Newark 6 Bargain Hunt

Cor, it's chilly today.

In fact, it's downright freezing!

And the only thing that's going to warm us up is a spot of bargain hunting.

Cor, what an urner.

Welcome to Newark,

the largest antiques fair in Europe.

There are 3,000 stalls here,

and thank goodness I've got this little baby.

We're talking about the buggy, and here's a snippet of what's coming up.

Take it away, girl!

In Red today, Anthea has teamed up with her Auntie Julie.

What about £60, and I'll show you my boots!

LAUGHTER

Their opponents are Janet and her friend Anne.

I keep getting left behind.

Shopping's not as easy as it looks.

-What have you found, ladies?

-Absolutely nothing.

I'm panicking now, James.

How will it pan out at the auction?

But that's for later.

-Hi, guys.

-BARGAIN HUNTERS: Hello.

Lovely to see you. Now, what's your tactics to beat the Blues?

I think we're going to flutter our eyelashes.

Yeah, and flirt with the boots.

-Is that the boots?

-Yes, the boots.

They are something else, those boots, aren't they?

-They are.

-I mean, you are definitely in the Red team.

-We are.

-Now what's it with you and pyjamas then?

Gosh, after about nine o'clock, I'm very settled, so if I need to

got to the shop, unfortunately, I still go in my pyjamas and slippers.

We're talking about nine o'clock in the evening? What, you just walk round the corner?

No, I have to drive there, as well.

-You get in the car, in your jim-jams, with your slippers?

-Yeah.

And drive to the garage after nine?

Yeah.

Gosh. What about you, Jules, you've had one or two unfortunate experiences at work, haven't you?

I have. Yes. I started work in a new office.

I didn't know the sort of office protocol.

I went to the toilet, later on in the evening.

-Well, it was about quarter to five.

-You just had the call of nature.

Yes. Just went to the toilet,

and after I'd finished, I went to open the door, I couldn't get out.

They'd bolted the door from the outside, it was a protocol to bolt the door at the top.

-And they locked you in?

-Yes.

-And they had gone home?

-Yes.

-So what did you do, settle down for the night?

Well, I did start to, I sort of raided the cupboard, there was some

mops in there, thinking I could sit on the toilet

-and make myself comfortable for the night.

-Absolutely.

Get a few rolls out, just in case you want to make a nice pillow.

I was in the right place. There was water, I had a toilet handy.

Very handy. So that was it, you were set for the night.

Yeah, so in the end, I sort of broke the window, I could see outside.

I was praying that somebody was going to come back to this van,

and they did, and the fire engine came,

the police came, and it was very embarrassing.

It was a drama. What a beastly experience.

It was at the time. I can just about laugh at it now.

No, quite! Well, I don't want to pick over any old wounds, you know.

On that happy note, we'd better shove off to the Blues I think.

Be very careful where you go to the lavatory.

How do you two girls know each other?

We've known each other for about ten years, we bowl together at Oakham Bowls Club.

-Do you? Fanatically?

-Absolutely.

Do you get anywhere with your bowling?

Yes, we've reached the national finals at Leamington.

So would you say you're pretty competitive, you two?

Because of the bowls? Yeah?

Losing is not an option.

I rather think these Reds are quaking in their boots here.

Anne, what about you and antiques, darling, do you collect?

I collect figurines made by Francesca, which are no longer in production.

What other things do you get up to?

Well, I've written my life story for my grandchildren,

and told them all about the stories that happened to their mothers

when they were small, like the time we were going on holiday to Rhodesia,

and we had to cross the Zambezi on a platform attached to a motor boat.

And halfway across, the motor boat broke down,

and we went floating away down the Zambezi, which is a crocodile-infested river.

Is this another one of your lavatory stories?

Don't tell me, and you couldn't find a lavatory!

And we were looking around to find something that we could actually put

the children on, because they were quite tiny at the time.

Crocodiles and things are not good with little children.

-Absolutely not.

-No, just a snack really.

All of a sudden, they got the boat going again,

and the crisis was over.

So listen, here's the £300, the £300 moment. You know the rules.

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

Today's experts are very competitive.

