Epsom/Dorking 22 Bargain Hunt

Today we're in Surrey, a county with reputedly more millionaires

than any other in the UK.

I don't know whether we're going to be able to ADD to that total

of millionaires but we're certainly going to have a jolly good go! So...

let's go bargain hunting, yeah!

Welcome to Epsom, once a spa town famed for its salts

but nowadays visitors are enticed by the magnificent

Epsom Downs Racecourse, which is the location for today's fair.

So, who is going to be the winner of the Bargain Hunt Derby?

Goodness only knows! Let's find out.

Today it is a dance-off, the old school lindy hop...

Oh, I'm feeling an antique coming on here!

..versus the too cool for school hip-hop.

-No!

-No. Ha-ha-ha!

Let the battle commence but first let's meet the teams.

Well, today on Bargain Hunt it's about family and friendship

because for the Reds we've got Tim, great name, and Natalie - friends,

and we've got Victoria and Alex, who are brother and sister.

Hello, everyone!

-ALL: Hello!

-Lovely to see you.

Now, Timbo, how did you and Natalie become friends?

We met at college, at art college,

and mainly through doing fundraising together.

So, Timbo, ha-ha, tell us a bit about your job.

So, as a performance artist

I combine two different things that shouldn't go together.

So, skateboarding and Edwardian dress.

I might, erm, draw while running, which I called jog-graphy

and then I would make a video and put that online.

What hobbies have you got, Timbo?

I lindy Hop and I hula-hoop, and I run, and walk,

and do a bit of skateboarding as well.

-So, it's mainly all fitness related stuff?

-Yeah.

Is that going to help you nip around the racecourse stadium today

and stay ahead of the rest?

We're going to be in and out, like a dog at a fair!

-Ha-ha-ha, love it.

-No stopping us!

-No stopping us.

-So, Natalie, you're also a performance artist?

-I am indeed.

Tell us about your stuff.

My work is based around social interaction, so I do performances

within a space, with numbers of the public, quite a lot of the time.

So, I'll be acting as a character

within something like a swap shop type themed room

and then people will come in, unknowingly,

into my performance piece, and then they will get performed at.

-Will they?

-Yeah.

-Where does this mainly happen?

At the moment it's happening a lot in my hometown, in Romford.

Right, so look out, Romford! If they haven't discovered you.

I think they've seen me coming!

I say, this is going to be fun.

Now, have you ever heard of any of this performance lark lark, you two?

-Yes, I have.

-Do you know about it, Victoria?

Yeah, I'm a big theatre fan.

Ah, you're with it! Well, that's brilliant.

Tell us about your line of work then, darling.

Well, I work full-time in modelling and promotions.

I work for a bunch of agencies and they send me on different jobs.

It might be promoting a new product or working at an event to launch.

I'm quite tall, so that helps with a lot of the...

Fortunately, I'm quite tall too! And what do you get up to outside work?

I'm very sporty, I quite like hip-hop dancing

and the whole hip-hop scene but, before that,

I did martial arts for a very long time, since I was ten years old.

When I was 18 I got my first-hand black belt...

-Gosh!

-..before both my brothers did, so that's quite nice!

-Would you say that you're a competitive person?

-Yes.

Ah, good, came back very quickly with that!

Right, you'd better stand to then, Reds.

This is going to be a competition!

OK, Alex, now, tell me about your job.

I work on the development of mobile applications for mobile phones

and other such portable devices.

Alex, tell us about the World Cyber Games in Seoul.

This happened back in 2003.

I was, er, had a bit of free time to practise a lot of games

and qualified in Great Britain to represent them

at the World Cyber Games in Seoul, Korea.

-What an honour! How did you get on?

-Did very well, actually.

I came back with one of the only silver medals for Team GB

-at the World Cyber Games.

-Hey!

That is quite an accolade.

You're going to get on all right, are you, you two?

You're closely bonded, you're welded from the hip, you're going

to look after each other and have fun, which is great

because that's what it's all about. £300 apiece.

There's your £300.

You know the rules, your experts await and off you go!

Very, very, very, very good luck.

So, who are our experts today?

Already helping himself to the spoils of victory,

it's Charlie Ross.

But he's up against the winner of many bargain hunt Derbys,

it's the one and only Catherine Southon.

What are you going to be looking for?

We're just going to go on what we find.

I think we'll go for, maybe, multipurpose, kind of, items.

