London Bargain Hunt

Mm, how lovely to be out shopping. Now that I've got my lunch,

I'm going to head up the other end of Portobello Road, so let's go bargain hunting!

# Some people sing about Deutsche girls and girls from California

# They might be all right for a night all right

# But don't trust them, I warn ya

# I've been to the east and I've been out west

# And I been all the world around

# But I've seen none come anywhere near the girls from London town. #

Portobello Road is one of the most distinctive and famous markets in London,

where you can still stroll along and hear the familiar sound of Cock-er-ney rhyming slang.

Right, I'm Hank Marvin and I'm going to finish my Gertie Gitanas

before I head off down to the Frog and Toad to meet my old chinas on today's show.

Let's introduce today's teams.

We've got Prudence and her workmate, Mitch.

-Oh, no, it's Michael or Mike, preferably.

-Never Mitch?

Never Mitch, unless I'm in Baywatch maybe.

OK, well we're not doing Baywatch so you're safe there.

And for the Blues, we've got Joe and his friend, Carlie. Hiya.

-Hi, Tim.

-Lovely. Now Prudence...

-Hello, Tim.

-What do you do for a job at work, darling?

I work for a recruitment company in the City of London.

-But what do you do in your spare time?

-I love to sing jazz, Tim.

-Ooh.

-I do, yes, very much.

-Do you do clubs and that?

-I do, I go round London

and do different clubs and bars, and I love it.

Are you going to give us a little trill,

a little demo of your vocal skills?

Do you feel like doing that?

How about we do a little private show later?

I see, it's like that, is it? Now what sort of track record have you got, Michael?

Oh, what, in terms of collecting things?

Yeah, buying and selling.

Oh, OK, I've done a bit of online bidding recently, bought a few cars online.

Um, had a few good experiences, a few bad experiences, and at one stage I owned about five VWs.

-You didn't.

-Yeah.

-That's a fleet, that is.

I was living at home as well, so I had to hide one round

a neighbour's house, one was outside my house...

Popular with your parents, I should think.

-Five motor cars.

-Quite expensive, yeah.

You've got a lot of time on your hands to build up this collection,

because of the longevity of your family, which is extraordinary.

-Now tell me about that.

-Well, my great grandmother, she turned 102 in December, December the 15th.

-She didn't?

-Yeah, 102. She lives in Belize, which is where my mum's from originally.

And I think her mother lived to be, I think, 104.

So, yeah, it's pretty good. I'm only 25, I've got a few years to go.

Hopefully it's in your genes.

Best place to keep it. Now for the Blues.

How are you two? How did you two meet?

I'm best mates with her boyfriend, and we actually met

at an American football game that he was actually involved in here in London.

Lovely. I can tell that you're not from these shores. Where do you come from?

-From New Jersey in the US.

-What are you doing here?

I was brought over here by a master's programme at King's College London

in criminology and criminal justice.

Criminology and criminal justice.

Yes. I plan to go in the FBI, so...

But you haven't got the suit or the shiny shoes.

No, right, no, I'm trying to blend in into London, you know, with the dull shoes and the jeans.

You're obviously incognito, aren't you?

Right. No, that's CIA. That's a whole other story.

-Oh, is that not...?

-Mum's the word.

FBI, they never do incognito?

And why have you chosen Carlie rather than her boyfriend?

Well, I thought of using her boyfriend, but when I thought, "Who looks best on camera?"

-It was Carlie by far.

-Do you know, you're right.

So Carlie, were you flattered to be asked?

I was, absolutely, absolutely, I thought it'd be a lot of fun.

Of course he's got all these brains, hasn't he?

I mean, master's, criminology...

Does he knows everything about everything?

He does know everything about everything. He's...

an encyclopaedia of knowledge, is Joe, so I thought I might learn something.

Do you collect anything?

Not what you would regard as antiques as yet.

I've got a bit of a shoe passion.

-Fetish?

-Fetish? Maybe.

How many pairs you got?

I've probably got on the last count over 60, 70 pairs of shoes.

-That's a fetish, don't worry about it.

-Potentially.

And what will you be looking out for today? Not shoes, I hope.

Not shoes, not shoes. I've kind of left the master plan down to Joe, as I said Joe's got the knowledge,

-I'm just going to see something, if I like it, I'm going to buy it.

-Just so long as it's pretty.

-Indeed.

-Now, the money moment.

Here's your sausage and mash. You know the rules, off you go!

Watch out for the apples and pears.

Today's fruit cocktail of experts is comprised of the a-peel-ing

Philip Serrell and the totally bananas David Barby.

So, tell me, princess...

No, I don't wear it like this, I think I prefer it like this.

Oh, you're after a cool look.

