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

Perfect.

Sold.

VO: ..behind the wheel of a classic car... Lovely day for it.

VO: ..and a goal - to scour Britain for antiques.

Every home should have one of these.

VO: The aim?

To make the biggest profit at auction.

But it's no mean feat.

Yes!

VO: There'll be worthy winners... 950... You're gonna make £1,000!

VO: ..and valiant losers.

No!

VO: Will it be the high road to glory... Make me a big profit.

VO: ..or the slow road to disaster?

Are we stuck?

IRITA & RAJ: Yay!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip.

VO: What fun.

VO: Welcome to Northumberland.

Looking beautiful and rugged, just like the two antique hunters driving through it.

I say, Charles... lovely day for it!

BOTH: (LAUGH) VO: Yes, our experts, Natasha Raskin Sharp, and Charles Hanson, are getting into the vintage vibe of their motor.

It's the oldest ever car on the Antiques Road Trip.

(ENGINE PURRS LOUDLY) It's 1933.

I can hardly hear you!

Hold tight!

You're going to have to speak up over the engine!

(LOUDLY) Hello!

VO: Their noisy transportation today is this splendid Riley Monaco, built in a time well before seat belts were mandatory.

In fact, it's older than our experts' ages combined.

Ha!

NATASHA (NS): So have we dressed the part?

I've tried - high-waisted trousers... Oh, yes... ..beret, overcoat... Ooh!

CHARLES: Do you know, you have an art deco look about you.

Well, if you ask me to haggle, I do get in a flap, so I am a genuine flapper girl.

VO: Nonsense!

Fine art expert Natasha is usually the level-headed one.

Well, usually... You have to come out of here with a...series-winning piece.

VO: It's ceramics aficionado Charles that tends to get into a flap.

Where...?

Where'd it come from?

VO: And, it's not the first time these two have gone up against one another.

CHARLES: How are you?

Sorry... NS: (GASPS) You mad guy!

Who does that?!

VO: Five years ago, it was Charles who leapt into the winning spot... NS: What a man.

VO: ..ha-ha...but not before some baguette-related antics.

NS: But is this going to be an uphill struggle for me?

Because you haven't lost a Road Trip in, what, over a decade?

Played 19, won 18.

You have everything to lose.

Get out of here!

Actually, I think I have nothing to lose, cuz no one expects me to win.

I certainly don't.

VO: Well, with £200 each for their starting kitty, let's find out.

This trip starts here, in the very north of England, and heads down the east coast towards their final showdown in Hertfordshire.

CHARLES: Clear my way, Tasha.

NS: Am I clear on the left?

CHARLES: Clear my way.

NS: Oh, excellent!

CHARLES: Full steam!

VO: For this first outing, we'll be shopping all over the northeast, ending up in Stanley in County Durham.

But we begin this trip near Powburn, Northumberland, at the Hedgeley Antique Centre, where our two are positively champing at the bit.

CHARLES: On your marks, get set - first one... CHARLES: ..go!

NS: Go!

BOTH: (CHUCKLE) Hello?

Oh, it's huge.

It's warm as well.

Right, shall we just split up?

Yes, you go that way.

NS: Yeah, this way.

Good luck, Charles!

I think there's more this way... NS: Don't find anything too good!

CHARLES: I won't!

VO: There's more than enough to go round for both of you in here!

Look at this!

With so much on offer, where to begin?

CHARLES: I'm often asked, "When you walk into a shop, Charles, what do you do?"

"How do you find the bargains?"

Well, you stand back... let the objects look at you, you look at them, and then you say, "I want you."

And that's how you do it.

VO: As easy as that, eh?

Show us how it's done, then, Natasha.

NS: I love these jolly things.

That plaster figure there - just the wee red-headed boy with the wee red-headed cheeks.

What is he doing?

He's pulling at his hair while stroking a dog, as we all do.

You know... (LAUGHING) I love them.

It's so weird, so kitsch.

So wrong, they're right.

But I'm not touching it.

Not with a bargepole.

VO: Oh...not exactly the advice we were after.

Ha!

Anything more saleable on the horizon for Charles yet?

CHARLES: On first impressions, it looks like an architectural mantel clock.

A bit faded, needs a clean.

But on the back here, it reads, "This container is issued for our world-famous Victory V gums and lozenges."

But this actually was... (SNIFFS) ..a tin for cough sweets... cold lozenges.

And it's remarkable.

It's quite rare.

But the problem is, it's really badly faded.

You've even got the rust down here, which, clearly, has seen better days.

VO: You are right.

Both drawing a blank, then?

Time for a regroup.

CHARLES: You're...getting very much into the...spirit of vintage.

NS: It's my thinking cap.

CHARLES: Is it?

Is it?

NS: What do you think?

CHARLES: I like it.

Actually, stay where you are.

NS: Oh, right.

OK. Stay where you are.

NS: Why?

CHARLES: Oh, you know.

You're in that sort of...mood.

Ready?

Look, this is a 19...

I found this earlier on.

A 1930's... Are you ready?

NS: I always knew you were a crank.