You know, something practical

but I really want to buy something pretty as well.

-Something quirky.

-Something quirky?

-Something you've never seen before?

-Yeah.

I'm open to any options, really. Whatever we like.

You're my kind of guy! Come on then, let's go shopping!

And the Blues don't waste any time getting stuck in.

What makes an interesting walking stick?

I think something unusual on the actual top, the pommel,

if that's something a little bit different.

You get people who do collect walking sticks.

-This one, here, I think is probably the best.

-Oh, with a little frog!

-On the top, there.

-What do you think about that?

-It's got little eyes as well!

-Little glass eyes.

-I presume they are glass, they look glass.

-Yes, yeah.

-And then a silver collar, there. Is that...

-It's hallmarked as well.

Let's have a look. It's London.

Oh, gosh, I can't even see the letters, it's quite badly rubbed.

But is definitely going to be, I would say, late Victorian, isn't it?

I think the eyes are a really nice detail on it, definitely,

-and I do like the little silver...

-It's the way he, sort of...

-How does it feel? This feels very nice.

-Nice and straight?

What about the height of it? That's quite important

cos sometimes they can be chopped off a bit at the bottom.

How much is that? 125. Could you go to 80 for it?

No, it would be too low, 80. If I said 90...

How about we do little dance for you?

90, really would be the bottom.

90 would be the absolute bottom?

OK, all right. Would you mind holding it for us for a while?

Shall we hold on to that for a bit? Shall we, sort of, keep it by?

-I'm happy to do that, yeah.

-Or did you want to...?

I think it's quite a lot of cash to part with without...

I'll go with your gut instinct, then. We can always come back to it.

I think, shall we have a little look and reserve it for, sort of, £90?

Would you mind doing that for us? For about, sort of, an hour or so?

Yeah.

Huh, they didn't take the leap this time but that's a good reserve item.

Hey, Reds, are you taking this game seriously?

I can see this is going to be one heck of a buying trip! This is...

We know it's not English. Do you know why this is not English?

Because on the bottom of it it says "Foreign"!

That's always a good clue!

I think it's great fun, I think it's probably German...possibly French.

Its 20th century but the real problem I have with it,

-other than his jolly face, is this chip.

-Oh, yeah.

-My view would be steer away from something that is damaged.

-Yes.

-Unless it's 18th century or earlier.

-OK.

-20th century damaged, not good news.

-OK, all right.

-Rather jolly, though!

-So, not the scary face then!

Is quite scary, isn't it?

Yes, a bit too creepy for my tea.

Meanwhile, how are the Blues doing on the pretty and practical front?

If I had by way, I'd have this little bag for myself.

-Isn't that lovely?

-I just thought it was a lovely detail and...

This is all enamel around the top.

There's a tiny little bit missing. That's so pretty.

How old you think this is, then?

-Probably late 19th century, do you think?

-Yes.

-How much are we talking here?

-It's very precious.

-£85 is on it.

-That's a lot.

-It is very precious. What would be your best price on it?

I'll take £20 off, if that helps.

So, 60?

65.

-Your maths is not very good!

-Sorry, I heard 80, I didn't hear 85.

-Your maths is as bad as mine!

-I know how the game goes.

Do you know what I can see at auction?

-I can see it with an estimate of £40-£60, at auction.

-OK.

So, the bottom price was 60? 60?

-Yes.

-Would you do 57?

You look at the ticket.

-The ticket says 85.

-I know.

-Sorry, I'm meant to go down, aren't I?

-That is not enough!

-55 is what I meant.

-It's not enough to pay for the table here.

"I meant to go down!"

-Let's just get it for £60 and be done, OK?

-Let's do it.

-Let's get it for £60.

-Yes.

-We will take it for 60, please.

-I love you!

We got there in the end, well done. That's one up to the Blues.

We're now 15 minutes in

and the Reds seem to be hankering for a tea break.

I think we both really like this cup and saucer, Charlie,

-what do you think of it?

-Well, it's English.

It's got a Chinese influence to the pattern, there,

which, of course, happened in the 1920s, 1930s.

It's got a registration number on there,

so I think it's probably a little bit earlier than we thought.

-Is got a wonderful simulated bamboo handle...

-Yeah.

-..and it's got a very...

-It's ten pounds.

And it is no money.

-No.

-You know, no money at all.

Do you want put something into a sale that is a few pounds or not?

And it's not for me to judge that.