-Where is she?

-Pru? I don't know, She should be coming soon.

-Oh.

-She's over here.

-Look what I found.

-What's that?

Isn't it rather gorgeous? It's a lovely silver handbag.

I thought it's lovely. I thought I'd see what Phil thought

and see what's the best price according to our expert.

How do you know it's silver?

-Mm, because of that stamp.

-That stamp there.

-And what does that stamp there mean?

-No idea.

That stamp there's a little lion,

that tells us that it is indeed silver.

-OK.

-That leopard's head tells us that it was assayed in London.

That F is the date code, which is, I would guess is around 1900.

-OK.

-So you've got a silver frame, and this mesh bag here, and actually what is quite nice...

-Yeah.

-I'm sure you spotted this.

-Of course I did, yes.

Is that each of these links is separately hallmarked.

-That's lovely.

-Which is really cool.

Yeah, I did notice that, I was just about to say.

-Right.

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

What do you reckon, princess? Is that...?

I think it's quite heavy.

Heavy should mean quite costly I think. It's got a fair bit of silver to it...

On that basis I'm worth a fortune, if anything's costly.

It's got marks on all of it, so that must be quite a good sign.

Bargain Hunt's about your day, and I want you to buy what you want to buy.

I think, if this came into my sale room, I'd estimate it

at £50 to £80, £60 to £90, that sort of region. How much is it?

185.

# There may be trouble ahead... #

Ha, Prudence got £50 off, but she'll have to face the music at the auction.

Excuse me, sir. Guys, come here, come here.

What's that?

-Look at that.

-Ooh.

-Those are very nice, aren't they?

They're fantastic, aren't they?

-Oh, look, Poile and Smith, court jewellers.

-What does that mean?

Well, that company produced jewellery for the court.

It could have been court regalia, it could have been court awards.

If you wore expensive buttons like this it would show that you're quite affluent.

In the Georgian period they even had diamonds in buttons,

so they were a quite important piece of dress.

They're in the style of that period, are they?

They're not art nouveau, they're looking back to the Georgian style

with all these sort of rococo scroll works.

-They are lovely.

-I think they're gorgeous.

Yeah, my only concern is the fact that the hallmarks, where they're present,

where the makers' marks are present, they're a bit worn.

So consistency might be an issue.

Oh, not at all, these are collectors' items.

-I have seen people use them as brooches...

-Really?

-Earrings...

-Earrings, yeah.

-Because you can get a special adaptor for earrings.

-They're really...

-Aren't they beautiful?

I think they're very pretty.

I think they're exquisite actually, and the very fact that we've got them in the original box,

and they're by Poile and Smith here. I think they're going to sell extremely well.

-So how much were they?

-They were £85.

£85. I think they're cheap at £85.

-Really?

-Yeah. They're very good collectors' items, particularly with the court jewellers.

I'd pay £85 for them. If you can get them less...

-I think we can.

-All well and good.

-And you think they're stunning.

-I do.

-I think they're stunning.

-I think they're stunning.

-Good, we agree.

-Let's go haggle.

-Let's do it.

-Come on!

Carlie loved Joe's crown jewels, and managed to get them down to £65.

I don't know where Philip is. Let's go and have a look for him.

-Why don't we use our compass to find him?

-Oh, there he is, there.

Oh, there he is.

-Hi.

-Well, well, it works.

I think that's absolutely lovely.

-I've just bought it.

-You've bought it?

-Don't tell me how much.

-Let me sell it into you a little bit.

Go on, then, tell me all about it.

-Solid mahogany wood.

-Yeah.

What other sort of mahogany would you have?

Solid mahogany wood,

hinges still intact...

-Yeah.

-Quite often the hinges go on these.

He's good isn't he, yeah, yeah?

-Nice, possibly brass edging there to the compass.

-He's is good.

Reset button there still works if you want to check that, it's there.

No, what that is, that's... Reset!

What that actually does...

Now listen, princess. Right, what this actually does is when you shut the lid,

it just lifts up like that. So as you shut the lid, it pushes it down, and just rests it.

-How old did he tell you it was?

-I think he said 1950s, possibly.

-No, it's earlier than that.

-Is it?

Yeah. I would think it was earlier than that.

I should have paid more attention to it, when I was... I just liked it.

On an antique programme, a question like, "How old do you think it is?"

Always worth listening to the answer.

Can't remember, it's old, it's really old.

-It's older than me!

-It looks old.

I would think that perhaps it's more like 1900 or even a bit earlier.

-OK.

-I think it's probably £30 to £50 worth.

OK. We've got good news and bad news.

-OK, so what's the good news?

-The good news is that I did some mean...

-Mean negotiating.

-Mean haggling, yeah.

