Portobello/Kingston 13 Bargain Hunt

Today we're in London's Notting Hill.

Not only made famous by the movie of the same name,

but it also feels a lot like being in one.

And today, we'll be screening our own production -

boasting thrills and spills, comedy...and drama.

Let's go Bargain Hunting.

The Portobello Road has featured in the supporting casts

of many great British films over the years,

but its starring role has to be this fabulous street market.

Just remember that our teams have got

£300 and just one hour in which to buy three priceless objects.

Let's have a look at the forthcoming attractions.

Including improbable plot twists...

You can't go back on a handshake, can you?

-I feel bad for this.

-I don't think I can.

I feel bad.

..far-fetched titles...

That's what I'm going to call you, The Decision Maker.

-You're the decision maker?

-Yeah.

-The Decision Maker it is.

-Well, I'm the captain.

-You're not the captain.

..and of course a Hollywood ending.

-40, 45...

-Internet!

They can't quite believe that. I feel like I'm going to collapse.

-LAUGHTER

-£45.

Yeah!

But before all that, let's meet the teams.

Now, for our Red team today, we have Dan and Holly.

And for the Blues, we have Rufus and Rory. Hello, everyone.

-ALL:

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Very well.

-Good.

-Now, Dan, tell me how you met.

-Something to do with music, I think. Is that right?

-Yeah.

So a couple of years ago, we met at a music festival,

and Holly actually pitched next to me by coincidence,

-and then we started chatting...

-By coincidence?

-By coincidence.

-Yeah.

-I think she followed me.

-I was following him.

-And we've been together ever since.

-Have you? How long is that?

-Two years, is it?

-A bit more. Two and a half.

-I got it wrong.

Do you ever sing from the same hymn sheet?

-Yeah.

-Two and a half, I think it is.

And you are a fitness trainer?

-Yeah, personal training.

-A personal trainer?

-Yeah.

-So I go to people's houses.

-I could use you, frankly.

-Yeah?

At the end of the shopping, we'll have a meet up.

-Do a workout together.

-See if you can give me a little tip or two.

-We will.

-Now, Holly, you work for a charity? Starlight?

-I do, yes. I'm a wish granter.

-A wish granter?

So, I grant wishes for seriously and terminally ill children...

-Marvellous.

-..which is a really lovely job.

-Yeah.

-A very rewarding job, I should think.

-Very rewarding, yeah.

Now, as well as the two of you, there is a third mystery person

-in your relationship. Is that right?

-There is. Howard is the third man

in our relationship.

-He's a man?

-He's a man. He's a budgie.

-We should mention that bit.

-Howard the budgie.

-Howard the budgie.

-How did he come into your lives?

When we moved in together, we decided we wanted a pet,

and a budgie seemed like a sensible option.

So if Howard becomes ill, we of course have our two vets -

Rufus and Rory - who will no doubt be able to treat the budgie.

-Is that right?

-Absolutely, yeah. Daily. We see budgies all the time.

I'm sure you do. You major in budgies, don't you?

Well, it's my speciality.

Rory, what's the most interesting animal you've ever treated?

We get spiders, we get to iguanas, snakes, all sorts.

-Iguanas?

-Iguanas.

What was wrong with your iguana?

Well, we had one with a broken leg, which was a bit of a nightmare.

But we can treat them. It's good. It's lovely.

-It's really nice to see a range of animals.

-Wonderful.

-And you're about to qualify?

-Yeah, I qualify in four months,

which I'm really looking forward to. I'm pretty nervous.

-I've got some big exams coming up, but should be good.

-Oh, Rufus.

That sounds worrying. Are you getting a bit of tip

-from the main man?

-No. I actually still give him tips.

Definitely, definitely giving him tips still, but, yeah.

-Now, you two row together, don't you?

-We do.

Basically, we both joined rowing. He was a year ahead of me at uni

and he instantly spotted that I was probably a lot more talented

than him and definitely a lot better rower.

And slightly more conceited.

-Oh, I wouldn't say that.

-Always.

-Maybe a little bit.

Now, is it true that you try and pass yourself off as twins?

-Occasionally.

-How did that start?

So, we started doing it on nights out. It was just a bit of fun.

It kind of got a bit out of hand at our graduation party this summer

when my own aunt went up behind Rufus and hugged him from behind,

thinking he was me.

It was like, "Rory!" And I was like, "No!"

Yeah, quickly corrected her.

But I honestly still don't really see it,

but apparently other people do.

And neither do I.

Well, I think we're going to have a great show.

It's going to be very exciting, but you will need a bit of money.

-£300, I think.

-Then I've got 300.

-Excellent.

-Same for us as well, please.

-I certainly have got 300 for you.

-Thank you.

-Off you go. Have a great time.

-ALL:

-Thank you.

-What on earth are they going to buy?

Let's meet our experts.

Orbiting with the Reds is bargain-naut Thomas Plant.

Boxing clever with the Blues,

the gloves are off with Natasha Raskin.

What are we going to spend it on?

I'm thinking something that you put in a house. Something striking.

A lamp, a vase.

We're both sportsmen, and I think some sporting memorabilia's

starting to sell well. I think that would be really good.

-Silverware, that holds value well...

-Good idea.

..so we'll look for a bit of silver.

Something we wouldn't see on Bargain Hunt. Something a bit odd.

-OK.

-Right, teams, your 60 minutes starts...now.

-WHISTLE BLOWS

-Let's go.

-Let's go.