-But you both, I mean, you both love it.

-I really like it.

-I really like it.

-You both love it, don't you?

-Yeah, I think it's great.

A food for thought here.

It looks like a flower and it's got flowers on it!

I'm not going to steer you away from it

because I think it's a great thing, of its type, it is cheap

but one might carry on looking around the stall

because I spotted something over here...

which is...

..English, Doulton.

The Doulton factory started in the 19th century by making drainpipes!

-Hence the stoneware.

-Which you can tell from that!

-Yeah, yeah.

But this is Harvest Ware, earthenware, the Doulton mark.

Two things caught my eye, here. One, is that there is a pair...

-..a pair of anything is good.

-Yeah.

-Two...

-Silver.

Exactly, they're not silver plated, these are hallmarked silver.

-The gentleman may have dated them.

-1904.

-190...?

-1904.

-1904!

Jolly nearly Victorian.

-And we have a pair but I don't think you like them, do you?

-Not really.

-No, fine. I would buy those.

-I think they're jolly disgusting.

-They're disgusting.

-Ha-ha-ha!

-Sorry about that, sir, I did my very best!

We have great taste!

In the immortal words of my team, "They are disgusting."

Thank you very much, team.

-So, it's that cup and saucer you're liking, isn't it?

-Yeah.

I would go with you on that cup and saucer if the gentleman said,

"Oh, for goodness sake, look, it came in a house clearance,

"you can have it for two or three quid," but he might not,

it may have cost him six or seven quid, it may have cost him nothing.

-I mean, who knows? So, what...?

-It can be yours for a five pound note.

-A five pound note!

-Well...

-Four pounds.

THEY LAUGH

£4.50.

No, four pounds.

-I'm not responsible for these two!

-Four quid, go on.

-Do you want it?

Well done!

-Yeah, I do, yeah!

-That's a bargain!

-Of course we do, yeah.

Sir, I'd prefer your £100 Doulton silver but at four pounds...

Thank you, that's very kind.

..to coin a phrase, there's not a lot of downside.

Charlie, you can lead a horse to water

but you can't make him drink it.

On the plus side, the Reds have made their first purchase.

Now, Blues, you'd better shake a leg...

A bit like this.

..or not.

Oh!

You go.

-No!

-No. Ha-ha-ha.

-Not going to happen.

There you go. Ha-ha!

-I've really... I've seriously hurt my neck!

-Oh, no!

I've really hurt my shoulder!

Yes, Catherine, be careful, we don't want you to damage yourself.

That's definitely not very hip! But now the Reds have gone into a hop.

Pa-rum an and kick, kick, kick. Pa-rum and kick, kick, kick.

Oh, I'm feeling an antique coming on here!

Come on, let's go and do some shopping.

Yeah, get on with it you Reds!

But now you've thoroughly warmed up your body, Charles,

it's time to test your mind.

Well, guys, this is when you come to the moment

to challenge your expert to give us the answer about something

that is really rare and very, very strange.

Oh, my goodness, gracious me!

So, just to explain,

what we've got here is a jockey's cap

that happens to have an open sided tube underneath it

and when you invert it, like that, that's tube is empty...

Yeah.

..and when you turn it the right way up, give it a little shake,

all these balls come out in a little, kind of, shape.

Turn it in there, give it a little shake up,

-turn it round that way and they all come out in a different order.

-Oh!

So, why have we got, Charlie Ross, this is your challenge?

-I think...

-Here we go!

-Now, this is, guesswork!

-Have you seen this ever before?

No, I can promise you, I've never seen this.

He's never seen it, this is absolutely genuine.

I'm liking the fact that there is...

-I'm going to go with the fact that that's a jockey's cap.

-Yes.

In which case, I am going to say that each of your silks,

-your colours that you wear, are denoted by these...

-Yes.

..and, therefore, you do that

and one of your balls is on the stand side,

and one is on the other side, and when they shake it down

that is where you will be in the order at the beginning of the race.

Tell me that's complete nonsense!

THEY LAUGH

Well, if I'm being perfectly honest with you, Charlie,

I haven't got the faintest idea what it is!

Well, that's one plausible explanation, I suppose,

but is it the right one?

While I try and sniff out some more clues,

the Blues need to get focused.

This is apparently a calculator but I don't know how that works.

-Yes, they're not very saleable though.

-No.

I quite like this tankard, actually, but I don't know...