CHARLES: ..gramophone.

And if we are in that mood... (SCRATCHY RECORD PLAYS) NS: Oh, that's so lovely.

I'll see you later, OK?

NS: I'll stay here.

VO: Uh-huh.

Oi!

I hope you're going to pick that up.

Come on, you two - knuckle down.

Lots of curios here.

Lots of collectables, bits and pieces.

Box here...which probably is 20th-century.

But on top, this is a tea caddy, which actually is quite early.

This form and this style of escutcheon... ..and this color of flame mahogany would date this tea caddy to around 1770.

On the inside... ..so you'd have had, back in the day, different sorts of tea in your tea caddy.

And then this box here was often used for your blending or mixing... ..or maybe another type of tea.

That's quite interesting to me.

I can't work out if these are original, but certainly they fit well.

That's a good box.

It's only priced at... Where's my label gone?

VO: It's £48, Charles.

Is it your cup of tea?

That's a definite.

VO: I thought so!

In charge of this place today is Jules, the lady in the leopard print dress.

Hello there.

Hello, Charles.

CHARLES: Hi, Jules.

I love the emporium.

CHARLES: It's really nice.

JULES: Thank you.

CHARLES: I've had a good wander round, and one thing I've seen...

It's actually over there.

It's a lovely Georgian tea caddy.

Oh, yes.

Uh-huh.

CHARLES: It's priced at £48.

JULES: Mm.

What's the best it could be?

38?

CHARLES: So that's a good £10 off.

I know up here...

I'm sure you call it "the death", don't you?

JULES: The death, yeah.

CHARLES: But what's the absolute bottom on it?

The absolute death, I have been told, is 36.

CHARLES: Are you sure about that?

Absolutely.

Do you know?

I've got to say yes.

So I'll take it.

JULES: Lovely.

Thank you so much.

VO: First one to Charles, then.

And with £164 still in hand, he's off.

There's a definite spring in his step, isn't there?

Hmm.

Meanwhile, our Natasha is still on the prowl inside.

NS: I did actually see something down the end.

This row of ecclesiastical... ..candle holders, little cut-out brass sconces.

Not the finest example.

What you really want is elaborate brass work.

But these are lovely.

And what's quite nice is there is a little bit of provenance, actually - "Wallsend Baptist Church" is marked on the label, so we know where they've come from, and sometimes, for collectors, that makes a difference.

VO: But with £78 on the ticket, there's still a risk of your getting your fingers burnt.

NS: It's always tricky when you're trying to buy the first item and you want something that's almost guaranteed to make a profit... ..and I don't know if these are.

But I think I have to at least try, because it's a... healthy little market, and they're not exactly ugly.

As Charles would say, they're humble.

There's nothing wrong with that.

VO: Quite right.

Now, let's see if there's a deal in the offing.

NS: Jules.

NS: Hi!

JULES: Hi there, how are you?

NS: I've caught you...totting up today's sales in your ledger.

JULES: So far, yeah.

NS: (LAUGHS) So far!

NS: OK, well, I've seen a brass... ..candlestick - ecclesiastical, long.

VO: Priced at £78.

What's your best, Jules?

JULES: I can do the sconces... JULES: They'll be 35...dead.

NS: OK...

I think I'm going to... ..say yes, please!

35 is a great deal!

VO: It is!

Thank you, Jules.

Wonderful.

Thank you so much.

VO: £165 left - £1 more than Charles.

Ha!

Time to get that Riley back on the road.

Now, Charles has traveled south to the Northumberland market town of Morpeth.

He's here to find out about one famous town resident whose courageous, but ill-fated, actions would help change the social structure of Britain and the rights of women forever.

CHARLES: Hello, Penny.

PENNY: Hi, Charles!

VO: Historian and feminist, Penny Blythe, has been a long-time champion of this heroine of the suffragette movement.

PENNY: So this is Emily Wilding Davison, the suffragette who lost her life in 1913 at the Epsom Derby as a result of injuries when she tried to pin something on the King's horse.

So who was Emily Wilding Davison and what was she like?

She was the daughter of middle-class parents, born in London... ..but her parents were from Northumberland.

She was...at school, regarded as highly intelligent.

She had a great sense of humor.

Lively, sporty, arty.

Got distinctions in French, German - all sorts of things.

CHARLES: Amazing.

VO: Young Emily studied at degree level, even though women at that time weren't allowed to graduate.

When her father died, she and her mother moved near to Morpeth, where she worked as a private tutor.

And, like many free-thinking women of her generation, she joined the women's social and political union, the suffragettes.

Their uniform, as Penny is wearing, contained the colors purple, white and green, representing loyalty, purity and hope.

CHARLES: So, to get their message across, what were members of that union doing?

They decided on direct action, because petitions, debates, speaking at public meetings, protesting were going nowhere.

CHARLES: No.

PENNY: They blew up postboxes.

They thought they would... destroy communications... CHARLES: Wow.

PENNY: ..and they broke windows.

Emily broke into the Houses of Parliament and stayed there for 46 hours.

CHARLES: Did the law come down hard on her?