-So what was he asking for it?

-He was asking 80 for it.

-Right, when I said 30 to 50 I meant 30 to 50, not 30 and 50.

-Oh, OK.

Well, he was asking 80 for it, so...

What are you laughing at?

And I got it for 65.

-Oh, good negotiation.

-Yeah.

-Right...

-I was only 15 quid off the top, the top...

No, honestly, I like your style, princess, I do like your style,

but I'm just a bit bothered actually that we might be in trouble here.

All we can do really is just live in hope, isn't it?

-Well, I think it's...

-I think it's rather nice, yeah.

Now, don't forget the bonus buy.

That's where the money not spent by the teams is given to the expert,

who goes to find another item which hopefully will make even more at auction.

More of that later, right now it's on with the shopping.

Watch yourself, yeah.

-I love it, I think it's really nice.

-Dave's going to love it.

-He will.

-Yeah.

It's classic, who wouldn't like it? Everybody'd like that.

-I know.

-I love it, I love it.

-Put it back, you don't know where it's been.

-Oh, I love it.

You haven't bought it, have you?

You haven't bought it?

You have, haven't you?

Well, what would you say if we had?

I'd like to have seen it first. How much did you pay for it?

We paid £36.50 I think in the end.

-£36.50.

-But it...but it was 40.

-48 actually.

-Was it 48?

-Yeah.

OK. Just tell me why you went for it.

Because I think any girl would like it.

It's practical, you could put rings in it, you could put jewellery in it...

This is a tourist piece.

Late 19th early, 20th century, bought in Bavaria,

probably they paid a visit to Oberammergau, something like that.

And they thought, "We'll take that back to Louise," their daughter

back home. This is what it is, a tourist piece.

It has got some concessions, I like this element of carving here which

is reminiscent of art nouveau, but they're almost commonplace.

It's nothing exceptional.

But it is quite cheap.

If it's commonplace a lot of people would like it, people will bid for it.

That's true. Not to mention that even with the age, the carving itself is perfect, it's immaculate.

There's nothing, no dinks or anything.

-And that's the important thing.

-There's an element missing here.

That's probably a flower head missing there, the finial to lift it open.

It's cheap enough, I quite agree.

-I like it.

-You just bought it because it was cheap?

-No, I like it.

-You like it, good.

I'm sure it'll make a profit.

I'll tell you something, if it does make a profit, I'll eat my hat.

I'll hold you to it.

The Portobello Market is the most extraordinary place.

You get the wacky, you get the obscure, and you also get

the exquisite top quality object that you wouldn't find anywhere better

in the West End, for example this piece.

They say that diamonds are a girl's best friend, you'd get lots of girls

who'd be mighty friendly if you presented them with this little baby.

This would have been made around 1920 to 1930 and might have graced

the greatest of actresses' or aristocrats' wrists.

It's a most sophisticated design.

We start off with a socking great diamond

in the middle that leads your eye

into this tapering spine of diamonds, each one a little bit smaller than

the other, which gives it this gorgeous rich tapering effect.

Outside that are a multitude of smaller stones in the outer links,

and just occasionally you come across a baguette cut diamond.

That's this long thin shaped diamond,

which just jollies up the overall visual appearance.

There are apparently 28 carats of diamonds in this bracelet,

and it would cost you here today at Portobello £28,000.

That's right, 28 grand, wow.

Phil, what have you found?

Look, great thing, Georgian tea caddy, mahogany, 150 quid.

-Yes?

-Too expensive.

-Nah, nah, I don't think so Phil.

-Too expensive.

-Good try, good try.

This is a great thing, look.

Victorian three piece tea set, £70. Can't fail.

No, I'm more of a coffee man, Phil.

Hi, there's a really lovely big pewter...

It's actually a really lovely pewter tankard, and they've walked past me.

At a distance that looks like Faberge.

-That's a bit more like it.

-Faberge, Faberge.

Yeah, the trouble is the distance is about 300 yards.

-Well, how big's the auction house?

-Not that big.

Why do you like that?

We were a little bit out of time, Phil...

Little bit out of time, about three minutes left!

We had three minutes to find something, and it caught my eye,

and I just think it's a rather nice thing.

-I don't know what it is.

-What about you, princess?

I don't know, it's quite cool. I could find a use for it, a shot glass.

-Good man, big shot glass.

-Big shot glass. I think it's quite nice, it's quite bright and vibrant.

-I think it's really nice, right.

-Oh, thanks.

And these colours look like it might be Russian, so it looks like

-a little Russian drinking glass.

-OK.

-OK.

-Possibly by Faberge, but I don't think it's Russian.

-It's got a small marking there.

There's a mark on the bottom which I don't understand at all.