That's all pewter.

This is interesting, for a World War I compass.

We'll put that one down.

Come on, Catherine, help Alexander out,

we're almost at the halfway mark, with two items left to find.

At least the Reds are receiving me loud and clear!

And here is Alvar Lidell reading the news!

The bombers over the Channel... Oh, my!

HE WHISTLES

That's wonderful, can you hear that?

-SIREN BEING IMITATED

-Can you hear that?

HE IMITATES A REVVING ENGINE

Sir, tell me about the "Bijou" Crystal Receiver -

what a great name! "Bijou"!

British Thomson-Houston.

British Thomson-Houston? So, it's got an American element.

It's the original Metropolitan-Vickers company.

Metropolitan-Vickers company? Not the one that made aircraft engines?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Really?!

-So, what would it be used for?

Well, listening to the BBC. Listening to the BBC Home Service!

-What do I see on the front there?

-Yeah, what's that?

It's actually got "BBC"!

-Oh!

-It has!

Look, "BBC - type approved by the Postmaster General",

-in a walnut case...

-Wow!

-It is a very nice piece, actually.

-What a fantastic thing.

-Is it £2,000?

No, it's 120.

What, volts?

THEY LAUGH

Volts when you touch it?

-I love it.

-You love it? I love it.

-I think it's great.

-I think it's a SERIOUS gamble though.

Yeah, so we need to think about price.

Well, the gentleman knows his business, that's the...

-Which is an advantage or a disadvantage.

-For us, yes!

I would love to buy it for 75 quid

but you won't sell it for 75 quid, would you? Oh, he flickered!

THEY LAUGH

Is that being too rude?

I'm thinking, if it's estimated at auction,

it will be estimated 80 to 120.

-I think 75.

-Sorry?

-75.

-You could do 75?

75, yeah.

-I think we'll go for it.

-I think that's it.

-Well, we've been talking each other into it.

-We have!

Thank you very much indeed. Thank you, sir.

That'll be the nicest thing we've bought.

Only time will tell but well done, that's two down for the Reds.

Now, what will Catherine make of my mystery thingamajig?

Now, Catherine, your turn in this guessing game. What do you think?

Oh, so, what is it? One, two, three, four, five, six beads.

-Six balls!

-Six balls and then it's in a, in a racing, sort of, hat,

-and then you...

-Shuffle it.

Shake them. Some sort of gambling thing? I don't know.

-Do you think it's gambling?

-I love it!

-I don't know. What's the answer?

-I don't know.

-Oh!

-But you're into gambling.

-Am I?!

-Aren't you?

-Why not?

-I tell you what, I love a flutter on the horses.

-I bet you do!

Well, time's a-ticking, you'd better canter off, Catherine,

whilst I do some more digging.

It's the final ten minutes and, in the face of a challenge,

you Blues need to decide whether or not to take a shot or not.

We've got a lovely lined case

and this is Finnegan's Ltd of New Bond Street.

So we've got the cocktail shaker, that's chrome.

-And it's got inscribed on it, "The Dickies".

-19... That's 1934.

So...right bang smack in the Art Deco period.

What's your cocktail?

-Something like Southern Comfort and anything?

-Anything, oh, right!

-Ice, on the rocks!

-Just ice!

-And then these glasses which...

-Oh, no!

-Small chip.

Small chip, yeah.

Do you think she'd knock another fiver off for that?

I think you need a lot more off for that.

And they are beautifully hand-painted. I mean, they are...

Did you know it's chipped?

Must have just happened.

-Were they perfect?

-They were.

Can you do anything about the price on that because...

-95, I said.

-Yeah, but with the chip?

Yeah, because it was at 150.

-I don't know, guys, it's your call.

-My instinct is yes at 95.

-Yeah?

-Yours?

-Yeah, I support you.

-I think yes at 95.

I think the fact that it's got the chip, though,

it's going to be, you know, hard to sell. That's the only thing.

I just need a yes from Catherine, really, to go ahead with it...

Oh, don't ask me!

-..or not...

-Go on, just go with it!

So, there we are, done. See? Happy.

The dithering is over and the deal's done but get a move on, Blues,

you've only got five more minutes to find your final item.

Let's hope the Reds have found their swing, though.

Talking of the Charleston, now that is pure Charleston.

Yeah, lovely.

I suspect that they're...

They're very nice.

There's no reason why they should be cheap because they're lovely.