PENNY: Ooh, yeah, on her and all the suffragettes.

There was a horrendous demonstration, in 1910, I think it was, known as Black Friday.

The police and bystanders beat the women up.

CHARLES: No!

They sexually assaulted them.

They dragged them along the ground, and they arrested them.

VO: And even in prison, the suffragettes continued their protest by going on hunger strike.

Fearful of creating a martyr for the cause, the authorities took drastic measures.

PENNY: They decided to force-feed them, and this was sanctioned by the medical authorities.

So they used something like this... ..which is actually an example... ..of a mouth clamp that was put into their mouths... CHARLES: No!

..and then ratcheted to force the mouth open.

CHARLES: Oh, golly... And they would... have a rubber tube and funnel and then pour the gruel in.

So was Emily force-fed?

She was.

49 times.

VO: But it was the events of the 4th of June 1913 that really put Emily into the public eye.

In an attempt to petition George V directly, she traveled to Epsom, where the King's horse was running in the Derby.

PENNY: She came out onto the race track and tried to attach something - we think suffragette colors - to the King's horse.

She was really severely knocked to the ground, very badly injured, and ultimately died four days later.

VO: With news cameras covering the event, Emily's protest made headlines across the world.

In London, 5,000 women formed a procession, as her body was taken from Victoria to King's Cross Station.

And when her coffin arrived in Morpeth, another crowd accompanied her to the cemetery here.

But her actions were lambasted by those in power and the British press, and an attempt was made to downplay her actions simply as a suicide.

CHARLES: So is there any evidence to suggest, on that day, it wasn't her intention to die?

Lots of things, actually.

She had a return train ticket.

It was known she was going to a garden party afterwards.

Right.

And she was also going to travel to France - her elder sister had just given birth, and she was going out to help.

VO: It would be another five years before Emily Davison's goal of votes for women became a reality.

But her actions on that fateful day helped turn the tide of public opinion towards the suffragettes' cause.

CHARLES: So she almost perfectly encapsulated, Emily did, that motto of the suffragettes, which was...?

"Deeds, not words."

Absolutely.

VO: Now, out on the road, Natasha is embracing that 1930's driving experience.

NS: OK, get ready for this.

This is a double de-clutch gear change.

We're neutral.

We're clutch.

(GEARS GRIND) We're second.

Oh, do you hear it?!

(GEARS CONTINUE TO GRIND) VO: Ah, seamless.

Woman and machine in perfect harmony, eh?

We're not firm friends just yet.

We're acquaintances.

VO: She's also Morpeth-bound.

But it's the shopping she's come for, and it looks like it's the Morpeth Antiques Centre calling to her.

NS: Right.

Another big shop.

VO: Yes.

With around 20 dealers selling in here, there's going to be plenty to peruse.

Picking a winner out of this vast array is no easy task.

So, Natasha will need to rely on her keen eye and wealth of accumulated experience, no matter how obscure.

Stand by.

NS: I'm going to put to good use some childhood knowledge, some knowledge I acquired in primary school - how to read Hebrew.

VO: She always was a gifted child.

NS: I've just clocked a little decanter label.

It is, in fact, a Hebrew label.

"L'chaim."

It's not telling you what's inside the decanter.

It's saying, "Cheers".

In fact, it's saying, "To life"!

If you've seen 'Fiddler On The Roof' - "To life, to life - l'chaim."

It has basically everything that you would imagine from a decanter label - Corinthian columns, lions - but just that little bit more over-the-top.

VO: And, it's sterling silver too, priced at £28.

NS: That's interesting.

That's piqued my interest, because I think there is a market for that.

Yeah.

L'chaim indeed.

VO: Mazel tov.

Ha!

Now, from Fiddler On The Roof to Rummager Through The Shelves.

Anything you like?

NS: That clock, actually.

Yeah, I'm going in.

Hold on.

Oh, it is a wee bit heavy.

(STRAINING) OK, careful.

Careful.

(THUD) Ooh!

Ha-ha!

VO: Perhaps more careful, Natasha.

NS: That is so stylish!

I just love the color.

I'm so bad...at wood.

(LAUGHS) I think it might be birch.

VO: I think you might be right.

NS: Whatever the veneer is, look how nicely it's been positioned.

So you have that central V coming right down the middle of the face.

Bakelite here on the door.

Brown Bakelite as well, which is very period.

And it's got this lovely cream color, but it's just such a nice way of doing it, really making the most of the...let's say birch veneer, letting it speak through the Bakelite.

VO: It looks like art deco, but I think it's later.

Let's call it mid-century and have a butcher's round the back.

NS: Oh, look.

Yeah!

Full winding movement.

And you can see, look, the little beaters.

(BELL CHIMES) How nice is that?

VO: Otherwise known as strikers.

Very nice.

All in working order, so it could be used today.

NS: And what's that?

"Metron.

Torunska Fabryka Wodomierzy"?

Hmm.

Polish?

NS: Hmm.

VO: Hmm.

VO: Your primary school didn't teach Slavic languages, then?

Ha-ha!

No price on that, so you'll have to ask.