-I'm going to win.

-I'm going to win.

-I'm going to win.

-I'm going to win.

For the Reds, Catherine Southon.

For the Blues, James Lewis.

-Bit nippy today.

-It is.

-Yes.

All right, girls, what are we going to do? What we going to look for?

We have an option, we can spend little or we can spend big.

What are we are going to do?

-Spend big.

-Spend big?

-I think, yeah.

-If we spend little, then we don't lose so much.

-Oh no!

How about we have a little look outside first of all,

-that's where we're more likely to find the bargains.

-OK.

-Come on. Let's go looking.

-Let's go looking.

So they're off. In just one hour,

each team has to buy three items with the £300 I've just given them.

But who's going to find their bargains first?

They don't rock my boat.

Two against one.

All right. THEY LAUGH

£65.

That's really pretty.

It's pretty but it's not hallmarked.

-Does that mean it's continental silver?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I did like the post box as well.

Really?

Hm. Catherine doesn't.

-£245.

-Oh my goodness.

I've got expensive tastes.

You have.

See, that's lovely. That's really pretty.

Art Nouveau - that nice, sort of, long, flowing hair

that you associate with Art Nouveau.

It would be nice if it was silver or something like that,

but it's not.

£140. Thank you very much.

We haven't bought anything yet, have we?

Stop. Don't!

-Ooh. That stick.

-This one?

Why do you like that?

It's quite sweet, isn't it?

-Do you think it's definitely the right pommel on the top?

-Probably not,

-if I like it.

-It might have been put on later.

-Yeah.

-How much?

-£120?

I thought he said £20.

That's too much. That's way too much for us.

Too much. Nice though. Lovely.

No-one's bought anything. Come on, girls.

This is a tough old game. But look, I've spotted something.

This old boy is really quite special.

Towards the end of the 19th century in the 1880s, a brand new artistic

colony sprung up in the port of Newlyn, close to Penzance,

and all sorts of artists were attracted to that part

of Cornwall, and set up their painting easels outside.

The founder of the Newlyn School was Walter Langley.

Now, this picture says absolutely nothing on it

as to who the artist may be.

It simply says here, "Sketch from life in pencil."

But it doesn't tell you who the artist is. Maddeningly.

Or fortunately, depending on how your speculative

juices are going, because, if this picture said, "W Langley"

in the bottom right-hand corner, I promise you it would not

be sitting in this antiques fair at Newark.

It would have been sold years ago, on the international market.

Now, the first thing I do is to spin it round

and have a look at the back.

And if you look carefully, the pasted-on paper back

has never been disturbed, not since the day this was framed,

potentially 120 years ago.

Even the rusty ended nails are there, as placed originally

under the paper, and that to me is a very good sign,

because this picture has not been messed about with.

It hasn't been taken out of the frame, and quite frankly, if you

were to take it out of the frame and discover on the back an inscription

that confirmed it was by Walter Langley,

then it would transform the watercolour from a simple and ordinary

picture into an important work of art

that at auction would be worth at least £2,000-£3,000.

What might you buy it for on a stall around the corner?

Well, it could be yours for £120.

Exciting stuff. But is anything in the frame for our teams yet?

-What have you found, ladies?

-Absolutely nothing.

Nothing? This is lovely. But I think the price is very high.

-I saw the bowl.

-It's WMF.

It's really weighty as well.

It's a nice early one because it's got the ostrich symbol, and that was

the first before they stamped "WMF", they used the ostrich symbol.

So that tells us it's quite early.

But, £190, that's a lot of money.

That's a lot of money. Just see what his best price is.

What's your best price on the WMF?

£160 is my very best.

-That's an awful lot.

-I mean, I can see that at auction,

probably about £120, £180, something like that?

In case you're wondering, WMF means Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik.

-Might pinch a profit on it.

-Might get a little something.

-Do you like it?

-Yeah.

-Good name.

Can you do £140?

£150 at the very best.

Might be in with a chance. What do you want to do?

If you want to go for it, go for it.

-You're going to blame me.

-I'm not!

We're here to have fun. Like we said, Anthea.

Go for it. One piece done.

Two to go.

At last! Only 30 minutes left, though.

-I wonder if the Blues know.

-Hate it?

I hate it, but is it good?

A lot of the time, you'd expect to have little covers on there.

But it's French.

-It's 1890.

-So are they ink wells?

Ink wells, one for red, one for black ink. You didn't have blue in the 19th century.

It's £35, which isn't a huge amount of money.

Let's see. What would be, well, could you do any less than that?

-What would be your best price?

-£35, that would be £32, £30.

We've got to make a profit at auction. Could you do it for £20, please?

I couldn't do it for £20. No.

What about £22?

-No.

-Go on!

-£28. I'll do it for £28.

I wouldn't pay that for it. I really wouldn't.

-OK.

-Sure?

-Well. We know it's there.

-Thank you.

-Your best on it is £28?

-£28.

You couldn't make it £25, could you?

-That Anne's not giving up.

-Please?

Erm...

Go on then. £25.

James. He'll do it for £25.

You both need to be in agreement.

Right. Janet, he'll do it for £25.

Do you think that's good?

It's up to you. I don't want to force you into it, if you don't like it. I mean, the thing is...

I think it's hideous.

No sale.

Don't mince your words though, Janet, but you'd better buy something soon.

Ooh, that feels much better.

-Right. Don't look at the jewellery.

-There's a lot of pretty things.

-We don't have that sort of money.

-I know. OK.

Now, that is lovely and early.

-Have you found something?

-Yeah, it's known as black slip.

It's a colour-coated ware, but it's very early.

These three little impressed marks are typical of Ancient Greece.

-Hellenistic, 300 BC, 2,000 years old.

-Really?

Really. That is fantastic.

It must be awfully expensive then.

These things are appreciated by the academics, but there isn't a massive following for them.

-I mean, these things are going to be on the internet, aren't they?

-Yes, but it's whether the auction room

are confident enough in their ability to say, "Yes, we know it's right." It is right.

Everything is right about it, the way the foot rim is done, the base, these wonderful impressed marks.

-What's your gut feeling about it?

-It should make, in my opinion...

-Hello, Tim.

-Hello, darling.

-Tell me, what do you think?

-That's an old bowl.

-It is, isn't it?

-How much have you bought so far?

-We haven't bought anything yet.

-I'm really panicking.

-Nothing?

We're getting a bit desperate.

I mean, that's an old bowl, isn't it?

-I don't like it.

-You don't like it?

-No. I'd rather have that pink thing.

What don't you like about it?

Well, how much is it?

-It's £50 at the moment.

-£50?

-I can't influence you,

but all I can say is, I think you're going to have to, you know, buck up, really.

-I really know.

-Quite a big buck up.

-If you say yes, we'll have it.

-I'll leave you to cogitate.

-I'd pay £50 for that.

-You would?

-Yeah, I would.

-So you'd be excited if it came into your sale room?

I'd love it. It's not huge money, and it never will be, but...

-And we'll make a profit on it, James?

-I hope so.

Or we'll wipe our faces.

Or you'll wipe away your tears if you don't get a move on. Only 20 minutes to go, teams.

-That's really nice.

-Mega money again.

-Yeah.

-Is there's something missing?

It's very nice, but it's far too expensive for us.

Nice thing, though.

Oh.

-Wow, look at that!

-I don't know how much it is.

-Do you like it, Janet?

-I quite like that, actually.

I absolutely hate it with a passion.

Right, that's fine then.

-But no, it doesn't matter if it's the right money.

-Has it got any age?

How old it is? 1920s?

'30s, '40s, yeah.

-£140.

-£140?

-£140. Let's move on. Come on.

-Let's move on.

What do you think about this?

Erm...not an awful lot, to be honest!

It's a pair of mother of pearl binoculars.

Sometimes you get the mother of pearl around the eye piece as well.

I mean, they're in working condition, seem to be OK.

The lenses are OK. Originally, they would have been in a case.

A nice case. Sometimes, as well, you get a handle here.

-OK.

-In this sort of state, you'd probably be looking at £30-£50,

£30-£40, something like that.

I mean, they're OK, but they are sort of two a penny, to be honest.

-Why do you like them?

-I just like the mother-of-pearl on it, yeah.

It's a shame they haven't got the case.

-Yeah, yeah.

-But they're nice.

-Sometimes you get a signature as well round the eye piece.

-OK.

They're nice, though. They're still nice.

-I do like them.

-We might be able to find something a bit more exciting.

-All right.

-Shall we carry on?

We'll see how we get on.

-You can bear them in mind.

-Yeah. Keep it in mind.

We're not saying a definite no,

-but we're saying...

-No to £35, and no at the moment.

I don't know about you, viewers, but I'm not getting a sense of urgency here.

Both teams still need two items.

How many minutes?

-You've got 15.

-Oh, God.

-OK, now, I say we buy that ink stand,

we get one of them out of the way.

We've still got one to find.

Because I think otherwise we'll have two minutes, and two things to find,

and we're going to just pick up anything and probably lose even more.

-We'll do it.

-Let's go do that.

That's more like it. Back to the ink well.

It's Oriental. They say Chinese, salt glaze, I love the colour, the colour's wonderful.

-You don't like it?

-Jules likes it.

-I like it, yes.

-What's your rock bottom?

-Do you like that?

-£65.

£50 and we might make a bit of money on it.

-I'm losing money.

-£50?

£55?

-Oh, go on. We've got ten minutes.

-I did say £65, and I think £65 is,

if you see the starting price, you're doing very well.

-He's gone down quite a bit.

-I think it's quite nice, I think it's quite an interesting piece.

£55.

That's my, you know, I can't...

What about £60 and then it's straight then, isn't it? £60 and I'll show you my boots.

She said "boots"!

Sadly.

-Nice and even.

-And we've got red wellies on.

-Go on. £60.

-Thank you.

£60. I don't know why I would do it.

I suppose I'll see myself on telly one day.

-Ooh! The ink well is still here.

-On the left.

24 quid. Any good?

If it goes up in fives, it means we might get a pound, that's all.

-Er... Go on then.

-Deal.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much. Thank you. Well done.

Let's keep going. This way.

Cor, things don't half turn round quickly on this programme.

I did really like the thermometer.

-We couldn't have afforded that.

-I know. So I need to get over it.

We've only got ten minutes left and we've got to find that last piece.

-Yeah, OK.

-You look really upset.

She looks devastated!

-I liked it.

-You liked it, Jules.

-You wanted that, didn't you?

-I did like it. Yes.

But it's too much money.

-You two are a nightmare!

-It's too much money.

I'm going home. I'm going home.

These are horrible. These are horrible.

-I'm panicking now, James.

-Keep looking.

-Right, we've got to keep on top of it, girls.

-Yes.

-The little box?

-I'm not sure.

£25. That's the rock bottom price.

Rock bottom? OK.

£25, little dressing table box.

Nice shaped sides, so it's not plain, and the bracket feet

-on the bottom there.

-I'd have that on my dressing table.

-That, to me, is a sweet little object.

-It is, yeah.

The lining's seen better days.

-That's original, is it?

-It's original, but it's poor.

But it would polish up. Yeah, look.

-Oh my goodness, yes.

-Coming off.

-Is it silver?

-Solid silver. It's £25.

-I think so, yes.

-There's a profit there.

We've got seven minutes to go and if I'd found that five minutes from the beginning, I'd have bought it.

-I think we've done all right there.

-OK.

-At 25 quid. OK, yeah?

I'm confident, for the first time.

-OK.

-Yes. Deal. Thank you very much.

For the first time he's confident.

Who'd have thought the Blues would finish first?

Shall we get the binoculars?

Or do you want to get your stick, see if you can go and offer him £90?

-How much have we got? £90?

-We need to get £80.

You could leave me a fiver. £85.

Desperate, desperate. Run, run, run!

Do you want to go and try? Why don't you go that way

and see if you can get the binoculars for rock bottom.

-And then we make that decision in the last minute.

-OK.

What we're going to go for.

Ah, but which one will get the best price?

Anthea or Auntie Julie?

-Huh?

-No, because it's his friend's.

It's his friend's stall and he won't do it.

Oh man. That's bad.

He's not happy.

Have we found her? Pretty please?

-Are we there? How much?

-£15?

Oh yes.

You have to give her them for £15.

It's the last item,

and we're running out of time.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Are you happy with those?

-Yeah.

-Are you?

She likes them.

Too late now, girls.

Time ladies, please.

That's it, the shopping's over, but what about the leftover lolly?

Well, Catherine and James are just going to have to shove off around the fair,

and find the bonus buy - the mystery item, which pitches up later in the auction,

and the teams then have to decide whether to go with it

and maybe enhance their profit, or stand the risk of making a disastrous loss.

Anyway, right now, let's recap on what the Reds bought.

The red-booted Reds kicked off paying £150 for an Art Nouveau bowl.

Next, they got all fired up about the green Chinese jar.

And, determined to see a profit at auction,

they paid £15 for the mother-of-pearl opera glasses.

Well, look at that, you beautiful team.

-How fantastic, you finished.

-We have.

Which is quite an achievement, isn't it? Have you ever been so cold?

I'm freezing.

Absolutely bitter, isn't it? But you've had a nice time, I hope?

-Yes, it's been lovely.

-How much did you spend?

We spent £225.

You spent £225? That is a really good total.

OK, £225 spent, so you have £75 in leftover lolly.

-Where is that?

-I've got it.

-Oh yes.

Thank you very much. I won't check it.

See, out comes the hand.

Her tiny hand is frozen.

Go off and sing an aria.

I will. I hope so, I've got to do something good for these girls.

I'm getting the vibes they're a bit despondent.

-Are you?

-Yes.

-I don't think so, you're not despondent, are you?

-No.

You look perfectly happy to me. Good luck with spending your £75.

Good luck, girls. Love you loads.

Missing you already.

Why don't we check out what the Blues have bought?

Once they started splashing the cash,

they paid £50 for an Ancient Greek bowl.

What does a Greek earn?

-On a grade of one to ten, how much did you hate that bowl?

-Nought.

So you love it? No, you hate it.

They umm-ed and ah-ed over the ink stand, eventually buying it for £24.

Finally, they parted with £25 for the silver Edwardian trinket box.

And how much have you spent overall?

-£99.

-£99.

That could be why you found it so difficult.

We were prepared to pay more if we could have found something that we liked.

But the stuff we like was a lot, lot more, so no profit.

£201 of leftover lolly.

This is more than he earns in a week.

No better man to do it for you than James Lewis.

And very, very, very good luck.

But for me, now, I'm going to head off somewhere really rather political.

Hughenden Manor, the home of Benjamin Disraeli, or "Dizzy"

to his mates. Ha!

Just look at this gorgeous Georgian house.

Built originally in 1730, it's got double bays,

it's covered with stucco and is, of its type, a splendid example.

You just can't believe that that is this. Amazing, isn't it?

This house, Hughenden Manor, was bought by Benjamin Disraeli in 1848.

Shortly afterwards he commissioned Edward Buckton Lamb,

his favourite architect, to make it Gothic in feel.

If you look along the top tier, that balustrade on the top, the kind of parapet level,

is kind of hit-and-miss and looks rather like a castle.

That's called castellation.

If you come down the bays, you can see that the lintel's been given the Gothic treatment.

They have been built out from the surface in brick,

and look rather harsh and angular, almost as if they're fortified.

And, of course, the window frames themselves are all champfered in the Gothic manner.

But the biggest change of all is knocking off all that white stucco and revealing the brick itself.

But that's not all they did.

Inside, the alterations continued.

So, what could look more Gothic than this, eh?

Actually, when Disraeli bought this house

this outer entrance hall already had the Gothic fan vaulting in it,

which had been inserted by his predecessor.

This stuff's made of solid plaster.

What Disraeli did was to extend the theme into that hallway,

with almost matching fan vaulting,

except this fan vaulting is made of plaster and linen.

The theme continues, though.

This is a pure Disraeli Gothic space. The garden hall.

Once again we have a nice, spiky lozenge Gothic-effect ceiling.

I love these doorways, don't you?

With their gothic arch and within each of the doors

you've got these cusped, sharp bits.

We've got two pieces of Disraeli Gothic furniture,

one early piece dating from 1832. A chair made in the Gothic style,

but the frivolous early Gothic revival style.

This chair was made down the road in High Wycombe around 1832.

At the time of the election when Disraeli stood for Parliament.

It's an election chair.

Favourite Disraeli colours of pink and cream and these iron bits

on the side were made to take long poles, so that when Disraeli was returned

as the Member of Parliament, he could be picked up and paraded through the town.

The only problem was he lost the election and they never used the chair.

But this chair, which is just over 30 years later is truly this churchy-type,

muscular Gothic that we tend to associate with the Gothic revival.

The back's carved from a solid lump of oak,

but so crisply carved that you could practically prick your fingers on the end of these holly leaves.

This is painful, High Church Gothic.

And just as Hughenden moved from Palladian to Victorian Gothic, so, too, did its owner.

From the Georgian dandy to the Victorian statesmen we remember - an Englishman and his castle, eh?

We've come steaming down the A1, to Gilding's saleroom in Market Harborough, to be with Mark Gilding.

-Good morning, Tim.

-Now, Anthea and Julie and Catherine,

their expert, have gone into a pretty macabre mix of objects.

They have, yes.

Spanning lots of periods, starting off with this so-called WMF brass and copper jardiniere.

Now, Mark, how do you rate that?

I think it fits into a particular style.

It's pretty nice quality. I would say £50-£70.

-How much?

-£50-£70.

They paid 150.

Well, there we go.

And I have to be the one to tell 'em.

Thanks(!) OK.

Now, the ginger jar, this stoneware, green drizzle-glazed Chinese job.

-Do you like it?

-Not particularly, no.

Is it 18th century? That's the question.

Well, quite. Unless you have that test, which is about £1,500 worth,

-it's jolly difficult to tell, isn't it?

-It is.

And my estimate of £20-£30, it's not worth the process, I don't think.

No, they only paid 60.

But 20-30, to 60 equals another loss, I fancy.

This is not looking pretty, chaps.

The last hope for them are the opera glasses.

Now, how do you see them?

I think they're very nice. A good example of their type.

Nice mother-of-pearl on them.

I think we'll make £30-£50.

£15 paid. Phew! That's a relief.

At least they are predicting a possible profit on one of their three items.

This team are definitely going to need their bonus buy, so let's go and have a look at it.

-Jules and Anthea, are you OK?

-Fine, thank you.

-Now, you spent £235.

You gave that coy Catherine £75 of leftover lolly to find your bonus buy.

What did you buy, Catherine?

-Ooh!

-OK!

I know it's a bit manly.

It's not very feminine.

-I've heard of him.

-Have you? There we are.

It is a Crown Devon musical tankard.

Have a listen to this. If it's going to work.

I can't get it to work now.

COGS TURN

-Hang on.

-Oh. It sounded better than that when I bought it, I promise.

1930s.

Cost a few shillings during their time.

They were made before and after the war.

That's in beautiful condition, by the way, perfect condition.

It looks nice. How much did you pay for it?

Now, I paid £35 for this.

-OK.

-And they always make about £50-£60 at auction.

-Always?

-Actually, don't quote me on that!

Now, how do you feel about this, Jules?

Erm...it's a mug, isn't it?

But the musical bit might be appealing to people.

Appealing! Ha-ha!

They like a joke!

I will be perfectly honest with you, it is not a particularly rare item.

They do come up from time to time.

But it's in lovely condition.

You're not very excited, are you?

No.

Well, on that happy note, I think we'll find out what the auctioneer thinks about the musical jug.

We're some distance from the West Country.

Is this likely to do any good, do you think?

I think it will do OK.

But a Crown Devon, with a hunting theme...

-Hunting theme, which is good around here.

-Absolutely.

The condition is pretty good.

That's a good sign for it.

And I think we'll make £40-£60.

Brilliant. £35 paid by Catherine. She'll be well pleased with that.

Anyway, that's it for the Reds. Now for the Blues.

Janet and Anne and James Lewis. First item, the Hellenistic bowl.

Yes. Bit of a rarity in Market Harborough.

Not much Greek stuff around here, I'd say.

No, we'd put £100-150, could make anything.

On the other hand, if you haven't got so much Greek interest

as you thought you might have got, you might be struggling at 30 notes, mightn't you?

-Yes.

-It is a difficult thing.

-It is.

-You can only have a punt.

He paid £50, that cunning monkey, James Lewis.

-Much more predictable will be the porcelain ink set, won't it?

-Yes it will. Absolutely.

-Very decorative.

-Yes, nice French desk piece.

Quite nice quality and well decorated, as you say.

-And how much do you think for that?

-£60-£80.

Great - £24 paid.

If you are right, this team is going to do very well.

The silver trinket box next.

Classic piece of dressing table silverware.

Yes, it is. A very collectible piece of small silver, little bit worn,

-but I have high hopes for this one, at least 100, maybe 150.

-£25 paid.

Maybe they are not going to need a bonus buy, but we're going to have a look at it anyway.

You only spent £99.

-I know. Pathetic, wasn't it?

-£201 went to the genius.

Did he blow the lot? James, show us your ware.

I didn't blow the lot, but...

-Oh, wow! Wow!

-Good! You like it?

-Oh, I love it!

-Fantastic, good.

-Gorgeous.

I take it you like cats, you girls.

It's Crown Derby, it's Imari, and it's beautiful.

Absolutely. How much did you pay for it?

Did you blow the lot on it?

It's a first, there's no scratch through the mark, so it's a first.

It's from the Abyssinian Cat range. So it's quite a good thing.

What do you think?

£70? 90?

Would you be pleased at that?

I mean, I would pay that because I think it's gorgeous.

Absolutely fantastic.

-OK. I paid 30.

-No!

Wow!

What a clever boy!

There, you see?

That is why he's so popular with these girls.

Because he's so cheap to take out.

Wonderful. You couldn't have done better.

That's brilliant. Thank you.

-What is your prediction, James?

-I would put £70-£100 on it

as an estimate, so if it makes £100 I think that's a fantastic result.

If it makes 70 I'd be pleased, as well.

We'll find out in the auction, won't we? Girls, hold on to those thoughts.

But for the audience at home, let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about James' little cat.

What do you rate that at? Anything?

-I'm allergic to cats.

-Are you?

-Yes.

Don't, for goodness sake, start sneezing.

-It's a magnificently decorated modern piece of porcelain.

-It is.

-Absolutely.

-A real collectible, if you like that sort of thing.

We have quite a few clients who do buy these things in the sales

and I think we should make perhaps 60, maybe even £80.

Lewis paid £30, so he paid the right price for it.

And are you taking the auction for us?

-Yes, we'll be starting in a few minutes.

-We're in safe hands!

OK, Anth, Jules, ready for this?

-Very.

-Quite excited, aren't you?

-Very.

-Yes. I can tell.

You've got that Crown Devon musical mug job to fall back on, which is reassuring for you, isn't it?

Very much, yes.

THEY LAUGH

First lot up is your old pot,

-and here it comes.

-We've got to pray.

Bidding with me here, £45. 55.

60.

£60? 5? 70?

In the room at 70. Internet's down five. 80?

85? 90? £90 in the room, £90 in the room, still out.

95, 100.

-£100 bidding tens now, please, at £100. £100 in the room...

-Come on.

-£100, selling now. £100.

-No!

£100. That is minus 50.

-So close.

-Not off to a great start.

-Better than we thought.

-So close but yet so far.

-Still exciting.

-Still exciting.

Come on. Here comes your green pot.

10 I'm bid for the jar, £12, 15, 18, 20, 25,

25 at the back, at 25? 25 bid, at 8 I'll take. At 25.

It's in the room, make no mistake, selling here.

£25.

You paid 60. £25.

That is minus £35.

A bit of a disaster, that one.

-It is, isn't it?

-Not so good at the moment.

Let's go with the binoculars.

-Come on.

-Quite nice little things these.

Bidding here at £22 on the book, at 22.

22 I'm bid here, at 22.

It will be sold, I'll take five.

Come on.

At 22, 25 on the Internet. 25.

-I thought these would make more, at 25.

-So did I.

At £25.

You're minus £75.

It could be a lot worse.

It could be a lot worse, believe me.

You are minus 75. What are you going to do about this bonus buy?

-Go for it.

-You're going to go with that musical mug?

-Let's have the Peel.

-Here it comes.

-OK.

A musical jug. John Peel.

£20 bid.

£20 I'm bid, at £22, 22, 25, 28.

At 30? Two I'll take. £30, right at the back.

-Come on.

-32 on the Internet.

32, with you at 35. £35. At £35. Have another go at £35, £35 in the room.

At 35, it will sell.

-£35. Wiped its face.

-No profit.

No losses, no shame, no gain.

Overall you are minus £75.

You monkeys!

Don't you go telling those Blues a thing, right?

-Janet and Anne, do you know how the Reds got on?

-Not at all.

Haven't spoken to them? Good. We don't want you to know.

But I think you've got a really good chance.

-Do you think so?

-I really think so, Janet.

-You're looking doubtful.

-Not very confident.

-We're not confident.

This is your chance now. This old bowl.

Hellenistic period bowl.

What do we say for this one, then?

I'm opening the bidding here at £45.

45 I'm bid, at 45.

£50 I'm bid, and I'm out now, more bids on the book. Five.

60, five, 70, at 65, 70, five, £75 then?

£75, then. Selling at 75.

Well, I don't care. £25 up.

That's what that says to me.

Plus 25. I love it. Well done, Lewis.

Now the ink stand.

-There's the ink stand.

-£30 to start, at £30 bid?

30 I'm bid, at 30.

£30, 30 bid.

At five, I'll take.

-Come on.

-£30.

With me then, all out in the room, at £30, on the book and selling it, £30.

£30.

That says plus six to me.

Does seem to be quite reasonable.

OK, the trinket box.

This has to be a winner now. Lewis.

On the book now, bidding with me here at £50, £50 I'm bid.

Double the money.

65, 75, 80, five, 90. At £90 right at the back, five?

100. 110.

110, right at the back. 120.

Are you bidding?

120 here, it's your turn.

Almost, almost.

140. 140 in the front here, at 140.

150, are you bidding? £150, next, all out at 150, still out at 150.

Sold that for £150.

That is phenomenal.

That is plus 125.

Plus the 31 you had before, which is plus 156.

-156 up.

-Well done.

Thank you!

£156 up.

Now you can go out and buy that scent bottle you liked, all right?

-And you can keep it.

-Yes!

Girls, what are you going to do about the cat?

Oh, definitely, yes.

We are going with the Abyssinian and here she comes. Miaow!

Derby Royal Cats paperweight.

40, 50, 60, 70, 80, £90 I'm bid.

£90 on the book here, at £90. Are we all out in the room at 90?

100, I'll take.

£90 bid.

Last chance then, at 90, it will sell.

That is some cat, isn't it? £90.

Well done, James. You're a star.

That is another £60 up, which means, overall, you are plus 216 smackers.

£216! We'll need to go to a hole in the wall. We haven't got that much!

The runners-up today by a substantial margin are the Reds.

-Did you have a funny feeling this was coming your way?

-We somehow did think that.

I thought you might have done, what with minus 50, minus 35.

You did make a tenner on your binoculars, though.

Overall, sadly, minus £75.

-Which doesn't sound so much if you say it quickly, does it?

-No.

-Have you had fun?

-We had a good time.

You had a good time. We've loved having you on the programme and you've been real sports.

But the victors today who have won £216...

THEY GASP

£216!

This is, like, awesome.

-Well done.

-And I congratulate you.

All thanks to James.

A team effort. Well, it's very sweet of you.

But you had a good hand in this, James, congratulations.

I don't know what James Lewis' commission is on all of this.

And I don't choose to know, quite frankly. Passing the £1 along.

-Have you had a good time, girls?

-Fantastic.

-Wonderful. Thank you very much.

It's right up there on the profit league on Bargain Hunt.

You've been a great team.

-So join us soon for some more Bargain Hunting, yes?

-Yes!

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