How much are they, sir?

The trade on them is 90. There's 110 on them.

I bought them at a reasonable price so they can be sold

at a reasonable price.

-I would imagine they're approximately 1920-something.

-Yeah.

If you look at that one, can you see it's a slightly different colour?

Yeah.

These bowls would've been gilded. Are we liking these?

Very much so.

Can we buy these in four minutes?

-I think they're beautiful. They're so elegant.

-They are.

We've found something we all like!

I think they'll probably be estimated at the sale room

at 80 to 120.

Could we ask for 80?

We could always ask.

The gentleman can say yes, he can tell you to get lost.

I can come down another fiver for you.

You can have them for 85 if that helps.

Well, guys, I think at £85...

-We could make some money.

-We like them.

I think we could make some money.

And I think frankly we haven't got time to go anywhere else!

Sold!

I hope he's not listening to this!

Sir, we'll have your spoons. Thank you so much, sir.

£85 and if they sell for 30 quid, we'll come back!

We've been to the Charleston era. Let's go back to the Charleston era.

That's you done. Now, best hotfoot it out of there, Charlie.

I'm a bit behind you but I've got it.

OK, Blues. Decision time.

Come on! Come on!

-Hello!

-Back again?

We're back.

Can we, please, have another look at that walking stick, please?

-There it is, reserved for us.

-Thank you.

Ribbit.

It's Toad of Toad Hall.

Remind us, what was the best price again?

LAUGHS

We started at 125, then it was 100. We came down to 90.

Right.

We are quite desperate.

We're very poor and we're very desperate.

Can you give us a bit more of a chance?

How much more of a chance?!

Anything you can offer us would be very gratefully received.

I couldn't do 80. What about 85? I'm really not making a lot anyway.

I think 80 would be really good, if we could.

Could we do 80?

What about 82? That really is...

I don't think we can squeeze this poor man any more.

-We've given him enough.

-Are we happy with that?

We haven't got a choice actually! Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you so much!

LAUGHTER

That's enough of this huffing and puffing about. Time's up.

Let's check out what the Red team bought. All right, girls?

It wasn't Charlie's cup of tea but Tim and Natalie

could not be swayed away from this china teacup and saucer,

bought for a measly £4.

Then they tuned into this crystal radio receiver,

which set them back £75.

Last but not least, they scooped up a set of six enamel coffee spoons,

paying £85 for the privilege.

-And what we might have bought?

-All sorts of stuff.

Timbo, what did you get up to there, you and Nat?

We had a great time.

You were acting it up there?

We did act a bit.

Just a bit! Anyway, good fun.

Crystal receiver.

-That's it.

-Brilliant.

What did you spend in total?

We spent £164.

£164. I would like £136 of leftover lolly, please.

You got that?

135, and the one, sir. Good.

Which goes straight over to Ross.

What are you going to do with that heap?

I know exactly what I'm going to buy but I'm not allowed to tell you

because I don't want to let them know. Little secret.

You are so coy! Like the carp! Anyway, good luck.

Meanwhile, why don't we check out what the Blue team bought, eh?

Victoria thought there could be a pretty penny in this Chinese

silk purse and bagged it for £60.

The boxed cocktail set added something to the mix

but will it cause a stir at the auction?

And finally, Alexander strolled out with this George V walking cane,

£82 paid. Stroll on.

So how did our glamour team get on? All right?

-Very well, thank you, Tim.

-"Very well, thank you, Tim!" Silly beast.

Now, how much did you spend all round?

-237.

-£237.

I would like £63 of leftover lolly, please.

Thank you. £63.

Got anything in mind?

I don't think I'm going to go quirky.

I'm going to go plain old fabulous.

Oh. Well, there we are.

That's intriguing. Good luck with that.

Meanwhile we're heading off to Petworth House in West Sussex,

which is just so fabulous.

When the main part of Petworth House was rebuilt between 1684 and 1702,

the gardens out front were extremely formal.

However the second Lord Egremont in the middle of the 18th century

changed all that.

He moved vast amounts of earth,

creating these mounds and the lake beyond.

In fact, it could be said that he sculpted the landscape.

And if you think that's some piece of sculpture,

come and have a look at this lot.

Here in the North Gallery is the most perfect place to observe

the family's collection of sculpture because this is a very rare

survival of a 19th century top-lit purpose-built sculpture gallery.