-Come on, guys.

-Come on.

-So, the pressure's on.

Or is it?

Quite chilled out. I think we've got it in the bag,

so maybe there's no need for stress.

-I think we should just go.

-Do you know who your opposition is?

You're up against Thomas Plant.

Quite. I don't wish to alarm you, Blues,

but Mr Plant already has his mitts on something.

These are South American.

-OK.

-And they're a gourd, and they're carved with fabulous decoration.

They're quite tourist bits,

but this one has got all these sort of scenes going on.

-How much is the gourd?

-DEALER:

-40.

-£40.

-You're not giving it any love, are you?

-I'm not sold on it.

-You're not sold on it, no.

-I want something that's a bit more showy.

-You want something wow.

-Yeah.

The GOURD, the bad and the ugly, say the Reds.

What news from the Blues?

-Anything standing out straightaway?

-That.

That blade right there is looking perfect.

Sorry, is that some cool jargon?

-Is that actually the term, the blade?

-BOTH:

-The blade, yeah.

It sounded a bit street there. Nice blade.

-Actually, tell us about it. 1923 is the date.

-Indeed.

-King's.

-King's College, Cambridge.

Rivals of yours?

-We've rode on the Cam a few times.

-We wish they were rivals.

-They're a little bit better than us.

-Yeah.

Let's have a look cos... How big is your blade? Oh, right, OK.

Do you think that's actually fared quite well? I would say so.

-I would say so, yeah.

-One small nick out the top.

Shall we ask him how much he's got on this? Excuse me, sir.

-DEALER:

-Hello.

-May we ask kindly how much we have on this blade?

You can certainly ask, yeah. It's 450.

£450!

-I wasn't expecting you to have such expensive taste.

-Well...

OK. Let's put it back.

Yes. Step away now.

Thomas meanwhile has already spotted something else.

-I like the labels for the booze.

-How much are they together?

-DEALER:

-They are £30.

-There's a set.

-Would they be appealing to anyone?

-They are quite cool actually, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-They are different, aren't they?

-There are six of them there.

-Do you like the spirit?

-We do.

-We do.

-We like a tipple now and again.

There you are. Let's just get out three. We can see what they are.

-So I've got bourbon.

-I've got cognac.

-And port.

-And port.

-Oh, I do like port.

-Really?

-Yeah.

My mum got me drinking port quite young, So...

Me too!

They're made in Sweden. Sporrongs is the maker.

I just think they're unique. I've not seen anything like it.

I've never seen this ever.

And like you said, it's something that's a bit different

to what you normally have in your home.

-Shall we have a think about it?

-Yeah, we'll think about that one.

-We're not in a hurry yet.

-Good start at shopping but you like them?

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

-£30. That's a fiver each.

-It's not bad at all. Have a think.

-We'll have a think.

They're going to be here. OK.

And they may well be back...around last orders.

Anything immediately jumping out to you?

I like the look of the door knocker to begin with.

I think that's a really good thing. Why did you like it so much?

I think it's got really piercing eyes.

And I think, obviously, the animal theme runs quite strong with us.

I actually think that would have quite good appeal

in an auction house because door knockers are quite collectable.

Now, what do you reckon about age? Let's have a look at the back.

The back's not really giving much away, to be honest.

But obviously, there's a bit of corrosion there,

so it must be quite old.

I think it's difficult to mock that up in such a fashion.

I think that looks like it's got a wee bit of age.

-Shall we ask how much it is?

-Yeah, why not?

-I'm dying to know.

-Hello, sir.

-DEALER:

-Hello.

Could you tell us how much you have on your interesting door knocker?

-£50.

-£50? OK.

-Well, it's less scary than what we've heard thus far.

-It is.

Maybe in the spirit of the game, we could ask

for a wee bit of negotiation.

Does anyone want to take the lead on that?

Yeah, I might hit you with a little bit lower than that.

I maybe think...maybe £20?

'I think you're going far too low for 20.

'I'd go down to 45 for you.'

£45. I mean, it's a good deal. It's a cool thing.

I genuinely think it will catch peoples' eye.

-It is different.

-It caught your eye, anyway.

-Yeah, definitely.

Very piercing. Very piercing.

-It's an animal-related item.

-Exactly. It fits.

-I think we can say thank you ever so much.

-BOYS:

-Thank you.

-And we've got one item off the mark.

-Awesome.

-Perfect.

Let's move on because time is ticking. So go. Grab it and go.

Our vets are off the mark

and the Reds are asking all the right questions.

-Is this a vase?

-It is a vase, Holly, yes. You're quite right.

I thought there might be another use for it or something.

No. No, it's a purely decorative item. It is fabulous.

-I wonder if that's in our price tag.

-How much is this?

£140.

-140? OK.

-That's in.

-That is in.

Right, so what did you like about it when you saw it?

It just caught my eye. It stood out.

-It's the sort of thing we're looking for.

-It does, doesn't it?

-You wanted a striking piece.

-And where do you think it's from?

-Italy.

-Yes, your guess.

I think it looks a bit more Oriental.

-Go with Holly on this one.

-Oriental?

I think it's Chinese 1920s, I would have thought.

And this is called cloisonne.

I think it's got a lot going for it. It's showy.

-That's what you were after, wasn't it?

-It's ticking all my boxes.

-Looked after it well.

-It's ticking all your boxes?

-And it comes with a stand as well.

-It does.

-I like the stand.

-You like the stand more than the vase!

-I'd buy that.