-Gold? Gold mark?

-No. Absolutely not.

I would think it's European, might be Italian.

I don't think it's as old as it wants you to think it is,

and it's trying to be Faberge which it isn't.

So in my eyes, at auction, that's £15 to £30.

-On a bad day it's a tenner. So how much did you pay?

-You can tell him.

-50 quid.

-What?

-SHE CHUCKLES

Well, we were in a bit of a rush, Phil, you see.

We though, "Well, we'll take it."

It's all gone rather well today, hasn't it?

We look like we're going to make a mint, Phil.

I'm just going to go and find myself a huge hole

to see if I can bury myself in it.

-Do you want a drink?

-No, I'm fine, thanks.

Well, despite Philip's disapproval, the Red Team snapped up the tumbler for £50.

Now, let's see what Agent Scully has sniffed out for the Blues' final item.

-Oh, that sounds promising.

-Oh, Joe...

-Is it decent?

-Well, I think so.

I think that's quite good. Now, tell me what you think about it.

-It's a really charming piece.

-So what do you put in it?

I don't know, a port, red wine, maybe even a hard liquor of some sort, like Scotch or something?

-I think it's what is termed as a claret jug.

-A claret jug.

So the actual wine could breathe.

-Right, OK.

-OK, I look at this, and I date it towards the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century.

This is German. At that particular time there was a move towards nationalism,

particularly in the arts, and they were looking back to the past.

And this type of ware where you're looking at something quite rural

and romantic they've adopted as a piece of furnishing on the table.

I think it's lovely. What I like also, do you see that, Carlie?

-Uh-huh.

-What is it?

-A wooden...

-A wood strip.

-Strip.

So they've used something so simple as a wood strip there

to emphasise the design point. I think it's lovely.

Nothing expensive or blingy, just a strip of wood.

The wood piece is what caught my eye originally.

-That really does stand out to me.

-What do you think, Carlie?

I'm just not sure, I just think I probably wouldn't have it in my house.

-Why not?

-Take a look.

-I just think...

Let it speak to you.

-It's not really saying much.

-It's not saying much, great, great.

-To me it speaks of a period.

-Yeah, absolutely.

How much would you pay for it though? That's the thing.

I'm going to ask for under 100.

I wouldn't pay more than 100, so I think maybe 80.

-OK.

-Let's see what we can get around that.

-OK, best of luck.

-Thank you, guys, I'm off.

-Thank you.

Are you as bad as that when you go shopping for clothes?

Yeah, absolutely!

Time's up. Let's remind ourselves of what the Reds bought.

The headstrong Reds knew what they wanted,

starting with this mesh purse for £135.

Has Michael lost his way with the Victorian compass?

And it's not Faberge, it's not gold, it's not likely

to make them a profit at £50. Poor old Phil.

-Have a good time shopping?

-Quality.

-Yes, brilliant.

-Quality, I love it.

-Quality.

Which is your favourite item, Prudence?

It's got to be the silver handbag, Tim, I love it.

Which piece is going to bring the biggest profit? CHUCKLING

-Enough of that, Serrell.

-All of them. They're all going to make a lot of money.

No, you've got to pick one. Which one is going to make the most profit,

-Prudence?

-OK, my favourite, the silver handbag.

You spent £250, which is fantastic.

£50 of leftover lolly goes to Philip. Now I should say, Philip, there's been a bit of a struggle today.

They've spent £250 on about 120 quid's worth of stuff,

that was the problem.

-That's your prediction, is it?

-Yeah, we might be doomed here.

-Do you know what you're going to have to do with that £50?

-Work miracles.

Miracle, miracle. Off you go Phil, and good luck.

Let's remind ourselves of what the Blues bought.

Joe pressed all the right buttons

when he snapped this little lot up for £65.

Carlie's box had David eating his hat for £36.50, and finally,

Joe uncovered this claret jug for less than a ton.

Now Carlie and Joe, you had a great time, didn't you?

Fantastic time.

Did it live up to your expectations, this shopping lark?

-Yeah, it was excellent.

-Absolutely.

-Really good.

-Fun.

-Carlie, which is your favourite piece?

-I like the pretty button set.

-Button set is your favourite.

-Yeah.

-And what's your favourite?

-I like them all. I mean...

But if you had to make a prediction, which is your favourite?

Which gets you in your tummy, what really excites you?

I have to say that wooden box, just to poke fun at David, who really hates it.

-You'd say the box.

-I'll say the box.

-Is that the truth?

-It is.

I'm a budding criminologist, I can tell, there's a waver of doubt in your mind.

Maybe you should join too then.

-I should put you on the lie detector.

-Maybe you should.

Seriously, your favourite is the box?