In the 18th century, the second Earl, out of the south corridor,

created that bit, the first part of the sculpture display space.

He had the eight niches constructed, into which he could insert

his collection of standing figures.

The third earl, however, had the central part built

to display his ever-growing collection.

If you wanted to collect sculpture,

you basically had two choices in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Either you scoured Europe for ancient pieces

or you commissioned a modern-day sculptor

to sculpt you something that might have a neoclassical feel.

But some of these sculptures that we see in the gallery

that look so perfect and complete

are in fact only made up out of bits and pieces.

Now this statue is genuine and old.

In fact, some 2,000 years old.

And if you were a wealthy English m'lordy visiting Rome in the 1750s,

you'd almost certainly go to a man called

Bartolomeo Cavaceppi, he was a sculptor in his own right,

and he also restored ancient pieces, which is what he did here.

Because what Cavaceppi did was to re-carve a brand-new head,

a brand-new right arm and bowl,

a brand-new beak on the eagle,

and that's just for starters.

And then to disguise the fact that all this new work had been done,

he bleached with chlorine the whole thing so that the colour

became uniform, and then he waited for somebody to pitch up and buy it.

Which is what the second earl did.

Next door, we've got the polar opposite -

a piece of sculpture that's relatively modern.

In fact, 1821 is the date of this piece by a sculptor called

Charles Rossi, acquired by the third earl for his collection.

This is a sculpture that's full of incredible drama and movement.

Look at the way the young man is shielding his lover.

She is about to be struck by a bolt of lightning.

And according to the poem, just before she is struck

by lightning, they're trying to enter the door of a cottage.

It's appropriately placed here in the gallery in front of this

dummy door because it is as if they're trying to get through

that door before she met her untimely end.

The big question today of course

for our teams over at the auction is,

just who is about to be struck by a thunderbolt? Ah!

Well, we have toured all the way to West Sussex from Epsom,

and a very nice journey it was too.

Even nicer though to be with Rupert Toovey at Toovey's Auctioneers

here at Washington.

Tim, it's lovely to see you. I'm glad you cantered down!

I know. Down the long last furlong.

It's great to be here.

For the Red team, Tim and Natalie, their first item is this cup,

of the Derby type but not Derby, is it?

It really probably is the most modest cup you've ever brought me.

Yes.

-My cup is not all full.

-This one isn't!

We rather generously put £10 to £20 on it

-but I think we'll be amazed if it made that.

-Really?

Our lot paid £4.

It's almost still too dear really, isn't it?

However, the next item is a bit better. The crystal set.

They usually make about £40 to £60.

£75 paid, so they paid a tad over the odds.

It's dear but nice.

And lastly the very nice silver and enamel bean-ended coffee spoons.

We really need a coffee spoon revival, don't we, Tim?

We do.

How many of these sets have you seen in your long

and illustrious career, Rupert?

More than is possible to count!

I love them as a set but whatever are they going to bring?

-50 to 80, Tim.

-OK, £85 paid.

So they paid just a tad too much for the spoons probably,

and a tad too much for the crystal receiver, in which case

they'll need their bonus buy, so let's go and have a look at it.

Well, you two naughty ones. This is exciting, isn't it?

£164, you spent.

You gave Charlie Ross £136. Charlie old fruit, what did you buy?

I had absolutely no problem in buying this lot.

I bought this lot within 30 seconds of leaving you,

because I knew what I was going to buy.

-Ah!

-Ah!

-These are old friends?

-They're lovely(!)

They're lovely now, are they?

When you saw them, you said they were absolutely ghastly!

-And that's why I bought them!

-Thanks for that.

Can you remember how much was on them?

It was over 100, wasn't it?

-120?

-Something like that.

Did you knock 'em down?

I did, ruthlessly!

-£85.

-85?

And I'm happy with that.

That is pretty good.

They are in good nick, that's all I can say in a positive vein.

Despite being hideously disgusting.

Yeah.

So let's hope they make some money.

You think about that. You don't have to take them.

Your choice comes after the sale of the first three items,

but for the audience at home, let's find out what the auctioneer

thinks of Charlie's jugs - I mean, mugs.

Good. Look at that, Rup.

Aren't they lovely? Have they got silver collars?

They have.

I think they'll be somewhere between 60 and 100 quid.

He'll be delighted. He paid £85.

Not bad. Cheers.

We'd better not do that in case we crack one. What fun!

That's it for the Reds. Now for the Blues.