The wooden Oriental stand?

-What's your thoughts?

-My thinking was if I like it,

-someone else will like it.

-There we go.

Really good. It's a really good thought.

-Is there negotiation on price, do you reckon?

-Shall we see?

Go on, then. What's the best price you can do on this?

-DEALER:

-110.

-Could you go 100?

-110. I'm sorry.

-OK.

110. Yeah, you're going to do it?

-Well done you.

-Shall we shake?

-DEALER:

-Thank you very much.

-Big-spending start, you lot.

-Awesome. Come on, guys. Let's go.

-Let's go.

Meanwhile, Natasha's been on a solo rummage.

Before you run off with the knocker,

I just headed back because I just saw the coolest thing on that stall.

You might hate it, you might love it. I just want to show it to you.

-OK. Show us.

-It's such an interesting little watercolour.

Now, when you were learning veterinary medicine,

did they teach you to hypnotise the animals as anaesthetic?

Unfortunately not. That would be pretty cool.

That would have been cool cos that's exactly what's happening here.

It looks Continental. It's signed FZ or something.

Dated 1928. So that interwar period.

Here you've got the doctor with his big pointy moustache

and his excellent look, hypnotising this person.

Look at the colour of him.

-It doesn't look like he's enjoying it.

-So what's broken there?

-Tell me which bone is broken.

-Eugh, tibia.

-The tibia's broken.

-Gosh, they know their stuff.

And look at this wee naughty doggy, coming up and licking on the blood.

It's got such appeal, but does it appeal to you?

It's got character, yeah. It's really cool.

I like it. It's kind of creepy. I quite like it.

-Are you into the macabre?

-Yeah, I like it.

-Yeah, it's just odd.

It's not something you'd see anywhere.

-Now, the stallholder's price on it is 40 quid.

-OK.

I reckon I could get him down a wee bit,

but he told me that he really likes it.

So it might not have a lot of movement on it. What do you think?

If I could get that for 30 quid for you, would you...?

-We would definitely be keen for that, I'd say.

-I think so.

If you could maybe get it down a little bit, that would be great.

-I'll try my best.

-Unique.

-Perfect.

-OK.

So Natasha's off to work her magic,

but what is a good price for such an odd daub?

-What are you thinking price-wise?

-The guy's asking 40.

I'm not sure I'd want to pay that. That's quite a lot.

-I don't think I'd want to pay...20.

-Well, I think possibly

we could stretch to about 25, 30.

But I think even that's going to be pushing it a little bit.

And I will come back. OK, boys... Here we go.

Here we go.

-Were you keen at £40?

-We weren't.

-We weren't, no.

-You weren't keen at £40.

We said max 30, 35ish.

-Max 30, 35?

-Yeah.

I'll tell you what then, I've just shaken hands with the gentleman.

-Awkward.

-I don't know what to do.

-I thought you said you were OK at 40.

-It's fine. It's fine.

Well, you can go back and you can say you weren't happy at 40.

Would you do it for 35? But he won't do it for any lower.

-He won't do any lower?

-He won't do it any lower.

-I'm not convinced for 40.

-I'm not.

-Too late now.

OK. What do we do?

But you can't go back on a handshake, can you?

-I feel bad for this.

-I don't think I can.

-I feel bad.

It's 40 quid. It's too much.

-I mean, we still have 200 for our third buy. That's a lot.

-I know.

I think if you went for 40, you'd really be throwing us under the bus

-there but...

-Oh, come on!

-There is a dog in there.

-There is a dog there.

-Shall we take it?

-We'll do it for 40.

-Well...

Just for you, because we don't want to embarrass you.

On national tele!

I tell you what, not only was this on the line,

my whole blinking reputation! You had me going there.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We'll take it.

So with the Blue team's morale looking shaky,

what's the feeling in the Red camp?

-Dan, you've got to find something now.

-Don't put the pressure on me.

-The pressure's on.

-The pressure's on me now.

-We have the decision maker.

That's what I'm going to call you, The Decision Maker.

-You're the decision maker?

-Yeah!

-The Decision Maker, it is.

-I'm the captain.

-You're not the captain.

Crumbs! They're not exactly presenting a united front either.

Natasha, meanwhile, is unapologetic about that watercolour.

Yes, the picture at £40, perhaps I should have asked

the boys' permission before I shook on that,

but I still think that has legs

because what a weird, macabre subject.

I've never seen anything like it.

It looks like Thomas is pushing his luck, too.

Guys, do you want to come in? I've found something.

-What's this?

-Well, this is a shell case.

It's got an N II catapult. So, it's military.

Dated 1939.

I don't know what sort of catapult or box it would be for.

-Some research needs to be done into this...

-Yeah.

-..to find out what it is. You're not giving it any love, are you?

-No.

This is something I'd be looking to use for storage.

Yeah, in a funky flat. It's not unattractive.

-I suppose it's a bit of a talking point.

-It is a talking point.

Although it all depends on the price with that one, I suppose.

-How much is it, sir?

-DEALER:

-35.

-£35.

-35.

-OK.

It's not unreasonable.

I don't love it, but I've already spoken a lot, so...

-I'm not a huge fan of that item, myself.

-All right, no worries.

All right, OK.

They've steadfastly resisted Thomas' pitch.

Right, we've been shopping for about 20 minutes now.

-You've got one item. Let's go find some more.

-Let's go.

The Blues, meanwhile, are playing it cool.

-BOTH:

-# I'm all shook up Uh-huh-huh. #

-We shouldn't dance.

-No, we shouldn't.

I concur.

Thomas, meanwhile, is still presenting his case.

So you didn't like my shell case?

I don't know why you didn't like my shell case.

I don't know if many people would want to buy it.

-We need to rein you in.

-Rein me in.

-Stop me from buying things like that.

-Yeah.

Let it lie, Thomas.

Now, Natasha's about to broach one of her favourite subjects.

Did it occur to you that you could buy a bit of jewellery?

-I have no idea about anything with jewellery.

-I really like...

-Which one do you like?

-The toucan.

OK. So tell us more about the toucan.

Do they have any extra special needs, toucans?

Specific diseases to the toucan?

I've actually never encountered a toucan.

-You've never run into a toucan?

-No.

-No.

I'm not going to lie, I'm not really sold on the whole jewellery thing.

You're not sold on jewellery, full stop?

-I think we pass on and the jewellery.

-I think we pass. Sorry.

I know we keep going against what you're saying

-and you're not happy about it.

-I was lumped with two men today.

-Can you believe it?

-DEALER:

-Sorry about that!

-RUFUS:

-So insulting!

-I think I'll say thank you for now.

However much they leave me, I might be back. You never know.

-DEALER:

-Good luck!

-Thank you very much. Thank you.

Our experts are struggling a bit today.

With time running out, the Reds are having a rethink.

We can always run back up and get the little drink things.

We've got our backups, the drink labels.

Yeah. Anything else?

-You want us to take the catapult box, don't you?

-Yeah.

-Catapult box.

-I'm not keen on it.

25 minutes to go. 35 gone already.

It's a lovely walk, though. We're having a lovely walk.

-A very bracing walk here.

-I do know Portobello Road a lot better now.

-I quite want to buy the drinks labels.

-Right, done.

Let's do it. Go on, go on.

Sounds like our decision maker has spoken.

-This right. This way, come on.

-Great. Come on, Dan.

Show us your fitness skills.

-We've got to buy now.

-Hello.

-We're back again.

-DEALER:

-£40 now.

-DAN:

-£40 now.

We haven't been gone that long have we?

Remind me what we said before. Was it 30?

-25, was it?

-And that is the best you can do?

It is.

-OK.

-DAN:

-I'm happy with them.

-Are you happy with them?

-I think buy.

You've got a deal. We'll take them off your hands.

Would you like them giftwrapped?

No, I think we'll be all right.

That makes the score two-two with just ten minutes left.

I think they're very strong-minded, these two, Dan and Holly.

They know what they like.

They're listening to me a little bit,

but I think they've got their own agenda.

The Blues, meanwhile, have decided that photography

might be their thing.

Anything that you particularly like?

-I quite like the look of this one here.

-Yeah.

OK. We've got a name on it there. Sanderson.

The maker of the actual wooden element of the camera, not the lens.

It's got those nice bellows. They look to be in nice order.

It collapses into its original case.

-Looks beautiful.

-Am I selling it to you?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-I don't think it needs any selling.

-OK. So you're saying you'd buy it?

How much would you spend on it?

-As little as possible.

-Yeah.

How much is the price on it?

-DEALER:

-The original price is £160.

-£160.

-So it's quite steep, but I think we can go lower than that.

We're going to throw a big one here. Can we go as low as 100?

-DEALER:

-I can do £110.

The thing is that I made a bit of a rash decision

and I bought a wild medical watercolour without your permission.

-It happened.

-Yeah, bring it up.

You know, we're going to have to go through therapy

and I'm willing to pay for those sessions,

but are you willing to pay £110 for this camera?

-That's what it boils down to.

-I think so.

-I love it.

-I like it.

-It's beautiful. It is really lovely.

-I really like it.

You know what I'd do? I'd just shake hands.

You know, that's how I play the game usually.

Right, done. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I'm going to join in, too.

There's our final item.

Now, with just a few minutes left, Dan may be about to have his say.

-I like this one. I like this one a lot. What do you reckon?

-I like it.

-It's something different, isn't it?

-I really like it as well.

-I think it's a nice piece.

-I think Tom's going to hate it, though.

-Tom.

-Yes.

-What do you reckon about this? Do you like this?

What do you think I'd say about this?

You'd probably say it's...

-The catapult would be better than this, maybe.

-Ouch!

Now, come on. I think this is really decorative. How much is it?

-It's £38, this one.

-It's your cup of tea.

-This is mine, not yours.

-All right. I agree with you, though.

-Are you with me?

-I think it could sell.

I think it's a nice piece.

I think it's all right.

-It's not an improvement.

-It's not, no?

Is it going to be that old?

-Is this going to be a tourist piece?

-No. It doesn't look too old.

It doesn't look too old, does it? No.

You can see it doesn't look like an old piece of wood, this.

May I offer you 20?

As it's a windy day, I'll give in.

THEY CHEER

-Sold?

-Well, it's an ill wind and all that.

-Are you going to do it?

-Yeah.

-Shake the man's hand.

-Thank you, sir.

-Thank you.

-You've got a deal.

Right, teams. Your 60 minutes are up.

-It's better than the catapult box.

-Yeah.

I'm going.

Now that's just rubbing it in.

But while he calms down, let's have a look at what the Reds have bought.

Holly's box ticking cloisonne vase for £110.

The made in Sweden decanter labels for £30.

Dan's definitely-not-expert-approved tribal mask for £20.

Holly, Dan, you've had a good time, haven't you?

-We have.

-It's been really good.

Wonderful time with this man.

So, which is your favourite item?

I really like the vase because I chose it. It was kind of my item.

Dan, favourite?

Mine wasn't the vase. Mine was the African mask.

The African mask? Yeah.

Which Dan chose.

Very good. And you chose nothing, Thomas.

Holly, which do you think is going to make the biggest profit?

-I like the vase, but it was quite expensive...

-Was it?

-..so I'm going to say the African mask.

-Oh, my goodness.

Because it's the best product.

-How much did you spend?

-£160 in total.

That's what I thought. Which must leave him 140?

Yeah, 140. There you go.

Let me just handle it briefly before I hand it over to you.

Thomas, at last, you're going to be able to spend some money

on something you want.

Yeah. And I'll be able to talk to myself, and I will listen!

So, while Thomas Plant talks to himself,

let's check out what the Blue team have bought.

The pet panther door knocker for £45.

Natasha's rogue, weird watercolour for a controversial £40.

Vet's choice - their plate camera. Snapped up for £110.

Rory, Rufus, apparently, your expert did something

-without your permission? Is this true?

-She was a bit of a fugitive.

No, we had no idea. She came back and was like, "Guys, this is £40."

-And we weren't happy.

-Disastrous!

It's fine. She knows what she's doing. Well, we hope.

I mean, it's a really saleable, commercial item, I would say.

-Carry on digging.

-I hope so.

So, Rory, what's your favourite lot?

-I think it's that one, to be honest.

-You think that's your favourite?

As much as it was bought behind our back...

-I think it's pretty quirky.

-Rufus?

Apart from the complete subterfuge,

I would have to go with the painting.

Everybody likes the painting. That's great.

What's going to make the biggest profit?

-I think the door knocker.

-The door knocker.

-It's definitely a hidden gem.

-That's wonderful.

-And how much did you spend?

-We spent £195.

£195. So, I need 105.

-That's for you.

-£105.

Natasha Raskin, this is your lucky day.

-I thought you were going to say, "This is your life."

-No, no!

-What are you going to do?

-So, I think weird, novel, random...

-Perfect for us.

-..along those lines.

-We expect huge things.

-Wonderful.

So while Natasha goes off to look for something really weird,

I'm off to another wonderful location.

Nicknamed Mini Manhattan,

the South London town of Croydon has always been pretty forward-thinking.

And when it comes to aviation, this place once led the world.

-Good morning. Charlie Ross.

-Colin Ockendon.

Welcome to the world's first purpose-built air terminal.

Fantastic.

Passenger flights from Croydon aerodrome

began around the turn of the 1920s.

And with the completion of this fine building in 1928,

it became London's main airport and customs point.

Croydon to Paris Le Bourget was the world's busiest air route.

So, Colin, largely things are the same now as they were in 1928?

Yes. This area here was the booking hall.

Down each of the walls on each side were the check-in desks.

The average transit times would have been of the order of 20 minutes.

Good grief. We'd like to do that nowadays, wouldn't we?

-Wouldn't we just?

-But you didn't have all the checks.

-You didn't have customs and all that sort of stuff?

-Yes. Oh, yes.

All were carried out here in a very efficient manner.

Although the airport has now been closed to passenger flights

for almost 60 years, the museum -

tucked away beneath the old air control tower -

is a fascinating record of a vanished age.

And what have we got here?

Well, this is a Handley Page HP 42.

I mean, it looks to me, with those struts and things,

a little bit Heath Robinson to me.

Well, no. I mean, it was state-of-the-art at the time.

It was one of the very first aircraft that was built of metal.

-Yeah.

-Prior to that, aircraft were made of wood and fabric.

-Yes.

-And the fact that it had four engines as well was important

because that meant that even if two of the engines failed,

the aircraft could still continue to fly.

And Imperial Airways actually used that as a marketing ploy,

saying that this was the safest aircraft that had ever flown,

and nobody actually ever died while flying in one of these.

What a wonderful record.

Safer than you'd think.

But not exactly comfortable

because before the invention of pressurised cabins,

you were likely to have a bumpy ride.

So here we have an example of a very early aircraft seat,

made of just wicker and designed to be as light as possible

because weight was a crucial element in aircraft design.

It looks like a conservatory seat.

It doesn't look like an aeroplane seat.

Well, that's right.

Passenger comfort wasn't high on the list of design criteria,

but passengers in those days were actually weighed themselves.

-You wouldn't get away with that today, would you?

-Well, no.

You might not. But it was very important

because if you had a heavy passenger on one side,

you had to have an equally heavy passenger on the other side,

otherwise the aircraft was unbalanced.

Flying, of course, was only available to the very wealthy,

with a 1925 return to Paris clocking in at almost £600 in today's money.

Mind you, it was all quite opulent.

And there's a picture of an aircraft,

which has actually been converted effectively into a restaurant

with straps to hold the tablecloths in place and...

And the bottles. There's a sort of framework holding all the bottles.

That's it. To stop them falling over.

It was certainly a rich man's pastime.

Especially when travelling further afield.

And Croydon was at the centre of a rapidly expanding network.

So, here we have a globe on which we've placed pins,

and each of those pins represents a stopover.

So staying in a hotel on the way.

And you can see the distance to Australia.

You go all the way down there.

A simple trip to Baghdad would have been a seven-day operation,

-staying six nights in a hotel on the way.

-How incredibly exciting.

Oh, yes. It was almost a holiday getting there.

And I mean, this was really the whole history of Croydon Airport

because it was the hub of opening up these routes

and establishing all these stop-off points.

Paving the way for passengers were the record-breaking aviators

of the '20s and '30s

with our aerodrome usually featuring in the headlines.

So some of the most famous pilots of all time have used this airport?

Indeed, yes.

Charles Lindbergh, of course, was the first man to fly solo

-across the Atlantic.

-In the Spirit of St Louis?

Indeed. He actually landed originally in Paris

and then eventually flew on to Croydon here,

and the press had announced his arrival,

and as a result of that, the world and his wife turned up...

-10,000 people, they say.

-Indeed. That's right, yes.

And they all swarmed onto the airfield

-and made his landing a rather tricky business.

-Gosh.

Of course, the other very important person is Amy Johnson.

Her claim to fame is that she managed to fly solo

from Croydon Airport all the way to Australia,

and it took her 19 and a half days to do so.

An idol of her time.

Oh, yes. And she became a fashion icon as well.

But Croydon's greatest pioneers

might well have been the backroom boys of air traffic control.

Under the leadership of Fred Mockford,

they introduced life-saving innovations

like radio-position fixing...

-Where those lines cross...

-Yes.

-..is the location of the aircraft.

-I'm over Brighton.

-Yes, indeed.

..and even came up with the word which replaced SOS.

One thing that was tried here at Croydon

was the use of the word mayday as an international distress call.

Mayday! Mayday! Where did that come from?

Well, it comes from the French mayday - help me.

Oh, right. Aidez moi. Mayday. I've got it. I've got it.

Ah, you're there. Well done.

And that was instigated here?

And became internationally recognised and is still used today.

But having led the way for so many years,

after World War II, Croydon began to lose its status

as London's international airport.

Hemmed in by housing and light industry,

the runways were no longer suitable for the latest airliners.

And after the final passenger flight in 1959,

the tide advanced still further.

And now this small piece of tarmac in Roundshaw Park

is all that's left of Croydon's historic runways.

I wonder if things are going to take off at the auction?

A mere stone's throw from Croydon,

we've come to Catherine Southon's auction room.

-Catherine, hello.

-Thank you for coming.

Well, the Red team were under the guiding hand of Mr Thomas Plant...

-Oh, always good.

-..and they've come up with these items.

-What do you think?

-I do like the vase. I love this cloisonne vase.

-It's beautiful colours, nice bright colours.

-Yeah.

The good thing is, it's Chinese.

The bad thing is...it's late. It's modern.

Yeah, it is modern.

But it speaks to you, and I think it's rather attractive.

-What about an estimate?

-Well, the thing is,

-I don't think these ever make as much as they should do...

-No.

-..but I've put 80 to 120.

-CHARLIE INHALES SHARPLY

-Is that too much?

-Well, I think that's really generous.

I mean, they paid 110. They paid all the money.

-They did pay the money.

-But you're up there with the estimate.

My favourite item, actually, are the labels.

Well, funny you should say that because they're mine too.

-They are stunning.

-Aren't they wonderful?

They're gilt metal, they're Swedish,

but these lovely embossed gates on the front of them.

I believe the gates are from Club 21, Manhattan.

So how cool is that, Charlie?

Well, I mean if that's the case, they could really motor.

-Well, they could.

-What sort of estimate have you put on them?

I've put 30 to 40, which actually is a bit mean.

But I think that's a bit of a come and buy me

because I think they're pretty stylish.

Well, they'll be quite pleased with that. They paid 30.

-I think...

-They're going to do all right, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-I think they're really nice.

-And what about the mask?

I don't there there's a lot of age to that.

£30 to £50.

Very good. £20 paid.

Where was he buying this? He's very good.

Now of course, they might need their bonus buy.

Let's have a look at it.

-You had a good shop, didn't you?

-We had a very good shop.

-And you spent a reasonable amount of money.

-We did.

-Yeah. £160.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Leaving that man with 140.

You know I wanted you to buy this.

It is!

It is the Royal Navy catapult container.

-Lovely.

-It was your favourite, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-It was. You really liked this, didn't you?

-She loved it.

I hated it!

No home should be without one.

It doesn't look in the best condition.

I don't know. It just looks like something you'd find in your loft.

-Yeah.

-It's 1939.

It's a bit of militaria. It's naval. It's interesting.

-I had £140.

-Hm.

-It didn't cost £140.

-Good.

-Thank goodness for that.

Yeah, that's all right then.

-How much?

-£28.

-Ohh.

-OK.

-That's all right. It's not as bad as I thought.

-That's not too bad.

-You get a bit of credit then.

-We might listen to you on it.

-Happy with that?

-Yeah.

Well, that's your views on it.

Let's see what the auctioneer thinks about it.

Well, here it is. It's unusual, Catherine.

Well, you can say that again.

-Do you even know what it is?

-No.

It's dated 1939.

-Estimate?

-30 to 50?

-That was a guess, wasn't it?

-That was a punt.

Pure guess.

It was a very good guess because Thomas paid £28 for it.

Oh. Well... Yeah, I think he did well.

-The man did good.

-The man did good.

-So this team is looking promising, isn't it?

-It's looking good.

-Yeah.

Well, that's it for the Red team.

Now, Rufus and Rory, who were with Natasha,

have bought these splendid items. What do you think?

-A bit of a mixed bag.

-True.

-What about the knocker?

-What is lovely about this

is that it's an animal.

-It's not a lion. You often get the lions, but this is a panther.

-Yes.

-It is.

-And I like that.

-I think that's quite exciting.

-Very good. What's it worth?

£40 to £60.

-Yeah. £45 paid.

-Well, there you go.

What do you think of this rare work of art?

-It's very primitive. I think, shall we say, limited market.

-Yes.

But I suppose it's comical. People like a bit of comedy.

Maybe £20 to £30.

It's just not got the quality there.

They paid £40 for it.

Yeah, I'm not so sure on that. It doesn't do it for me.

Time will tell. Shall we move swiftly on?

-The camera. What do you think?

-We've had quite a bit of interest in this.

-Have you?

-Yes.

-It's visually splendid, isn't it?

It does look visually splendid. It's a good name - Sanderson -

and I think we might be surprised on that.

-What sort of value have you put on it?

-40 to 60.

-Hm.

Paid...

-110.

-Oh, did they?

-Right, OK.

-It seems to me quite at the steep end there.

Well, if it doesn't go to the top end of the estimate,

they might need their bonus buy.

Let's have a look at it.

-Well, I bet you thought I was going to buy a brooch.

-Absolutely.

-Yeah, definitely a brooch.

-Because we looked at brooches. But I didn't.

-Oh, thank God.

-I bought you something quirky and exciting.

Oh, beautiful!

-Your little friend pulling his rickshaw.

-Amazing.

It's a cruet set. Is this something you'd have in your flat?

I mean, if it looked like that, then great. Yeah, absolutely.

-Do you like it? It's quite cool.

-It's awesome.

-It's quite unusual.

Let me hand it over to you. It's not silver.

It's white metal, shall we say, silver-plated.

And it does have a little note on it saying Made In China.

But it's quite handy because we know, therefore, it's Chinese.

And it's quite modern and it's quite good fun.

-What do you think of it? It fits so nicely.

-I think it's great.

-I think it's beautiful.

-I think it's got real appeal.

Not antique antique, but not made yesterday.

-How much did you pay for it?

-How much do you think I paid for it?

30, 40?

-30, 40.

-25?

£25 is exactly what I paid.

It was marked up at 35,

and I reckon it's got to make at least that at auction.

It must do. It must do.

Well, all three of you like it. Will Catherine Southon like it?

Natasha was given £105 to spend...

and she bought that.

We've got a cruet set.

I mean, so many of these have been produced, but this is a Chinese copy

and it's just really poor quality.

If you turn it over,

you can see that somebody's been scratching it to death

to see if there's actually any silver in it whatsoever.

-And it isn't.

-But it's not silver.

But I mean, he's got... Just the face just really makes me laugh.

-It's just very comical.

-What about an estimate?

Well, I think I've actually been very generous and given £30 to £40.

Wonderful. Natasha paid a miserable £25 for it,

-so there's every chance for profit there.

-It might do, yes.

-This is going to be quite a battle.

-It will be.

Well, off we go to the saleroom.

So, that's £50. Thank you. 5.

-INAUDIBLE SPEECH

-Selling then.

All done at 600.

-Excited about it?

-Very excited.

-Yeah.

-Are we going to do well?

-Yeah.

-We're confident.

-Of course we're going to do all right.

-Profits?

-BOTH:

-Definitely.

-Big profits? Are they right, Thomas?

-Definitely right. Big profits.

-Big profits.

-Are you sure?

Very good. Well, we're going to kick off with that cloisonne vase.

-Yes, lovely.

-It's visually splendid.

It's like Thomas Plant this morning.

THOMAS LAUGHS Here it comes.

Who's going to give me £50 to start this?

Come on.

£50? Come on. 50... Thank you. ..is bid.

£50. Any more at £50?

£50.

No! Come on.

-This is very cheap.

-Bid, bid.

'No more at £50. Surely.'

A very pretty vase.

£50 then. All done. 50.

THEY GROAN Oh, dear.

-I'm sorry. That was mine.

-Don't apologise.

Don't worry, you're only down 60. Things could be worse.

Now, you've got the Sporrongs decanter labels.

And I would like £30 please, to start this. £30.

£30?

20, then.

20 is bid. Thank you. £20.

25. 30.

Bidding war.

Are you bidding, sir? 35.

We're into a profit!

Are you bidding? 45.

No more? Thank you. 45.

Gentleman's bid at £45.

That's not bad, 45.

I will sell at 45 then.

All done? 45...

-Well done.

-That's better, yeah.

So that's...

+15.

So you're only down 45 now.

-The mask...

-This is going to make it back.

-The tribal mask.

-Your favourite item, team, isn't it?

-My favourite.

-I promise you that.

-Was it?

-I love it so much.

Interest here at 25.

£30. With me at £30.

£30. I've now got internet 40, 45.

-Internet!

-I'll take that.

-'55 with me.'

60 now. £60 on the internet.

Internet at £60.

60 quid.

-£60.

-This is splendid.

£60. Any more at £60 then?

I will sell to the internet.

It's against you in the room.

Selling then... £60.

-£60.

-But well done.

-Well done.

-That's absolutely splendid.

Do you know,

you're only down a fiver.

-That's good.

-Only down a fiver.

-So now,

le moment critique, as they say.

What do you think of World War II tubes?

Do you want to go with them?

-I think we'll go for them.

-We will.

We said if we were making a loss, we'll go for it.

-A £5 loss, though.

-We've got to trust your instinct at some point.

-We've got to trust you, yeah.

-We've got to trust your expertise.

Here it is. You can't go back now.

-Come on.

-You are definitely going with Thomas' bonus buy.

Don't let us down, Thomas.

-AUCTIONEER:

-I have £20. With me at £20.

Any more at £20?

-'I will sell for £20.'

-No, don't! We want more.

-Oh, there's a man there!

-Thank you, sir. 25.

30 with me.

-30! £2 profit.

-'One more, sir?'

Shall I say one more, sir?

-Yes, sir!

-'I'm out.'

£35. Standing at £35. Any more then?

35.

-Brilliant.

-We did it.

-Thank you, Thomas.

-We did it.

May I say that thanks to that wonderful man there,

your overall net result is plus £2.

-Yes!

-Yeah!

-Brilliant.

£2. That's a pound each.

-Is that right?

-We're having a big night out tonight!

-Are you confident, guys?

-Why not?

-Quietly confident.

You're quietly confident?

-I don't think you two are quietly anything...

-No, you're right.

-..are they, Natasha?

-No.

-Noisily confident,

I think, is probably the expression. Anyway, we're coming up

with the door knocker. Here it comes.

Who's going to give me £30 for this?

Surely £30?

35. Thank you, internet. 35.

-'40 I've got, net.'

-Now we're going.

-Here we go.

£40. On the internet at £40.

I shall go then straight to the internet. £40 then.

£40...

Oh, gents!

-Ah, come on.

-Oh, no.

-What happened?

-Minus a fiver.

Never mind.

Cast that from your minds

because here comes the hypnotherapist,

as bought by Natasha Raskin.

Very unusual.

Never seen anything quite like that

but surely someone will give me

£20 for it?

-'£10 then. We have to sell it.'

-THEY GROAN

£10. Thank you.

'Lady's bid at £10.'

Is there another? There is.

There's the internet at £15.

15! Come on, internet!

Can I say 20? Thank you.

-'£20.'

-Keep going.

£20. Is someone else bidding?

Oh, thank you. Right at the back of the room.

'You have good taste,'

madam. 25.

'30.'

5.

'40. 5.'

LAUGHTER

£45. We have, at the back of the room, £45.

-This is a wonderful night.

-Come on.

Now the internet's thinking. 50. 5.

She's not going to stop. This is sensational work.

'Come on, internet, don't lose it.'

60. 5.

Everyone wants it now.

65.

70.

5.

75.

Do you want it, internet?

-Yes! 80.

-LAUGHTER

'5. 5.

'£85, standing.

-'90 now. I can't believe this.'

-I might have to lie down in a minute.

Are you sure?

Well, thank you anyway.

-£90 we have on the internet.

-£90!

'I can't quite believe that.'

I feel like I'm going to collapse.

But it's a lovely picture and it's an interesting one.

And £90 we have.

-Thank you, internet.

-Yeah!

-That is so good.

-Amazing.

-Plus 50...

Minus 5...

We are now

£45 up and we've got the camera to come.

And here it comes.

Come on. £40. Any more?

50 now.

60 now. Keep going.

We have 60 on the internet.

'60. 70 now.'

-Oh, keep going.

-'£70.'

Now we're getting somewhere.

£70 on the internet.

Is there another, net?

-£70.

-Yes.

Anyone in the room? £70 then.

I will sell for 70.

All done at £70 then.

All that profit's going to disappear!

Oh, no!

Do you know, you were £45 up and you lost 40 there.

So you are still ahead of the game.

You are plus £5.

Now, this novelty cruet set.

-Gamble.

-Take it, yeah.

-Always risk it.

-Risk everything.

-Come on.

-Risk everything on a Chinese cruet set?

-Absolutely.

-Right.

This is it.

And I have £30 already on the net.

'£30.

'35, I have.'

40, I have. 5.

There's two people bidding down there.

'60. 5.

'70. 5.'

80. 5.

-'90.'

-90!

-'5.'

£95. In the room at 95.

-We've actually made a profit.

-'95. Do you want to come in, sir?'

100. Why not? Sure? One more?

£100. Gentleman behind you.

£100.

100.

£100. Any more at 100 then?

100...

Plus 75...

Team...

-Get in.

-So good. Put it there, mate.

-Do you know how much you've made overall?

-I can't figure it out.

That would be...£80.

£80.

£80. Well, I have to say that is a stunning effort.

It's been a wonderful Bargain Hunt.

Both teams have made a profit.

Isn't that exciting?

You've made £2, Reds.

By that you can deduct that the Blues have won...

with a thumping profit of £80.

-£80?!

-£80. Isn't that good?

So, in my right hand here, I have for you...

Oh, it's a shame it's not £1 each, really,

-but who's going to have it?

-Me. Thank you.

-Well, there we go.

Well, Blues, you can well be smug with yourselves.

-It was a triumph, your performance.

-Fantastic.

I mean it's just... Have you enjoyed making £80?

-Well, why wouldn't you?

-You lent, very sensibly,

on that girl on the left there.

Remarkable, Natasha. Well done.

I've got £80 for you, chaps.

-Look at that.

-Awesome.

-Thank you.

-Very well done.

It's been wonderful, wonderful fun having you both.

And congratulations to all of you and your experts,

and profits all round. I think that's absolutely splendid.

Now, don't forget to have a look at our website

and indeed to follow us on Twitter.

But in the meantime, join us for more Bargain Hunting, yes?

-ALL:

-Yes!