you going to do?

-Oh, I think so.

-You are going with it?

We're going with it. Here it is.

Lot number 283

is the Secessionist biscuit tin.

Rather sadly, I quite like this, but there you go. Bid me for it.

Who's got £30?

30. Who's got 20?

Oh, dear.

-Who's got a tenner?

-Oh, gosh.

-Ten, I'm bid.

At £10 I'm bid at 10. 10 bid. 15, may I? At £10 only. £10.

-We've lost.

-Help them out, somebody.

At £10 only. At 10. Is there any more?

I sell then at £10 and done.

I've blown it then, haven't I?

That's minus £13,

but you're nevertheless £2 in profit.

By the skin of my teeth!

By the skin of your teeth.

-That's £1 each and that's not paying him any commission, neither.

-I know.

-Anyway, there we go. Bit of fun, hey?

-Yeah.

-Don't tell the Reds.

-We won't.

And we'll reveal all in a moment.

Well, we've come around the corner for our wraps today

at the Malvern St James Girls' School.

Now, have you been talking to one another?

-No.

-No. Not at all. Very good.

Unfortunately, we do have a substantial runner-up

in today's programme

and that team is the Reds.

-Oh, no!

-No!

-I felt it coming.

-LAUGHTER

Well, minus £90...

-is a fairly substantial feeling coming on, isn't it?

-Yeah.

But you did make £15 on that bonus buy, which is perfectly laudable,

which means, overall, you're only minus £75.

That's not bad.

But the victors today, by a long chalk, who've managed

to score no less than £2 in profit, which is £1 each, isn't it? £1 each.

There we go. Well done, Jonathan.

You can feel proud about this. Are you happy about that, girls?

-Very happy.

-You're very pleased, aren't you?

Are you, Jonathan?

I'm delighted. Yeah.

It's lovely to be on the winning side and to take away a modicum of cash.

Great programme. Great teams.

-Join us soon for some more bargain hunting. Yes?

-Yes!