And you've also got two dealers to charm in here.

Hello, Maria!

Hello, Steve.

NS: May I interrupt?

NS: Hello.

Hi.

MARIA: Oh, hi, Natasha.

NS: How are you?

MARIA: Yeah, good.

NS: You're good.

So the first thing I'm interested in is the clock over there.

But I didn't see a price tag.

MARIA: Well, you make me an offer, and then we can go from there.

Ah, right.

OK. Well, what if I said...£25?

Oh.

VO: I think that's a "no".

We'd maybe go at 40, but I think that might be about the best.

If 40's the death, 40's the death.

MARIA: Would that be OK?

NS: That would be great.

Thank you very much.

That suits me down to the ground.

VO: Next up, that Hebrew decanter label.

NS: It's marked up at 28.

My opening gambit is kind of top end of what I think the auctioneer's estimate would be - £15.

STEVE: Um...a little bit more?

NS: A little bit more?

Maybe 18, maybe?

NS: I think cheers to that.

MARIA: Yes.

£18 is cool.

L'chaim!

L'chaim.

VO: £58 in total for the clock and the label, then.

NS: I'll be toasting you if I make a profit.

Lovely.

Fingers crossed.

VO: So, with £107 left, let's pick up Charles and call that a good day's work, eh?

NS: Know what I can't wait for?

CHARLES: What's that?

I can't wait to have to do a three-point turn in this car.

CHARLES: Ah!

NS: (LAUGHS) CHARLES: A three-pointer.

NS: I cannot wait!

A 19-pointer!

VO: You just wait till you try parallel parking!

Hee-hee!

Nighty night.

VO: It's another glorious day in the North... (HORN HONKS WEAKLY) CHARLES: Good morning!

NS: Morning!

VO: ..and today, it's Charles's turn in the driver's seat.

Are you in third gear?!

NS: How did you do that?!

CHARLES: I feel it.

NS: You have been in this car for five seconds.

Thank you very much.

You're in actual third year!

CHARLES: (LAUGHS) CHARLES: Oh, I feel good.

NS: I can't believe it.

I feel really good.

(GEARS GRIND) VO: Beginner's luck, Natasha.

It was Natasha who was zooming ahead in the shopping stakes yesterday, picking up an ecclesiastical candelabrum, an Art Deco-style mantel clock and a decanter label in Hebrew.

NS: It's saying, "Cheers".

In fact, it's saying, "To life"!

L'chaim.

VO: She's got £107 left over to spend today.

But whilst Charles was also raring to go... CHARLES: Right, I'm all set now.

VO: ..his shopping was less successful, so he still has £164 after bagging just one item.

It was a nice one, though.

CHARLES: I bought a tea caddy yesterday.

NS: You bought a tea caddy?

CHARLES: A tea caddy.

NS: Wait a minute.

Is it from the 18th century?

CHARLES: Yeah, yeah...

It was priced at 48... ..and I paid £36 for it.

How?!

Who are you?

Get out of here!

NS: Who are you?

CHARLES: Well, you know... Did you hypnotize?

VO: No, it was just his boyish charm and consummate skill.

CHARLES: Oops...

I've got the car dirty.

Oh, Charles!

I've got the car dirty.

It was going so well.

VO: Lordy.

All the gears, no ideas.

Ha-ha!

Later, all their prized purchases will head to an auction in Newcastle upon Tyne, and that's also where we start today, in the leafy suburb of Jesmond, where, having deposited his passenger, Charles has an appointment at Fern Avenue Antiques & Interiors.

On Fern Avenue, naturally.

CHARLES: Thanks, Riley.

Come on, be good to me.

Thank you.

VO: Third time's the charm, Charles.

Inside, it's a treat for the senses.

An eclectic mix of furniture, objects of virtue and curios from an eclectic bunch of dealers, too.

Dennis is at the helm today.

So, if there's a deal to be done, he's your man.

Right, let's shake a leg, then.

(CABINETS RATTLE) It's cabinet music.

It's as though... the cabinets are talking, saying, "Come on, Hanson."

VO: That's an accident waiting to happen, isn't it?

Oh, dear.

Let's head for more solid ground.

Ooh, look, he's onto something.

CHARLES: So this jug, I suspect, in its day, would have been a water jug.

There you go.

Have a drink.

But the reason I like it is the body is salt-glaze stoneware.

Just look at the detail here.

Look at these figures.

This decoration is called sprig decoration, and it's beautifully done.

Look at the molding here as well.

All applied, almost like wheat sheaves, so you can see, it's a harvest jug.

This jug would date to around 1790...1800. and it would have been a jug used... ..in the middle part of the late George III period.

VO: There's £78 on that big beast, but will it sell at auction?

It is so unfashionable.

But when you find something big and impressive, and just of fine quality, you can't say no.

VO: Very fond of his pottery is our Charles.

But what else can you find in here?

CHARLES: That's quite nice.

It's made of bronze.

Not bronzed with a D - it's true bronze, it's heavy, and that's a good sign of quality.

And it's simply described as a vintage bronze mirror.