What about that Chinese purse?

It's a bit done-in.

What sort of amount in pounds rather than yuan?

I think we've been a bit mean at 20 to 30. I can see it making 40 to 50.

OK. It needs to make 60.

That is too dear.

Next is the Art Deco cocktail set, which is a handsome box, isn't it.

Great fun really, but rather small glasses for a party

and one's rather chipped in the rim.

OK. So a bit of damage. How much?

-50 to 80 on a good day.

-£95 paid.

So we're more or less in party mode again.

And their last item, just in case

you have too many drinks, is a stick.

It's lovely, isn't it?

It's got this wonderful carved toad on the end. Isn't that lovely?

-It's practical, sturdy and perfectly genuine, I feel.

-Yeah.

Collectors' value too here, Tim, I think.

So we've put 50 to 70 on it.

Very good. £82 paid.

That's pretty cool, except they're a bit short on all three

of their items so they're likely to need their bonus buy.

Let's go and have a look at it.

Victoria. Alexander.

You spent 237, you gave £63 to Catherine.

What did you spend it on, Catherine?

There we are!

Oh, my word! I like dogs, you're all right.

Oh, good! That's a good start. Do you know what it is?

-Bracelet?

-Is it a napkin ring?

-It is a napkin ring.

-Oh, yeah!

Or a bracelet.

It could be a bracelet if you had an exceptionally thin wrist.

1920s, so this is all chrome, and then you've got these applied

little plastic figures of Scottie dogs.

This cost £63 then, did it?

No, don't be silly!

Don't be silly! 25.

£25. I think we should double our money on it.

You don't have to choose now, but for the audience at home, let's find

out what the auctioneer thinks about Catherine's napkin ring, bracelet.

Thank you, Rupert. Just what you've been waiting for all day.

Well, it's... I don't know quite what to say.

Rubbish, I'd say.

They're nice Scottie dogs but that is about as far as it goes, really.

My team put £10 to £20 on this.

I think it will be a miracle if it makes that!

Well, it is Catherine's bonus buy. She paid £25.

You've estimated £10 to £20.

With any luck, our teams won't select their bonus buy

and they'll be safe! We'll see.

Are you taking the sale today, Rupert?

-Yes, I am.

-We are in safe hands.

So, Natty, Timbo - great name.

The first lot up is the singular

china teacup and saucer

and here it comes.

We have a multitude of conflicting bids here, all the way up to £10.

Marvellous!

£10 it is at the moment.

Can I see the 12? At £10. 12, can I see?

-That's good, isn't it?

-Very good.

£10? £10.

-Yes!

-Well done, team.

-Plus six.

Put it there. Marvellous.

Crystal receiver.

I'm opening at £55.

Getting there.

At £55. And 60. And five.

And 70. £65 here. At £65.

At £65.

Is there any more? At £65.

Minus ten, which means overall you are minus four.

Could be a win, could be a win.

Could be a winning score.

But let's make a profit on these. Come on.

Aren't they gorgeous!

And we're opening with conflicting bids at £60. At £60.

Can I see 65? 65 I have.

And 70, can I see?

At £65. Are we all done?

£65.

£65 is minus £20, so you were minus 24.

So what about these mugs then? How do you see it with the mugs?

-I think we've got to go for it.

-Yeah.

You don't like 'em but they are lovely.

He's the expert.

We like Charlie!

But you hate the mugs!

Let's be bullish about it because they are lovely things

and with any luck, we'll be away. Here it comes.

You're going with the bonus buy.

1480 is a pair of Royal Doulton stoneware mugs

and we're opening at £90.

Yes!

-£90.

-That's good. Well done.

At £90. Shall we cheer them up some more?

Is there 95 anywhere? At £90 and 95.

100. 110. 120. 130.

-Look at the maths.

-£120 I have.

£120. Is there any advance on £120?

Yes! That's marvellous.

£120. You've earned your beans today, boy.

Right.

You have made a profit on those pots of £35, you were 24 behind.

-You are now plus £11.

-Yes!

Now. That is something, isn't it?

That is really good actually.

He told you they were good and he was right.

Wiped out the losses, you're in profit.

Just don't say a word to the Blues.

In fact look a bit gloomy. Do that acting business that you do.

All right. Smashing. Isn't that good? Well done, Charlie.

Now, Victoria, Alexander. Is your cup half full or half empty?

-It's always half full.