-Yeah.

-OK, fine. You spent £191.50, which is a really queer number, but

there you go, £108.50 comes across to you, David Barby.

Right. They're quite a handful, you know, Tim.

-Are they?

-Really, yes. I've got to find something, cos they're so determined to make profit.

Well, you usually do make a profit on your bonus buy, so you just have to relax up.

You're the genius that goes and finds these things.

Am I going to get out of this door?

I don't know, is your head small enough?

For me, I'm going to head somewhere really special now.

We're off to no less a place than the Victoria And Albert Museum. Ooh.

I'm starting on Northumberland Avenue in London.

In the 1600s this and the neighbouring area, the Strand

would have been filled with mansions belonging to London's richest.

If you were of noble stock,

then this spot would have made the ideal location for a grand home.

What a shame though, because the grandest of Jacobean country houses, belonging to the Percy family,

otherwise known as the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, used to be situated exactly here.

Northumberland House, the Percys' London ancestral home,

was built in 1605.

By the 1870s it had been demolished, to make way for this road.

The problem was that by the Victorian period,

this area simply wasn't fashionable for a duke and duchess to live in.

The other ancestral houses up the Strand were being developed,

and the old duke was given £500,000 to shove off.

This redevelopment coincided with the movement around the early 1900s

for tearing down grand mansions, or redeveloping them

into service apartments, removing along with the buildings

exquisite original architectural fittings.

But all is not lost. I've come here, to the Victoria And Albert Museum.

Robert Adam, the renowned Scottish-born architect,

was commissioned by the Duke of Northumberland to refurbish some of

the state rooms at Northumberland House, which he did in the 1770s.

Those interiors would have been lost to the public today,

were it not for the V&A.

The panelling that was ripped out when the structure was

demolished in Northumberland Avenue went into store for 50 years.

And what we see behind me is a surviving fragment of what was called the glass drawing room.

Why the glass drawing room?

Well, if you look carefully, nearly all that surface is made up

of individual large sheets of glass,

with coloured material behind them to give this exotic effect.

What Robert Adam is trying to achieve is the effect of Roman marble,

because that's what Robert Adam was trying to emulate,

the marble from Roman villas that he had seen in the excavations

at Pompeii, and all part of his passion for the Classical revival.

We've got candelabra ornament going up and down these panels.

Those are made of cast gilt lead,

and just look at the dense encrustation

around for example that door frame.

What an incredible effect.

But what would the whole room have looked like? Well, the V&A have constructed a model.

This sheet of glass represents this end wall.

If you went through that door this is what you'd see.

Spectacular.

The big question is today, will our teams make a spectacular profit over at the auction? Robert.

Well, we're in a grand county, West Sussex, Wisborough Green

to be precise, and at Bellmans Auction House with Jonathan Prior.

-Good morning, Jon.

-Good morning, Tim.

-Great to be here.

-Thank you.

Now, this hallmarked silver bag from Prudence and Michael,

it must have been a great fashion then, cos there are quite a few

-of these mesh bags about, aren't they?

-Yeah.

But what would somebody do with it today,

because no girl's going to wear that out and about much, is she?

Yeah, you're not going to head out to Horsham with that, you'll get laughed at, won't you?

You'll get your mobile phone in there, that's it.

-Mobile phone and your lipstick, and you're away. Quite.

-Absolutely.

I've priced it at £40 to £60.

-Have you?

-Yeah.

-£135 paid.

-That does seem optimistic to me.

£135 is a lot.

Then we've got this travelling compass in a crude mahogany box.

Nothing wrong with it. It's from that period, early 19th century.

-Paper scale, it's very simple though.

-Yes.

So how much, is it worth £20?

-Yeah, 30, £30 to £50 on that.

-That's your estimate, £30 to £50?

-Yeah.

That's not too bad, £65 paid.

Now Prudence got very hot under the collar about her little vodka tumbler.

Tell us about that.

Well, crikey, you know the Russians have been buying big until recently.

-Would they be going for that?

-No, it's base metal and enamel. I mean, it really...

-Yes.

It's not silver gilt, which one would hope it would be at least.

I think, you know, if we're talking about entry level,

this is your entry level vodka cup, isn't it?

-Oh, lordy.

-Sadly.

-Yeah.

-Personally, I don't rate it very highly at all.

-What would be your estimate then?

-I'd say between £10 and £20.

Oh, £40 paid.

So we've got three entry level objects, all of which seem to have been acquired for too much money.

So they're going to need their bonus buy, let's go and have a look at it.

-Prudence and Mick, how are you both?

-Good, Tim, how are you?

-Good.

Look, you told us in the shopping, that little beaker, that rusty job...

-Yeah.

-Right, that you paid £50 for that.

-Yeah.

-You didn't pay £50 for that at all, you paid £40 for it.

-Did I?

-Yeah, you paid £40.

-Sorry, got it wrong!

So, actually, overall you spent £240,

so Philip Serrell had £60 of leftover money.

-So what did you spend it on, Phil?

-Oh, nice!

Wow. Oh, yeah, we talked about these things.

I see no ships. Do you like that?

-Yeah, I definitely like it.

-You do?

-Does it work?

-What do you mean, does it work?

-I mean, does it work?

-Have a look.

-It's very nice.

-Bearing in mind your eyesight...

-Yeah, I was just...I feel really old now.

Kids, eh? You feel really old?

I tell you, you want to stand in these shoes.

-It's...

-How much?

-£45.

It's about 1880, there or thereabouts, a little two drawer

telescope, and I think at auction that's going to make £40 to £60.

-I like it.

-You do.

-Yeah.

You're going to let Prudence handle it then, or not? Let the girl have a go!

It's very nice. Well chosen, Phil, I think.

Oh, gosh! That's the seal of approval, isn't it?

Go on, try opening it up, Pru.

-Right, there we go.

-Give it the business.

-Arr!

-Emma Hamilton.

-Yeah, definitely old, yeah.

-I'm sorry? What are you talking?

-No, I just looked up a bit closer, Phil, sorry.

-Chuh!

-So, guys, you don't decide right now.

You decide after the sale of your first three items,

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

Well, that seems to be quite clean and tidy.

Yeah, it's rather neat, isn't it?

Lacquered brass three drawer telescope, mahogany sleeve,

it's right for the end of the 19th century, sort of circa 1880.

The drawback here is just that little split that

runs down the mahogany, but it's survived pretty well, hasn't it?

-You like it, then?

-Well, it's kind of...

-You rate it.

It's neat, isn't it, nice and small and dinky example, you know, £30 to £50.

-£30 to £50 your estimate.

-Yes.

-Thank you, fine.

Philip Serrell paid £45, it's his bonus buy, he's hoping for the best,

and why shouldn't he, with a jolly little thing like that?

That's it for the Reds, now for the Blues.

Their first item is the jug.

It's quite a smart thing, nicely moulded to look like a barrel,

probably made on the Continent, probably Austria or Germany or something like that.

-A manufactured product?

-Yeah.

-So it's out of a factory, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

But they've got the glass and the metalwork nicely unified.

Quite a tight fit to the thing. I mean, it works well from that point of view.

What's the estimate, Jonathan?

I think probably we'll get between sort of £60 and £90 for that.

Well, good, I mean you need to kick on cos £90 is paid.

-Yeah.

-But it's got a chance anyway.

-Absolutely.

-And it's got the look.

What about this Bavarian carved touristy novelty box?

People do collect this sort of carved wood, and it's nice, this high relief

-floral bocage of edelweiss.

-Alpine flowers, yeah, yeah.

Alpine flowers, edelweiss.

£20 to £40 is the estimate for this one.

£36.50 they paid.

-They might just get that.

-You might, which is good.

Now what about the buttons, they look flash, don't they?

They do, aren't they smart? Nice big ones,

sort of rococo-type scrolling to it, it's very smart, really.

-Yes.

-I think we're going to get somewhere between £50

and £70 pounds for them for sure.

-Oh, that's great, £65 paid, and who knows, you might make 80 which'd be brilliant.

-Yeah, yeah.

Overall though, they might well need their bonus buy, so let's go and have a look at it.

So you two cats, you OK?

-We're good.

-Yeah, yeah.

-You're good.

You spent £191.50, you should be good, you gave David £108.50, what did he spend all that money on?

-Let's see.

-Well, a cornucopia of riches.

-Rather like that.

-Interesting. Why did you purchase this?

I had ten minutes.

They told me I would have half an hour to do shopping,

and when I got to the shops they'd all closed down except for one,

and there was this on the shelf, I thought, "That's absolutely beautiful."

They originally wanted £70 for it, I got it down for £40.

-Really?

-I think it's rather nice.

It's sort of late Regency coming into William the Fourth.

There should be a pair of them.

I would find though not having the other one might be a problem.

If the other one was there, they'd be considerably more.

This is a typical forensic scientist this, looking at this.

This is a criminologist looking for a fingerprint.

-Sorry.

-Every crack...

Thank goodness I'm not holding it, otherwise I'd be shaking!

You're definitely guilty I'd say looking at you. Just look at his shifty eyes.

Well, how much profit do you think it'll make?

I would think probably somewhere between 60 and 70.

60 and 70, OK.

And all you have to do is to hold that thought.

You heard him say £60 to £70, you may or may not need to take

this cornucopia of delights, but for the viewers at home, let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about it.

So, is this a cornucopia of delights?

A cornucopia of something.

As a pair it would be very nice in top order, but one or two minor imperfections to the rim there...

-Yes.

-With a big chunk out of somewhere else...

Well, you see that is such a bad lump to lose, isn't it?

And there are lots of places you can go to get chipped glass

polished out and whatnot,

but that's a great lump out of a scolloped edge

that's already been nibbled.

Look at that nibble. So your most bullish and brave estimate on this is how much, Jonathan?

-£40 to £60.

-£40 to £60.

Splendid fellow. Well, good luck.

Last chance.

-Now, Mike and Pru.

-Yes.

-How are you feeling?

-Bit nervous.

-A bit nervous.

-What have you got to be nervous about?

Nothing, I'm quite confident.

-You just said you were nervous!

-No, changed my mind.

-Confidently nervous.

-Positive mental attitude.

-Is that was it is?

-Yeah.

-Is that your secret weapon today?

The silver handbag's going to make a fortune.

You reckon? Well, you paid £135 for that bag, right?

-Yeah.

-Prudence, you found it.

-Yeah.

-You're very bullish about that bag, aren't you?

-I was.

-The auctioneer's put £40 to £60 on it.

-It's a bit worrying, isn't it?

But you never know what's going to happen until the hammer's down.

-You must have watched this programme before, darling.

-I have.

It is true though at auction, Philip will collaborate with me here, you just don't know, do you?

No, you just want two people who want it.

Let's hope they're here today.

14-90A, a silver mesh purse, London, 1921 with the engraved clasp,

and I've got a flurry of bids once again. To start me in at 30...35...

£55, £55, it's bid with me at £55,

60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85,

£85, against you then at £85. Do you wish to bid £90?

Are we all done at £85? I'll sell, last chance at 85.

£85.

-That's not bad.

-That's 50 short.

That's minus £50, that.

Look out, here comes the compass.

Now we've got 14-91A, a mahogany case pocket compass circa 1830,

and again this time I've got bids to start me at 40...

55, 60, 65, £70, straight in at £70.

-I don't believe it.

-£70 and I'll take five.

Straight in, then, lots of interest, at £70 I'll sell.

Two in the book, it's £70, you're all done.

I don't believe it, £70, plus £5.

Minus £45.

-Look out.

-All to play for.

Lot 14-92A, a Russian gilt metal and enamel spirit tumbler.

-I have to start at £10.

-£10.

Do we have ten, £10?

12, 15, 18, 20, 22...

25.

£28 anywhere else, with me at £25.

At 25 against you then, at £25, and I'll sell at £25.

£25, Pru, this has not gone your way today, has it? Minus £15 on that.

So far Pru, on your choices you've lost £65. Right.

But Mick the hero has made a £5 profit, so overall you are just minus £60. Minus £60.

-So what about this telescope lark?

-Gotta go for it.

-We'll go for it.

-We've got to go for it.

Lot 14-95A, we have a lacquered brass two drawer telescope

circa 1880 with a mahogany sleeve.

I've got to start straight in at £25 is bid. 28 and 30. 32, 35.

38 and 40.

42, 45, £48 courtesy commission.

£48, 50 anyone? £48 dead centre and 48.

Well, two of us were all right.

£48, and I'm selling at £48.

£48, good man. And that is a £2 profit, no it isn't, that is a £3

profit, which is great, so you are £57 down the drain.

Now that could be a winning score, it's very difficult to make a profit on Bargain Hunt, we know that,

-so don't tell the Blues a thing, all right?

-OK, we won't.

Carlie, Joe, have you been talking to the Reds? No, not at all?

-You don't know how they got on?

-No.

-Good, we don't want you to.

-Now the first item that comes up is yours, Joe.

-Yes.

-That nice jug, it's a beautifully made thing, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

-It's a peach of a jug.

-It really is.

A late 19th century German glass and pewter banded claret jug

of coopered design. Start me at £50 for this...

-Start me at £50... 30, then.

-Oh.

£30 waving at the back, at £30.

£30, I'll take two.

32 now, 35, 38, and 40, 45. And 50.

-£50, gentleman by the flowers.

-Oh, come on, come on.

£50, £5 anywhere else? At £50 by the flowers, at £50.

At £50 and I'll sell at 50, last chance, at £50, all done.

£50 pounds then.

-That is minus £40.

-That's so disappointing.

-Sorry about that, Joe.

-It's all right.

-Joe...

-I know.

1511, a late 19th century Continental carved walnut box.

-Tenner.

-Oh, god.

Ten is bid, thank you, at ten, £10,

looking for 12 now, 12 with the lady, 15 he's gone, 20, 22...

-Come on.

-Come on.

-25?

No, he says. £22, on the left there was someone.

£22 standing left, on the right there, 25, there we go.

-Yes!

-28, 30. £30 to the lady.

Do you bid at the front? Yes, he does. 32, 35, 38...

Yes!

£38 the gentleman now, at £38.

-Go on! Go on, go on.

-Any further interest at £38?

It's gone to 40.

-Yes!

-No, he's shaking his head now. With the lady at £40.

£40 it is then and selling, last chance. £40...

-Yes. £40, thank goodness.

-I did dislike that one!

That's £3.50.

-£3.50 is a heck of a profit.

-It's good though, it's good.

Lot 15-12 A, a set of boxed silver buttons

of scroll form.

-I've got a nice flurry of bids here to start me at 20, 50, £100.

-Yes!

Start me straight in at £100.

£100 is bid. Do I see ten, £100, with me at £100.

-110, 120. Do you want 130?

-Yes, keep going.

Something's happening.

Are you sure? £120 then, 120.

-Keep going, keep going.

-30 anywhere else?

All done, £120, last chance, 120.

Yes!

£120 pounds, I don't believe that, look. Well done. That is something.

-Absolutely.

-That was good, that was good, that was good.

You are £18.50 up, how good is that?

-Not bad.

-Yes.

-It's not bad.

£18.50. Perfect. Now what are you going to do about the bonus buy?

This is so difficult, because frankly you were...

When you're up...

You're up £18.50, yes?

-Shall we go for it?

-I hate it, but...

-You hate it?

-Yeah.

-You really do hate it?

-What's to lose, right?

-£40 to lose actually.

And it could be a winning score, this £18.50.

-We're only doing this once.

-I don't think so.

You don't think we should do it?

-You're not going to go for it?

-No.

-Definitely?

-Definitely.

Right. No for the bonus buy, but we're going to sell it anyway.

Let's find out whether David's right or wrong.

Lot 15-15A, early Victorian glass cornucopia spill vase.

Who'll start me at 40 for this? Start me at £20 then...

£20, he's bid on the left at £20, do I see two?

Maiden bid of £20, two anywhere else?

At £20, at £20, this is it at 20.

22 now with the lady, 25, 28, 30...

-No, no, no, no, no.

-£30 still with the gentleman.

-Standing still at £30. Two anywhere else?

-No.

-£30 with the gentleman then, selling at 30, last chance at £30.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-You were right!

-Good call.

-£30. Now that was not an easy shout for you, was it?

-No, it wasn't.

-It wasn't.

-You really didn't like it.

-No, I didn't.

-And you wanted it.

-Absolutely.

-You would have persuaded her.

That's true, but I went with her, and I trusted her, and it won. It did well.

So minus £10, but you did very well not to go with that.

-Excellent.

-So, minus £10, but it doesn't count.

Overall, then, you are £18.50 up, you conserved your profits and

it's been a very good game.

Now don't tell the Reds a thing, right?

-OK.

-Cos £18.50 could be a winning score.

Well, well, well, well, well, what fun, eh? Everybody had a good time?

-Yes!

-Brilliant time.

-Been talking to one another have we, comparing notes?

-No.

-Keeping stumm.

-We never speak to them.

I asked you to, and if you've done that then that's really good,

because this is the moment to reveal the winner and the runner up.

And the runner up today are the Reds.

-Ooh!

-Minus £57 is not a great score, is it?

It's not bad, I've heard worse.

You've heard worse. But not good enough, I'm afraid.

-Apparently not.

-You've got a nice £5 profit out of the compass, that was unexpected, magic.

-Certainly unexpected.

-You got a nice little profit out of the telescope,

thank you very much, Mr Sorell, but overall it turned out at minus 57.

So bad luck on that, all right.

They're obviously having hysterics in the background here,

cos they just can't contain themselves with the joy of it all.

£55 profit on those buttons, Joe, that is a stonker, isn't it?

-That's right, absolutely.

-And not bad Carlie, £3.50,

-darling, on the little box.

-Indeed, it's all right.

Which was loathed at various times, so congratulations on that.

Overall then, it finished up at £18.50.

There is £18, yes...

-Excellent.

-And not quite, there you go, there's £18.50.

-How you feeling about that, you two?

-Delighted.

-Very good, excellent.

-Well, I hope you'll report favourably to the FBI about it when you make it back to America.

-Absolutely.

Anyway, both teams have been fantastic, great fun, can't thank you enough for coming on the programme.

-But join us soon for some more bargain hunting, yes?

-Yes!

For more information about Bargain Hunt, including how the programme

was made, visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle

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