But, actually, the script here... ..in this style of Prunus blossom... And look at these two mating crane birds, a typical emblem of Japan.

It would have been held by a geisha girl, in the 1880s.

VO: And you can still see your face in it.

£85 is the ticket price.

On the right day, this could literally, like the birds, fly home to Asia, and it could make £200 or £300.

VO: So let's go talk to Dennis.

CHARLES: Hello there.

DENNIS: Hiya.

CHARLES: How are you?

DENNIS: I'm fine, thank you.

I've seen two things I quite like.

One item is just over there - it's a Japanese bronze mirror.

CHARLES: Quite nice.

DENNIS: Yes.

Nice quality.

That's priced, I think, at £85.

Right.

CHARLES: The other item is a very nice pottery jug, probably circa 1800.

CHARLES: Big jug.

DENNIS: Yes.

CHARLES: And that was priced, I think, at £78.

Right.

What could be your best price on the two together?

I think we could help you out and do £60 each.

DENNIS: 120 for the two?

CHARLES: Really?

I'm from Derby, by the way.

Yes, well, that's why it's 120!

VO: Nice one, Dennis!

CHARLES: I'm going to say to you, Dennis, I will take... ..both of them.

VO: So decisive!

That little haul leaves him with just £44 for later.

CHARLES: All the best!

VO: And with his precious cargo safely stowed, it's time to say sayonara to Jesmond.

And we head to the banks of the River Tyne, and the city of Newcastle itself.

From the Middle Ages, mining was the major industry in the area and, from this river, coal was exported all across Britain.

And it was in the 1800s when coal took over as the fuel of the Industrial Revolution.

Natasha's come to the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers to meet past president, Bill Bell.

NS: Oh, wow.

What a building!

My goodness.

VO: Set up in 1852, the Institute's main aim was to keep miners safe in this dangerous industry.

BILL: We were formed against the burgeoning industry in the 19th century.

Accidents and explosions happening all the time, because there were more and more mines and they were going deeper and deeper - the further in you get, the more propensity for accidents and disasters to happen.

People were decapitated, falling down shafts, crushed, caught in wires, in machinery.

There are all sorts of lists like this.

VO: But by far the most destructive danger that miners faced were explosions.

Digging out coal released methane and, without adequate ventilation, this volatile gas built up underground, and with miners using the naked flame of candles to light their way in the darkness, the results were devastating.

BILL: We have the inspector's reports here for a couple of explosions.

One of the major ones was Felling Colliery in 1812.

So what happened there at Felling?

BILL: The ventilation was such that it couldn't flush the gas out of the workings.

The colliery exploded, and 92 men and boys killed.

Yet another, in a long line of these things.

VO: Clearly, a safer form of lighting was required, and this being a great age of invention, many of the leading minds of the day were tasked with finding a solution.

And lined up in the Institute's lecture theater are some of their results.

NS: Oh, that's lovely.

That's the first time I've seen a miner's lamp in action.

But, straight away, my eye is drawn to something that is not a lamp.

It's an early form of mine lighting, known as a flint and steel mill.

The man called Carlisle Spedding, a mining engineer from Cumbria, invented this in 1735.

You held a piece of flint on here.

You turned the handle.

A shower of sparks comes off.

There were many accidents caused by these, and indeed, Carlisle Spedding was killed, underground, by an explosion caused by one of these.

VO: In the quest for a safer light, Sir Humphry Davy, perhaps the most celebrated scientist of the day, was invited to submit a design.

His lamp used a gauze to keep the flame away from the outside atmosphere.

BILL: However, if you had a good airflow, it would blow the flame against the gauze, it would become red hot.

Tiny scintillas of metal would come off and explosions were caused.

There were more explosions after this was brought in than there were before.

VO: The local engineer George Stephenson, who would later become famous as the father of railways, also came up with an answer.

BILL: Stephenson's lamp is three times safer.

It's got an internal glass chimney, and a copper perforated cap, so it can't communicate the flame that way, that way or that way.

And... (BLOWS) ..no lateral draughts.

VO: George Stephenson's lamp may have improved safety, but its real legacy, in this part of the world at least, may be more cultural.

BILL: People think perhaps that we're called Geordies up here because the miners up here, especially in Northumberland, favored Geordie Stephenson and they became known as Geordies because they used Geordie's lamp.

But the real forerunner of the standard miner's safety lamp, seen in antique shops up and down the land, was devised by one William Reid Clanny.

BILL: He was a medical doctor and he lived in Sunderland and he was patching up the people who were burned and broken limbs from explosions, and he started to try and develop a lamp.

VO: Whilst his first attempt worked, it was too cumbersome to be used down a mine, but he persevered, adopting the best bits of Stephenson and Davy's work into his design.

BILL: This lamp was Clanny's sixth and final variety.

He raised the gauze up.

He raised the glass up here, and it gives better light, but it stops the draughts as well.

It's become known generically as a Davy lamp.

So...poor old Dr Clanny, who hardly anyone's ever heard of, doesn't get his fair share of credit.

VO: Well, here's to the good doctor, whose hard work and inventiveness helped to save many lives.

Now, out in the country, Charles is getting to grips with his new travel companion.

CHARLES: Hey, Riley of 1933.

I'm Charlie of 1978.

Do you think you can get me through the entire week?

(CAR HORN BEEPS) Yes!

Good.

VO: He's a very strange man.

Charles and his talking car are heading to the coast, and the seaside town of Whitley Bay.

Lost shop of the leg for him is The Owl And The Pussycat.

He's brought no honey, but plenty of money.

CHARLES: Here we go.

VO: Well, £44, to be exact.

VO: And there's quite a bit to consider in here.

CHARLES: Wow, look at that.

VO: Art nouveau vases, fine silverware and their stock in trade, of course.

Well, it's in the name.

It's a horse from Leeds, apparently.

A horse from Leeds.

'Appaloosa horse.'

Is that how you say it?

Appaloosa?

It could be yours for £38, couldn't you?

£38?

I don't think so, no.

Are you worth it?

You are.

Neigh, you're not worth it.

I'll put you down.

Come on.

VO: We'll leave him to his horseplay and head south to County Durham, and the town of Stanley, where, on the outskirts, Natasha is just pitching up at Raine and James.

It might well look like your regular antique shop from the outside, but inside is a whole different kettle of fish.

There's some very weird and wonderful things in here.

Let's see if there's something for her remaining £107 that's got a bit of age.

See, there are antiques, because these are from the Great War.

They're not massively rare, but they are popular.

Photograph frames fashioned from the tips of wooden propellers.

The thing that's really nice is that they seem to be a proper pair.

This one has a genuine photograph of someone from the Flying Corps.

A handsome chap, I'm tempted to say.

And this one here, that's a little lithograph of a couple of planes in flight.

VO: The price might be an issue, given your current budget.

NS: £110...would be tricky for an auctioneer to achieve.

I don't see a shortage of bidders for this genre, but I see a ceiling that they would hit and then drop out.

They'd almost get to a certain altitude and then they'd have to stop.

(SIGHS) Right.

My work here is not done.

So I'll pop those down, and I'll fly off over here.

VO: And we'll jet back to Whitley Bay, where Charles might be on to something at last.

Some really interesting objects in this cabinet here.

Some interesting curios is the word.

But what's caught my eye is what's on the bottom here.

Back in the day of fast living, we had a lot more people smoking, which of course now isn't the way.

VO: Whilst the habit is undoubtedly bad for your health, this 1920's smoking paraphernalia might be good for Charles's auction hopes.

CHARLES: This one here is the cigarette case and there's your strap for your cigarettes.

And I love this... gilded interior.

Not silver gilt.

Nothing more than just being a gilded metal, but just nice quality, and then lighting me up, quite literally, the very nice French art deco vesta case, or what you might call your case for matches.

And you'll see hints of where the smoke has just oxidized the gilded interior.

The two together priced at £65.

I will split them up and I wonder if the very nice dealer... ..might do me a deal.

VO: Well, he's sitting right there.

Why not ask him?

CHARLES: Hello there.

DAVID: Hi, Charles.

CHARLES: How are you?

DAVID: Alright, thank you.

CHARLES: Your name is... DAVID: David.

CHARLES: Fantastic shop.

DAVID: Thank you.

Now what I've seen, there's a sort of... ..exotic cigarette case and also a vesta case.

DAVID: The French ones.

CHARLES: That's right.

DAVID: Yeah.

CHARLES: French, 1920's, '30's They're priced at £65.

OK.

If I tell you, I've only got all the fours... DAVID: Forty four.

CHARLES: Correct.

Would you accept £44 for them?

Do you know what I'll do for you... CHARLES: In the Bay of Whitley.

DAVID: Whitley Bay Hospitality.

I will do £43 for you and you can have the pound to get an ice lolly on the way home.

CHARLES: Oh, I've never had a money back.

That's amazing!

VO: Ha-ha!

Yes, top man, David.

As two separate lots, that'll be £22 for the cigarette case and £21 for the vesta.

And off he goes, clutching his final pound.

Back in Stanley, more antiques have come to light.

That's charming, isn't it?

That's just lovely.

Quite often you see ebonized brackets like this, wall brackets, with foliate mounts on them.

That's probably more regular, I would say, than a figural mount.

She's not bronze.

It would be lovely if she were bronze.

She would be heavier if she were bronze and she would be more finely cast.

Things like the fingers are a dead giveaway.

She's got one chunky, one slim finger, a kind of a fat pinky.

VO: That's a bit personal, Natasha.

NS: Very art nouveau, and we're in that sort of period as well, late Victorian, I would say.

It's an entry level wall bracket that still looks the part when...you hang it high enough, because she looks really good when you put her up here.

VO: Problem solved, then.

No price on that, so you better consult the owner.

NS: Phil, hello.

Hello, my darling.

How are you?

PHIL: Very well indeed.

NS: Love your place.

Yeah, that's very kind of you.

First thing I was drawn to the propeller photo frames.

I clocked the price.

110.

That blows my entire budget.

So bear that in mind when I also tell you, Phil, I like this old girl.

PHIL: Which is a beaut.

NS: For the two... ..what about 105?

105?

Cool.

OK, we'll do that.

Thank you so much.

PHIL: That's a good deal, you've got a good deal.

VO: I'd say!

Let's call that £50 for the lady and 55 for the photo frames.

That leaves her with £1 more than her compatriot.

Something to gloat about in the car on the way home, I suspect.

NS: Do you ever get nervous before the auction... (CRUNCH) Oh!

Excuse me.

NS: Oh, hold on.

Turn it, baby.

Turn it.

NS: Oh, Charles!

CHARLES: Sorry, Natasha.

VO: That is a dreadful bit of driving.

Well, let's hope you make it.

Better get some shuteye, I think.

Nighty night.

Auction day is upon us.

But how about this for a backdrop?

While we watch via the magic of technology, the magnificent Bowes Museum.

NS: Oh, Charles, look at this!

This is amazing, Natasha.

CHARLES: It is a chateau of epic proportions.

NS: Very accurate.

CHARLES: Ooh-la-la.

This is France.

VO: County Durham, as a matter of fact.

But tres superbe nevertheless.

Having kicked off in Powburn, we've gone south to Barnard Castle while their purchases have headed back to Newcastle, here to go under the hammer at Thomas N Miller, with eager bidders online, on the phones and in the room.

VO: Charles parted with £199 on five auction lots.

Are any of them tickling the fancy of today's auctioneer, Guy Macklam?

GUY: Mahogany tea caddy in my mind, is probably one of the nicer lots.

It's a traditional antique.

This is a nice example, in good condition, so I'm pretty sure this should sell pretty well.

VO: Natasha spent just £1 less, £198 on five lots.

Any favorites, Guy?

GUY: The propeller photo frames, I think, are probably the best lot here today.

They'll be widely collectable, and early, sort of, World War memorabilia always sells really well.

VO: Excellent news.

Right.

Let's find a place to park up.

NS: You take me to all the best places.

CHARLES: Look at this sunshine.

When you're...about to go to auction in the sunshine, it's a sign.

There's a smile coming up and some good results.

CHARLES: Feel it... Shall we just get on with it?

VO: Yeah.

Could we?

First up is Natasha's lady with the big pinky, that ebonized wall bracket.

GUY: I'm bid only £30 for it.

NS: No!

GUY: Is there any advance on 30?

NS: Come on!

We're going forward at 40.

Oh, come on.

One to go.

This is your last chance, internet.

45?

CHARLES: Yes.

GUY: Keep going.

Internet.

GUY: 50 bid.

CHARLES: Break even.

At £50 for the lot, then, at 50 we sell.

NS: One more.

GUY: Last call at 50.

It's got to go... (GAVEL) VO: I guess the porter just didn't hold it high enough.

NS: Oh!

VO: Never mind.

VO: Part one of Charles's smoking set now, that very art deco vesta case.

Eight is the bid.

It's very low, is it not, at only £8.

CHARLES: Come on!

GUY: I've got 10 bid.

12 bid.

12 against you, internet.

14 in the room.

CHARLES: Go on!

NS: They love it.

GUY: 20 bid.

CHARLES: One more.

Any advance on 20?

Take five from it.

25.

CHARLES: Yes!

We're in.

NS: Yeah...

GUY: A little bit better.

25.

At £25.

30 bid.

NS: Oh, yeah!

CHARLES: Oh, good!

Wow.

GUY: Any advance?

Internet bidder at 30.

Your last chance.

CHARLES: Go on.

One more!

GUY: £30 to the net.

(GAVEL) VO: Not quite setting the sale room on fire, but it gave Charles a warm glow.

Well done.

That was really good.

That was really good.

A profit.

You're off the mark.

VO: Natasha's pair of World War I propeller frames now.

Let's hope they take off.

Very unusual.

60 bid.

CHARLES: Oh, yes!

NS: Oh, straight in.

Is that in... Is that straight in?!

GUY: 85 in the room at £85.

CHARLES: Well done.

NS: Oh, I'm so chuffed.

That never happens.

I salute you.

GUY: 90 bid.

110 in the room.

NS: 110!

GUY: 110 in the room.

Your last chance online, at 110 you're out.

120 you're in.

CHARLES: Oh!

NS: Are you for real?!

GUY: Madam?

I've got 120.

It's on the screen next to me.

Your last call.

VO: That's more like it.

Props you up, Natasha.

NS: Yay!

Oh, that feels so good.

VO: More smoking stuff now.

Charles's cigarette case.

Nice object, nasty habit.

GUY: £30 anywhere?

10 is the bid, 12 is bid.

GUY: Jump in.

CHARLES: Small steps.

GUY: We're under way.

16 offered.

Don't stop now.

18 offered.

CHARLES: Come on.

NS: Come along.

Oh, no!

20 bid online.

25 again.

Look, I'm going to look at you instead.

GUY: Are we done, internet?

CHARLES: One more.

It's in the room, at 25 we sell... (GAVEL) VO: See?