-What about you, Alex?

I don't have a cup at the moment, I just have lots of hope.

Good. First up is the silk purse and here it comes.

And we have £40 as conflicting bids to open here. Can I see the 42?

£40 and 42. 44, 46.

48. 50. £50 now.

Come on. A bit more.

55. At £50. Is there any advance? £50?

£50.

£50 it is. I'm so sorry, Victoria. You are minus ten.

Now the cocktail set.

What shall we say, £100?

40? 30?

20?

Oh, God.

20 I'm bid. 22 can I see?

At £20. 22 can I see?

At £20, is there any advance?

-At £20. £20.

-Oh, no.

£20. That's minus 75, that's minus 85 all round. Oh, dear.

Now, here comes the walking stick.

We have to open this lot at £100.

Yeah!

£100 here. 110, can I see? £100.

Can I see the 110? Is there any more than £100?

£100? 100.

Well, that's very good, you've made a profit of £18.

Straight up, £18. You're minus 67.

What are we going to do about the napkin ring?

Are we going to go with the bonus buy or park it at minus £67?

-We may as well go for it.

-Do you want to go for the risk?

We risked on your glass set!

No, we didn't. We thought that would be the best one!

This is always the best argument in a family. That's what we like,

it's a family argument. No, it's not an argument.

What are you going to do? Yes or no?

-Yes?

-Yes?

-Yeah, all right then.

What do you mean, "Yeah, all right"?

Yes wholeheartedly or not? With guts and energy?

I don't know. I don't want to!

We haven't had a split decision like this in years.

Can we do a tie-break?

-The thing is, will you go with it or not? Yes or no?

-I said yes.

-You say yes.

-I say no.

We're not going with the bonus buy, and here it comes.

-The collar's inscribed "Bill and Bull".

-Thank you!

I must say they remind me of my little dog actually.

We're opening this lot at £50.

No!

At £50!

-No! No!

-55?

At £50. 55 to see.

At £50, is there any more?

-At £50.

-I said yes! I said yes!

-You did.

-You said yes!

At £50 then, and it's fair warning.

£50.

£50!

-What can I say?

-We said yes, didn't we, Catherine?

We did.

-You picked it, I said yes. What more could we do?

-What can we do?

I know.

That is £25 but it doesn't help you and you're minus 67,

and I feel really small about this.

The fact that I personally loathed it is another matter,

it just shows what I know about Art Deco napkin rings.

OK. Trusty experts. Did we have a struggle with this?

-We did.

-We did a bit.

We didn't get to the precise proper description, did we?

-No.

-No.

But I came across a bright spark in an auction in Canterbury,

and I showed it to her and she said,

"You don't know very much about board games, do you?"

She said, "This came from an early Escalado game."

Oh!

And in the game of Escalado, you will remember,

-you have the racetrack which shakes and the horses progress.

-Yes.

And there are six horses.

-There are six coloured balls in this.

-Ah!

And the order in which the horses would go up the table would be

determined by the colour of the ball that falls in this gadget.

Escalado, invented in 1927,

and this probably dates from an early set.

-That's very smart.

-Wonderful!

At £20.

Well, teams. What joy and what sorrow!

Been chatting about the scores?

ALL: No.

Good. Well, we don't want you to.

Actually, sadly, we can't have two teams of winners, we always

have to have a runner-up, and the runners-up today are the Blues.

I don't believe it.

Who were ably assisted by me in their choice of bonus buy,

which I got completely wrong, so that's why I don't

do this normally in the programme, because I didn't have faith

in Catherine, who made £25 profit on her bonus buy, which is splendid.

Overall, your score at the end of the day is minus £67,

which doesn't sound too bad if you say it very quickly.

If I hadn't got involved, who knows, it might have been only minus £42,

but actually it would not have made any difference

-in the scale of the result.

-Oh, OK.

-Merely the numerical outcome.

So I can feel some justification now.

But the victors today are going home with money, folding money.

Just £11.

There you go, Tim. Great name.

£6 on your teacup, which everybody was very rude about.

Massive profit.

And £35 from the maestro with his bonus buy, so that bailed you out.

It did. He did it.

Well done, Charlie.

Anyway, we've had such fun.

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

-ALL: Yes!

I know you're sitting there thinking,

"I could have done better than that!"

Well, what's stopping you?

If you think you can spot a bargain, go to our BBC website and apply.

It'll be splendid to see you.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd