VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts... Alright viewers?

VO: ...with £200 each, a classic car, and a goal: to scour Britain for antiques.

I'm on fire!

Yes!

Sold!

Going, going, gone.

VO: The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction.

But it's no mean feat.

50p!

VO: There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

You've had it a while, haven't you?

VO: So, will it be the high road to glory, or the slow road to disaster?

Ooh!

Oh no!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip.

VO: Yeah!

VO: On this Road Trip two antiquarian aces are driving a hard bargain.

ANITA: Well darling, today you can drive me.

JAMES: You're meant to be driving me for two days.

But I have to say, I just decided I wanted to live.

VO: Charming!

VO: James Lewis is a Derbyshire auctioneer and valuer never afraid to strike while the hammer is hot.

I knew a few auctioneers who could use that.

VO: Whilst Anita Manning is a chatty Glaswegian gavelmeister, who's a friend to all she meets.

Ch-ch.

How do you do Frederick?

Hello.

VO: On the last leg, James made a serious bundle on a Chinese blue and white vase.

Ahhhh.

ANITA: I think you're about £7,000 ahead of me now.

VO: Not quite that far ahead.

VO: Both of our daring duos started this trip with £200.

VO: So far Anita's managed to trade that up to a healthy £318.30.

VO: But James is as rich as Rockefeller, holding a whopping £813.94 cash.

VO: Today, they're driving a groovy gal: the 1969 Volkswagen Beetle.

VO: This road trip, they began in Oxfordshire and will travel through the well upholstered southern counties of England to end up at auction in our nation's stately capital, London.

On this show they'll begin near Lacock, in Wiltshire heading for auction in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

VO: They're supposed to be on their way to a shop.

Car boot sale!

VO: Oh, hang on!

JAMES: Car boot, let's go and have a look there, that's where the bargains'll be had.

JAMES: Look, let's do it, yes?

VO: In the usual haphazard fashion, they're making an unplanned stop at Lacock Car Boot Sale, which is about four miles from the center of Chippenham.

VO: This bustling car boot runs in the summer months, weather permitting.

JAMES: Nice to see you.

ANITA: Nice to see you.

VO: And James soon has his eye on a pair of objects.

There we go.

A pair of true firedogs.

VO: These firedogs, or andirons, would stand in the hearth and support a large log or a basket, helping to create a warming blaze.

Yeah.

VO: The stallholder who owns them, Oliver, James' sartorial twin, has priced the pair at £40.

These are French provincial.

They're about 1860, 1870.

VO: True to form, James is going to try a cheeky offer.

JAMES: I'll give you 14 quid for them.

VO: Gosh.

I think they might make 20 at the auction, that's why.

OLIVER: 16 and we've dealt.

See?

Dealt.

Dead easy.

There you go.

JAMES: 16.

OLIVER: Lovely.

Thanks very much.

JAMES: There you go.

Dear.

Right.

VO: And he's spotted something else at Oliver's stall.

One of my biggest soft spots is for snuff boxes.

And this little chap is about 1850-1860.

VO: It's turned wood and therefore treen.

It's not worth very much money at all but it's just quite sweet.

VO: Will another cheeky offer fly?

I will give you two quid for that box.

OLIVER: You won't.

It's cracked and it's lost its top.

It's lovely.

Go on.

OLIVER: No.

JAMES: Three?

OLIVER: Certainly not.

JAMES: Three.

OLIVER: Four.

I came down tons on that one.

JAMES: Four.

OLIVER: Thank you very much.

VO: Careful, sir!

Oliver sticks to his guns but £4 is enough to buy the box, eh?

VO: Anita, meanwhile, is, as usual, trying on some headgear.

VO: I'm not sure that dealer's impressed Anita.

VO: Lordy.

James is at least looking at antiques.

These are interesting, there...only two of them though, which is a real shame.

VO: An early 19th century fire shovel and a pair of tongs, sadly now separated from the poker that would've completed the set.

VO: And he's also found a toasting fork, probably dating from a little earlier.

There's no ticket price on them, he's thinking of incorporating all three into a lot, with the firedogs he's already bought.

That makes a more respectable lot for an auction.

JAMES: What would buy those?

DEALER: Em... £4?

I'm going to be a mean git and offer you two.

Go on then.

Is that alright?

Good.

There you go, you've got yourself a deal.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

ANITA: Hello, darling.

How did you get on?

Oh, not too bad.

Anita hasn't found anything here, so they're going to get back on track.

ANITA: Let's roll.

VO: They're finally back on the road, and aiming for Bath.

VO: Gorgeous Bath, with its fine Georgian architecture is justly famed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the loveliest destinations in the UK.

JAMES: I like Bath.

Have you been here before?

ANITA: I have been here before and I absolutely love it.

VO: Glad to hear it.

What better place for them to continue their day?

JAMES: Here we go.

James, isn't this absolutely wonderful?

JAMES: Beautiful, isn't it?

James, we've got to go shopping, I've got lots to do.

VO: Indeed you do, Anita.

She's strolling off into Old Bank Antique Center, where she's meeting dealer Alex.

Hi, Alex.

How lovely to be in Bath, what a wonderful place.

Lovely place, isn't it?

Yes.

Uh-huh.

VO: This center incorporates 11 different dealers, as well as one feline friend.

Miaow!

What's his name?

His name is Frederick Augustus.

VO: Hello, Frederick.

Are you Frederick?

Are you Frederick?

ANITA: How do you do, Frederick?

Hello.

VO: Stop chatting up the locals, Anita.

There are buys to be found.

VO: And soon something on the walls put a gleam in her eye.

My eye was drawn to this mirror by this wonderful horse...and horseman; he's quite good looking too.

What we have on the top is an engraving and underneath, a mirror.

But this image is so splendid and so beautiful, and he has the best and proudest of steeds.

VO: It probably dates from the early 19th century.

Ticket price is £85.

That's too steep.

VO: So, Alex will have to be consulted.

Alex.

ALEX: Hello.

Em...

I was quite taken by this mirror here.

ANITA: Do you know anything about this print?

Do you know who the character is?

I mean, to me he looks like...

It looks a little bit like the Duke of Wellington, with that nose.

ANITA: Could it be the Duke of Wellington?

ALEX: Well, he was very much a hero in the early part of the 19th century.

VO: It might indeed be the first Duke of Wellington, hero of the Napoleonic battle of Waterloo.

What do you think, Frederick?

VO: Frederick's tight-lipped on the subject.

So, what could Alex do on the price?

Could you do 40 on that?

Yes, go on.

Will we go for that?

OK. Yeah.

OK, that's fine, thank you very much Alex, thank you.

OK. VO: Marvelous, a super less-than-half-price deal on the mirror - but Anita's got her eye on another celebratory item.

ANITA: This is really just a... a bit of fun.

This crazy ice bucket and... A bottle.

Is there any champagne in there?

No... VO: Thankfully.

It's a modern plastic ice bucket in the shape of a top hat, along with a display bottle, sans champagne.

Not exactly antique is it, Anita, but festive.

What could it be bought for?

£8?

Yes, go on then.

Is... For fun?

Why not?

VO: Done.

She's got her two lots in this shop and she's charging on.

VO: Very natty, Anita.

VO: Now, James is less than a mile away and about to wander off into his first shop proper: Brian and Caroline Craik Ltd, where the proprietress boasts a family connection to one of James' fellow antiques experts and former rival on the Road Trip.

THOMAS: Ah, that's my hand!

Yeah, I'm feeling slightly nervous, as the lady who owns this shop is Thomas Plant's auntie.

Now, if anyone knows this game really well, it's going to be her.

VO: Hmmm, as Bertie Wooster often observed, there are bad aunts and good aunts.

Which will Thomas' Auntie Caroline turn out to be, I wonder?

CAROLINE: Welcome, James... Hello there.

..to my emporium.

JAMES: Nice to see you.

And I do like that hat.

Oh, thank you.

Let's see it on.

Oh it's a... it's a... Oh, yes.

VO: Good aunt, definitely.

VO: James has soon espied something that attracts him.

JAMES: That's an interesting bit of furniture.

VO: It's a Chinese occasional table, fashioned from Rosewood, and dating from around 1900.

This is lovely, the quality of this little hook here and the lovely line of the leg is exactly what people are looking for in this Chinese furniture.

VO: Caroline had a price of £225 in mind for the table, but of course James is keen to negotiate.

Stand by.

Is there much movement there?

Um... 175?

See, I've got to pay full commission at auction as well.

Mmm, well, we all do.

VO: Ha!

Quite right, Caroline.

I think James has met his match here.

JAMES: 100 quid?

CAROLINE: No.

No.

110?

CAROLINE: No.

JAMES: No.

No, I'm afraid not.

How about 130?

And I'm pretty much there.

If you said 150, OK, I'll let it go.

VO: James is tempted.

You've got a deal.

CAROLINE: Woooo!

VO: Deal done at £150.

It's not like James to splash his cash.

Let's hope the gamble pays off.

VO: Now, Anita has traveled about 14 miles onwards, to the town of Frome in Somerset.

VO: Attractive Frome is known for its lively cultural scene, so let's hope Anita can harness some of that energy as she heads for her next shop, Cobwebs, where she's meeting dealer Alan.

Hello, Alan.

ALAN: Hi, Anita, how are you?

I'm good, thank you.

Nice to see you.

ANITA: I'm good.

What about this wee guy here?

Tell me about him.

I think this wee guy is great fun.

It's a teddy bear knitting!

Is he working?

Oh, yeah, it works.

MUSIC: "O Fortuna", from "Carmina Burana", by Carl Orff He's pretty scary.

Those eyes that light up in the dark.

Would that not terrify the life out of a child?

He's very... arresting.

ALAN: Certainly something about it.

VO: You can say that again.

Let's see if we've got a little maker's mark here.

This is a Japanese one.

VO: It is indeed.

A Japanese automaton toy bear with light-up eyes, dating from the 1950s.

VO: Ticket price is £65.

Anita seems keen on it but will need to seek a substantial discount.

I would like to have a go at that, for fun.

But I would like to be talking to you in the region of £20.

I think my best price would be 35.

Uh-huh, well, I mean, it's in... That's a good price.

It's... Uh-huh, would £25 buy him?

ANITA: Can we go anywhere in that sort of region, and..?

OK, I'll do it for 25.

ANITA: Will you do it for 25?

ALAN: I'll do it for 25.

That's absolutely wonderful, thank you very much.

Well, I'm hoping that he'll do well and somebody'll fall in love with him.

VO: He's positively hypnotic.

ANITA: 25 quid.

VO: Anita's got the bear for a bargain £25, which is marvelous, as long as she keeps it away from me.

Ugh!

ANITA: Thank you, bye bye.

ALAN: Take care.

Bye bye.

VO: James, meanwhile, is still back in Bath, he's heading for the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, which tells the story of one of 18th century Bath's resident's stellar achievements.

VO: He's meeting museum volunteer and astrophysicist Rebecca Lusher.

JAMES: Rebecca, hi.

Hi, James.

Nice to see you.

Welcome to the Herschel Museum.

Thank you.

REBECCA: Let's go inside.

JAMES: Lovely.

VO: William Herschel was a German born musician who moved to Bath in 1766, and indeed into this very house.

VO: Herschel was to go on to become the first astronomer to discover a planet in our solar system since ancient times.

But it was his outstanding talent in music that first brought him to Bath.

REBECCA: He was appointed the music director at the newly built Octagon Chapel for the high society of Bath.

OK. VO: William soon settled into his new role and his place in Bath's society.

But this intelligent and determined man also embarked on a varied program of self education.

REBECCA: William taught himself English, then he taught himself mathematics... JAMES: Ah, OK.

He studied optics and became quite interested in astronomy.

REBECCA: Astronomy was very popular with society; it was the fashionable thing to do.

You go to a dinner party; you get out a telescope and have a look for things.

Yeah.

And em...so he took it up as a hobby originally and em...borrowed some telescopes, tried to find some things, and decided he was quite disappointed with them and thought "I can do better than this".

REBECCA: And that's really where he started, because these telescopes were the best in the world.

JAMES: Really?

REBECCA: Mmm.

VO: Remarkably, Herschel crafted these sophisticated telescopes right here in this very house and using skills he taught himself.

REBECCA: He had the talents to do it.

JAMES: Yeah.

And he did, all from scratch.

He turned this house basically into a workshop: every room was full of speculum metals, polishing mills, lathes, all these things.

JAMES: Lovely, and you've still got workshops here?

Yes, we do.

Love to see, yeah?

Come on.

JAMES: Oh, golly!

Right, so what's all this?

Well, these are the tools that he used to make his mirrors for his own telescopes.

You see this is the speculum metal they used for the mirrors, an alloy of copper and tin.

VO: These precisely shaped mirrors were the secret to Herschel's powerful homemade telescopes.

Using them, he made his most famous discovery.

They're heading outside to see the spot where it happened.

REBECCA: This is Herschel's garden, where he used to bring his telescopes.

And we think this is the area of the garden where he first discovered a new planet.

VO: When he first observed the new celestial body, Herschel thought it might be a comet.

However, further observation by Herschel and others revealed it to be Uranus, the first new planet found in our solar system since at least the ancient Greeks.

REBECCA: It brought him world fame, and his telescopes, which suddenly became well known over the world, were ordered by many of the best astronomers.

VO: Herschel went on to make many more contributions to science, including the discovery of infrared radiation, and was appointed the king's astronomer by George III.

There were always annoying children at school who were good at sport, good at music, good at science.

He was just one of those, wasn't he?

REBECCA: Yeah.

It wasn't even school for him, he was self taught.

VO: An inspiring individual, but it's time for James to be on his way.

VO: And with that, it's the end of a jam packed first day.

Nighty night.

VO: But the morning finds them back on the road and soaking up the ancient environment.

ANITA: Look at that wonderful big standing stone!

ANITA: I love standing stones.

JAMES: Oh, look... ANITA: Oh, millions of them, wow!

VO: That's Avebury stone circle, like nearby Stonehenge, a mysterious megalithic site; it really made an impression on Anita.

ANITA: I can feel the energy surging through me.

ANITA: Can you?

JAMES: No.

Anita, that is the extra latte you had for breakfast.

JAMES: That's nothing to do with the standing stones!

VO: So far, Anita's spent £73 on three lots: the mirror, which might depict Wellington; the novelty ice bucket; and the...special bear.

VO: Whilst James has been unusually profligate by comparison, spending £172 on three lots: the firedogs and the fire tools; the treen snuff box; and the Chinese table.

VO: They're driving to the town of Marlborough in Wiltshire.

VO: Handsome Marlborough earned its royal charter in 1204.

Local public school Marlborough College counts poets Sir John Betjeman and actor James Mason amongst its august alumni.

VO: Let's hope James and Anita prove themselves as well educated, as they aim for the first shop of the day, the Marlborough Parade Antique Center.

ANITA: James, this looks wonderful.

JAMES: Looks nice, doesn't it?

ANITA: Oh, this looks great.

VO: They're meeting dealers Gary and Robert.

GARY: Hello.

Good morning.

ANITA: Hi.

I'm Anita.

Hi, I'm Gary, pleased to meet you.

JAMES: Hi.

ANITA: This is my big pal James.

JAMES: James.

Hi.

Hi, nice to see you.

GARY: Morning.

This is Robert.

Hello, Robert, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Hello, Anita.

Hi there.

VO: Best get browsing you two.

It can be a bit tricky, shopping in the same place as James Lewis, because he's always following you about, trying to see what bargains you're trying to get!

VO: But it looks like someone else is following James around.

That's Eric, the shop's pooch.

JAMES: Hello.

Now then, where are the bargains?

JAMES: Where are the bargains?

VO: Soon enough, Anita's spied something almost as cute.

She's found a pair of art nouveau yellow metal earrings set with seed pearls.

Ticket price is £49.

VO: Of course, Anita wants to negotiate but Gary is being quite strict about the shop's policy of discounting no more than 10% for trade.

ANITA: Do you think the dealer would give us a wee bit more than 10%?

She won't do much more than that, because they're reasonable, aren't they?

They're nice.

Would she go 40?

GARY: She'd go 42.

VO: Gary's sticking at that price.

She's tempted and she's spotted another two pieces of jewelry in another cabinet as well.

VO: Mind the dog.

ANITA: You know, we've got these sort of big, eh... GARY: Rare rocks.

I mean, they're like Cairngorms but they're just big bits of show.

1950s, they've got that sort of '50s look about them.

VO: It's two brooches, inset with large gem stones, which look similar to the Cairngorm quartz native to Anita's Caledonian homeland.

VO: Combined ticket price on the two is £19.

And it doesn't sound like Gary's open to negotiation.

GARY: Don't even try it.

ANITA: Oh, right.

You're a mean...beastie.

ANITA: So can I have them for 19?

Surely you'd take your 10% off that?

Not on those, no.

We don't...

Anything under 20.

Is that your rule?

Madam.

That is our rule.

ANITA: OK, darling, we'll see what happens.

It's worth taking a chance on.

VO: But Anita will take the pair for £19, as well as the earrings for £42, but in a last ditch attempt to sweeten the deal, Anita wants Gary to throw in some jewelry boxes she can use to display her baubles.

GARY: There's a box, is that the one?

Oh, you brilliant man!

Yes, that's the box, what is the box for?

Because these have got a sort of slightly Scottish look about them.

Good.

Brilliant man.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

VO: Her trinkets packaged up nicely, Anita is all bought up and on her way.

VO: Meanwhile, James has wandered outside and has found an item of his own.

JAMES: Ah, it's a carpenter's trunk.

These things were popular in the 19th century - in fact right the way through into the 1920s, in that carpenters would have a trunk like this that would be full of their little tools.

VO: It's fashioned of pine and probably dates from the late 1800s.

VO: It was marked up at a hefty £150, but since it's been sitting outside, dealer Robert seems to be in a generous mood.

ROBERT: That one, sir, can be £50.

30 quid.

I can't, I honestly can't.

JAMES: Can't you?

I wish I could.

JAMES: 35?

£40 and we have got a deal.

JAMES: You've got a deal.

Thank you very much, sir.

40 quid.

Well, it's worth a bash, isn't it, at that?

ROBERT: It is.

VO: Another lot in the bag and James does seem to be in luck today, as he's shortly enlisted Gary's help in finding another bargain.

JAMES: I just found that in the back room.

At least it's an original.

GARY: It's a pastel, is it?

Pastel, yeah.

It's a pastel.

VO: It is indeed a fairly modern pastel drawing of a clown.

Gary's willing to kick off the negotiation at £15, but James is ever ready to go lower.

Fiver?

GARY: Are you trying to rob me?

JAMES: No.

You trying to rob me?

Bankrupt me?

12.50, and that hurt.

How about 7.50?

Straight into the soft underbelly.

Ohhhh!

You're crippling me, crippling me.

Tenner and it's yours.

JAMES: Eight?

GARY: Tenner.

JAMES: Tenner.

Thank you very much.

Alright.

10 quid.

VO: Terrific.

With that last buy, he's wandering onwards.

VO: Now, having bought all her items, Anita's back in the car.

VO: She's driving to Swindon, in Wiltshire.

VO: This afternoon she's in luck - Anita's always loved trains, and she's aiming for the Museum of the Great Western Railway, which celebrates the area's strong connection to the steam age of rail.

I want to see these big, big engines!

VO: Anita's meeting assistant curator Elaine Arthurs.

Hi, I'm Elaine, welcome to Steam.

Oh, thank you, I'm so excited to be here.

Em... this is really the mecca for all those who are interested really, in the story of the railway.

VO: It is.

Running its first train in 1838, Great Western Railway was amongst the most impressive British engineering achievements of the 19th century.

VO: The railway network was the masterpiece of its chief engineer, the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

VO: The museum occupies a railway building on the former site of Swindon works, the manufacturing hub of the Great Western Railway - at the height of its powers, capable of producing three enormous steam locomotives per week.

ELAINE: It's here that they made all their locomotives, some of the most iconic in the world.

ANITA: I'm dying to see these huge, monumental steam engines.

Can you take me and show me them?

Of course, we've got loads.

Lovely!

VO: In the 18th and 19th centuries, a small group of engineers and scientists made innovations that fueled the huge social upheaval we know as the Industrial Revolution.

Central to this was steam power, the technology refined and commercialized by James Watt and Matthew Boulton in the late 1700s.

VO: The steam engine was adapted for use in trains in the early decades of the 19th century.

And of course, these new trains needed expanded rail networks on which to run.

VO: This is where Isambard Kingdom Brunel demonstrated his genius.

For the Great Western Railway, Brunel designed a system of tracks, bridges, tunnels and viaducts that revolutionized engineering and transformed both transport and the British landscape.

He was a man of tremendous vision and he created a wonderful network of railways.

ELAINE: It covered a wide area, ranging from London down to the West Country, Devon and Cornwall, over to Wales and up to the north, including Liverpool.

VO: All aboard!

ANITA: Oh!

Ah!

Oh!

Look at that!

VO: Brunel largely delegated the design of the actual locomotives to other engineers.

It was the routes and infrastructure that were amongst his greatest gifts to the nation.

ELAINE: He was much more skilled at designing pieces of architecture, bridges, tunnels, buildings, that's where his true talents lie.

VO: The Great Western Railway truly was one of the marvels of the age, and that's down to the genius of Brunel.

There are certain features on the line, including Box Tunnel and Maidenhead Bridge, that everybody thought wouldn't work, and he defied the odds, and they're still standing today and great pieces of architecture.

He packed so much into his life and so much is still left behind now.

He's just got this great legacy.

VO: Now, Anita's dying to take this engine out for a spin.

Stand by!

ANITA: So, shovel the coal.

Right there we are.

Oh, it's quite heavy.

And... (ENGINE CHUFFS) And we're away.

We're away.

VO: You certainly are.

Ha!

We'll leave that with you.

(TRAIN WHISTLE) VO: James, meanwhile, has traveled on to Hungerford in Berkshire, by car.

VO: This historic market town seems the ideal place for him to bag his last bargains.

VO: He's sauntering into Hungerford arcade, where he's meeting dealer Adrian, who's an old pal.

Hello, there.

Oh, hello, James, it's good to see you.

How are you?

It's good to see you.

VO: James has decided to assemble a job lot of small items around the little treen snuff box he bought yesterday, so he'll need to scour this sizeable antiques center carefully.

I knew a few auctioneers who could use that!

VO: Bang on.

He's soon found a candidate for his job lot of bijouterie.

It's a novelty pincushion, shaped like a lady's shoe.

Ticket price is £6.

JAMES: Would three quid be any good for that?

ADRIAN: I will try.

JAMES: Thank you.

Great pleasure.

Thanks very much.

I'm not sure.

JAMES: Last of the big spenders and all that.

VO: Adrian will call the person who owns it.

ADRIAN: Can you please do £3?

ADRIAN: Yes!

JAMES: Yeah, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, yeah, that's great.

VO: That's in the bag for £3 then.

In the meanwhile, he's found something else.

Oh, crikey, that's fun.

Yes, he should have a matchbox on his back there.

VO: It's another novelty item, a Victorian pewter smoker's stand or matchbox holder.

This one is a monkey mounted on a clam shell, as you do.

The matches, the box would slot down.

Yes, of course.

Yeah.

And strike on the side.

25, would you ask her?

ADRIAN: With pleasure.

VO: James is in luck - the dealer will accept £25 for that.

VO: And he's now got something else at a price that suits him.

I just found this cast iron, font-like creature, that would hold matches, and I thought, "Whoopee!

That's not expensive."

It says "small, cast iron urn, no lid, £1."

VO: Even James isn't barefaced enough to haggle on that.

So, he's got the smoker's stand, pincushion and urn for £29.

And Adrian's going to thrown in a few antique coins that might slot into the missing recess in the snuff box for one extra pound.

VO: That's nice.

30, spot on.

ADRIAN: Yes, and thank you so much.

JAMES: It's been lovely, really enjoyed it, thank you very much.

VO: And he's got everything he needs for auction.

VO: So he's off to catch up with Anita in Swindon, for the ceremonial unveiling of their buys.

And a kiss.

James is up first.

ANITA: Well, it's an interesting combination, James.

I see you've got some scrap metal down here.

JAMES: My car boot finds.

A big pair of arts and crafts, French firedogs.

These things could be blasted and cleaned up and they would look absolutely wonderful.

They could.

Yeah, but at the moment they just look like a heap of old scrap iron.

Next I got my Chinese hardwood table.

ANITA: This is a lovely table, James.

JAMES: Yes.

ANITA: This is a lovely table.

Are you proud of it?

Yes, I am.

I love that lot.

Uh-huh.

How much?

I paid £150 for it.

And how much are you hoping to get for it?

I've seen them make four.

Oh, right.

VO: A mixed reaction, will Anita's haul fair any better?

The first thing I bought was...it's a little engraving of Wellington.

JAMES: Wellington?

Why Wellington?

Do you think that is Wellington?

JAMES: I think he looks... ANITA: Do you think it's only Wellington's cousin?

It might just be a bad engraving of Wellington.

VO: Oh, dear, Wellington's identity questioned, eh?

Not a great start.

How will he react to the terrifying bear?

I quite enjoyed buying my little tin plate knitting bear, he reminded me of you.

And if you turn him on... ..his eyes light up in the dark.

He's great, I like him.

VO: A mild bit of praise rounds them off.

Good luck to you, my friend.

Good luck to you.

OK. Oh, how very official!

JAMES: Come on.

VO: They're waspish enough face to face, so what will they have to say behind closed doors?

His chest - wormed and damp.

So it's going to be difficult, even at £40.

I like his table, that's a nice table, £150 he paid for it, and he's going to have to make £200, just about, to make any profit on that at all.

I think the only item with any credibility at all, out of any of the objects, mine or Anita's, is the table.

JAMES: That oriental table has at least got some quality about it, and has a chance, but other than that, what a load of rubbish.

VO: Don't mince your words!

But they're ready for auction.

VO: And driving to Cirencester, in Gloucestershire.

VO: The market town of Cirencester has origins dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain.

They're pulling up at the sale room of auctioneers Moore Allen & Innocent.

ANITA: Here we are, James.

JAMES: Oh.

There we go.

ANITA: This looks interesting.

VO: Best dive right in then.

Presiding today will be auctioneer Philip Allwood.

Before the off, what does he make of their lots?

Well, there's certainly an eclectic mix.

PHILIP: Particularly, I like the Chinese rosewood folding table, which is a bit of fun.

Anita of course brought in the automaton knitting bear, which is quite a...still a rare-ish piece.

VO: Anita started this leg with £318.30.

She's spent £134 and has five lots to show for it.

VO: Whilst James began with £813.94, and he spend £252, also on five lots in today's sale.

VO: The auction's about to begin.

First up it's James' pair of 19th century firedogs, accompanied by fire tools.

They didn't light Anita's fire - will they set the saleroom ablaze?

I can start you here on the book at 30.

PHILIP: At £30, I got here, at £30, five if you like now.

That's a start.

PHILIP: 40, five, 50.

At 50 with me.

five.

60, five, 70.

At £70 here, five anywhere now?

PHILIP: Five, 80, at £80, back with me at £80, five anywhere now?

PHILIP: At £80, you all sure?

PHILIP: Only just over scrap money, look, at £80, five on the net.

at 85 here, the book's out, 85, you all sure?

VO: Blimey, that certainly did burn a hot streak!

Well done!

I am thrilled with that.

VO: I bet you are.

Now it's Anita's mirror, appended to a portrait that may be the Duke of Wellington and may be somebody else entirely.

20?

10 to get on, got to be a tenner.

Oh, no.

PHILIP: £10 for the beer glass?

A fiver?

VO: Oh, dear, this isn't going in the right direction.

JAMES: What?

PHILIP: Nobody a fiver?

Go on!

At £5 I'm bid there, at five, £5, eight if you like now.

James, I'm going to burst into floods of tears.

At £5, on my right here at £5, you got a fiver, at £5.

At £5.

I only need another 50 more.

PHILIP: You all sure?

At £5.

VO: That's trotted off to a disaster.

Bad luck, Anita.

VO: Now another try for James, with his pine carpenter's chest.

Will it carve out a profit?

Who'll start me at 100?

100.

Good pine chest there, 100?

Well, 50 to get on.

£50.

He's trying.

He's trying, James.

PHILIP: £30 then?

JAMES: What?

PHILIP: Dear, oh, me, oh, my.

£30, £30 I'm bid there, at 30, got to be cheap at £30, five anywhere now?

At £30, five, 40, five, at £45 in the room now, at 45, 50 if you like.

PHILIP: At £45, it's selling right in front of me here.

At 45... 50.

At 55.

At 55, 60 now?

PHILIP: At £55 in front of me now, PHILIP: 55 it's selling here, make no mistake, 60. five.

At £65, right in front of me in the room here.

PHILIP: At 65, you're out on the net.

At £65, you all sure?

PHILIP: Selling here then at 65, you all done?

VO: So, it does nail a decent profit in the end.

Oh, he did his best there.

That's not bad.

He did his best.

VO: Now, will there be cause for celebration on Anita's ice bucket and display bottle of champers?

Ten to get on, £10 I'm bid there, at 10.

Go on.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, go on.

PHILIP: 12 if you like now, £10 I have.

PHILIP: At £10, 12 can I say now?

At £10, at £10, 12 on the net, at 12, the book's out at £12, PHILIP: 15 if you like now, at 12, 15, 18.

Oh, oh, oh, go on, go on.

ANITA: I'm getting all excited here, James.

At £18, I'm bid here, at £18.

20 now, fill it up.

PHILIP: At 18, it's selling on the net here, you're all out in front of me.

At £18... 18 it is.

ANITA: Ah.

VO: Corks popped all round then.

Well, at least it's back on the right road.

VO: Next, it's James' job lot of bijouterie.

Will the little items serve up a big profit?

At £50?

30 to get on?

PHILIP: At £20 a bid only then, at £20, five now, at £20, five, 30, five, at 35 here, got to be cheap at 35.

40.

Five, 50, five.

60 if you like, madam.

At 55, 60.

Five, 70 to me, and it's 65 here.

At £65, it's on my left then.

They like it, James, they like it.

PHILIP: 65, you all done?

VO: A sizeable win for James.

ANITA: Ah.

That is a profit there.

That's good.

You're doing alright here.

VO: Time now for Anita's automaton bear.

It impressed Philip the auctioneer - will the crowd agree?

Who'll start me 50?

£50.

Nice little piece.

£30?

PHILIP: 20 to get on, got to be £20?

20 I'm bid there.

Go on, go on, there, we've started.

Five on the net.

30, at £30 I have, at £30, five anywhere now?

At £30 it's in the room now.

JAMES: Go on, go on, go on, go on.

PHILIP: At £30, five anywhere now?

PHILIP: At £30, it's got to be cheap at £30, five anywhere now?

JAMES: Look at him!

PHILIP: At £30... ANITA: It's only one eye that's on!

VO: Lordy, that's not going to help.

Cyclops.

PHILIP: All sure?

It's selling in the room here, are you all done at 30?

VO: The uncooperative bear picks up a terrible time to break down but at least it scrapes a profit.

It wasn't just one eye when we had him.

VO: Now it's James' modern pastel portrait pierrot.

Will it be smiles or tears after this lot?

£20 for the pierrot there.

The bidders have been scared off.

PHILIP: A tenner!

No.

PHILIP: Dear me, oh, my.

£10, it's no laughing matter.

£10?

JAMES: What?!

PHILIP: Nobody?

A fiver?

JAMES: Oh, what?

WOMAN: Here.

Yep?

Really?

£5 I'm bid, £5 a bid, at £5 there.

At £5.

Wow.

PHILIP: At £5, I can't believe he's bidding.

JAMES: That is mad.

At £5, eight if you like now then, at £5, it's selling here for a fiver.

At five, the frame would cost you that.

PHILIP: At £5, you all sure?

He's trying.

PHILIP: It's selling then, no mistake then?

PHILIP: You all done at a fiver?

VO: Tears as it turns out.

That is just insane.

VO: One more for Anita, as her pair of Cairngorm style brooches are up.

£10?

A fiver?

Oh!

PHILIP: At £5 I'm bid, at five.

Five, eight, 10, at 10, 12 to me, madam, at £10 here.

PHILIP: At £10, 12, thank you, madam, at 12, at the back there at 12, 15 if you like, 15, 18.

ANITA: Yes!

Go on.

PHILIP: At 18 at the back there, at 18, 20 if you like now.

£18, you all sure?

Go on, go on, go on.

VO: What a shame.

Oh!

It could've been a lot worse.

VO: Now, it's James' great hope, the Chinese table.

I can start you here on the book at...at 180.

Oh, straight in!

PHILIP: At 180 I'm started, at 180, 190 now?

At £180 I have, at 180, 190... VO: Looking good.

PHILIP: 200, 220, 240, 260, 280.

At £280, 300 if you like now, at 280 I have.

PHILIP: At £280, 300 on the phone if you like.

At 280 here.

PHILIP: At £280, you all sure now then?

At 280.

VO: James' instincts were right - that lot was full of eastern promise.

Oh, well done, well done, well done.

VO: And finally, Anita's up with her art nouveau earrings, set with seed pearls.

£50 to get on.

£50 I'm bid, thank you, madam, at £50 here.

PHILIP: At £50, look cheap at £50, five anywhere now?

Five on the net.

60, five, 70, at 75, 80, five, 90, at £90, five, 100... VO: It's a flier.

PHILIP: 120, 130, 140 to me, madam?

At 130, 140 on the net, 150 if you like on the phone.

At 140, 150.

At 150, 160 if you like on the phone.

PHILIP: At 150 I have.

PHILIP: At 150, it's on the net here, at 150, 160, at 160, it's on my left at 160.

170 now.

It's at 160, it's on the phone now, the net's out, at 160, 170 back in.

Back in, back in.

PHILIP: 170, 180 if you like now.

PHILIP: 180.

At 190.

200, fill it up now.

200.

VO: Crikey, this is running and running.

240 now.

At 220.

240.

PHILIP: At 240, it's on the phone at 240, 260 now?

PHILIP: At £240, it's on the phone now, at 240... VO: An absolutely smashing profit, proves Anita really does have an eye for style.

BOTH: Yes!

Well done.

VO: Anita started this leg with £318.30.

After paying auction costs, she made a profit of £121.02 and ends today with £439.32.

Well done.

VO: But heavyweight James beat her to the punch once more.

He began with £813.94 and after costs, made a profit of £158 today, giving him £971.94 to carry onwards.

ANITA: Well, James, that was so exciting.

He did his best, didn't he?

Uh-huh.

Got every last pound out of them.

VO: Indeed he did.

To the Beetle and away to the next leg.

JAMES: Here we go.

ANITA: Aye, here we go.

VO: On the next Antiques Road Trip... Anita gets a bit of a shock.

Agh!

Agh!

VO: And James just looks a fright.

(LAUGHS EVILLY) subtitling@stv.tv