I told you it wasn't good for you.

I made a profit, haven't I?

You've made a profit - a tidy one.

A tidy one.

VO: Natasha's art deco-ish mantel clock now.

Lovely veneer.

It does have a nice chiming movement.

It's smart.

Importantly is of a name, in good condition.

Oh, lovely.

I predict this might... go ding dong.

Seriously.

I'm bid 25.

Come on, go.

Come on!

I've got a buyer at 30 here on the internet.

Come on, internet.

The world is watching.

£30 for the lot, then.

CHARLES: No!

GUY: We sell it.

You're worth one more.

Surely.

At £30 to the net.

VO: I think the Polish clock collectors were asleep for that one.

I'm surprised that people did not want to pay more for that.

VO: Charles's tea caddy now.

Let's see if there are any bids brewing.

Get it?

GUY: Start me 20.

NS: Oh!

CHARLES: Come on.

GUY: 20 is the bid.

NS: Twenty's too low.

20, five, 30.

Your turn.

35, At £35 for absolutely... NS: Where is everyone?

CHARLES: I know.

45 against you.

GUY: 50 bid... NS: 50's bid CHARLES: That's...

GUY: 60 bid.

..better.

Better.

Hold on.

Milk and sugar.

GUY: Back of the room at 65.

CHARLES: Come on!

GUY: 70 bid.

75 offered.

CHARLES: Have a sweetener.

GUY: At 75.

CHARLES: I like green tea.

NS: Have a biscuit.

Your last chance at £75.

It's in the room.

(GAVEL) VO: Well done, Charles.

That stirred things up a bit.

You know, I can't grumble.

It's a great price.

VO: Now, if you fancy something stronger, here's Natasha's Hebrew decanter label.

So this says... in Hebrew you say... NS: L'chaim.

CHARLES: Beautiful.

Eight is the bid.

120.

Under way at eight for the lot then.

CHARLES: Come on.

GUY: At only £8.

CHARLES: (GROANS) GUY: It's silver.

Come along.

Bid 10, internet.

Eight is the price.

All done?

Oh, he's still on eight!

CHARLES: No...

It's silver, man.

GUY: ..your last chance.

Are we done?

At only eight.

VO: I don't think anyone's going to be raising a glass to that.

Bad luck, Natasha.

NS: It was lovely.

It had lions rampant and Corinthian columns and L'chaim.

It was... Oh, well, that's what happened.

VO: Charles's whopper of a harvest jug now.

Can it reap a profit?

£20 to start me.

Eight is the bid.

Oh, no!

NS: Eight?

GUY: Is there any advance?

GUY: At only £8.

CHARLES: Oh, dear.

GUY: £8.

Come along internet... NS: No, it's not!

10, 12 bid, 14, £14 only.

GUY: 16 bid.

NS: He loves your lots.

He always hopes for more on your lots.

Come on... 18 offered.

Climbing slowly.

Any advance on 18 for the lot then?

Your final chance.

At £18, we sell.

VO: Just goes to show that size isn't everything, Charles.

I feel like I should act like a journalist right now and ask you, how do you feel?

I might need to have some counseling over that.

VO: Yeah... Can Natasha light up the room with her ecclesiastical candle holder?

It's her last lot.

CHARLES: You know we say there's romance, theater and drama?

This lot could be dramatic.

NS: (SCOFFS) GUY: 12 bid.

GUY: Any advance at only 12?

CHARLES: Oh, come on.

NS: 12 is sad.

GUY: ..for the lot.

14 bid, 16 offered.

NS: Well, they're not exactly running.

CHARLES: It's moving.

NS: No, it's not!

(SING-SONG) Here we go.

GUY: At £30.

Any advance, then?

GUY: ..sell it.

Last chance... NS: Oh, no, I paid more!

£30.

At £30, we sell.

(GAVEL) VO: Sort of guttered and went out, that one.

CHARLES: Do you know, dinner went cold there.

VO: And finally, Charles's bronze mirror.

He has high hopes for this.

40 bid.

Five.

50.

Five.

60.

CHARLES: Keep going...

GUY: Come along, internet.

65, 70 bid, 75, 80 offered.

GUY: 85, we're pushing on.

CHARLES: Better.

GUY: 90 bid on the net.

CHARLES: Hello, China!

Hello, Japan!

GUY: Jump in now, 110.

GUY: At 110.

NS: It's still going.

That's not stopping any time soon.

GUY: 140.

At £140.

You're all out in the front.

Last call.

We sell to the net.

VO: That put a big smile on his face.

Well done, that man.

NS: That is brilliant.

VO: Well, let's see how we all did.

Natasha started this leg with £200, and, after auction fees, she's taken the teeniest backward step.

She's currently sitting on £197.16.

But it's Charles who takes the early lead.

He started with the same amount and, after sale room costs, now has £237.16.

He's nudging ahead, Natasha.

CHARLES: Wind's blowing that way.

CHARLES: So... NS: That's second... (GEARS CRUNCH) NS: Oh...

BOTH: (CHEER) NS: (LAUGHS) subtitling@stv.tv