VOICEOVER (VO): The nation's favorite antiques experts, £200 each and one big challenge.

Cuz I'm going to declare war.

Why?

VO: Who can make the most money buying and selling antiques as they scour the UK?

DEALER: (LAUGHS) CHARLES: Gone.

VO: The aim is to trade up and hope each antique turns a profit.

Well done, buddy.

VO: But it's not as easy as you might think - and things don't always go to plan.

CHARLIE: (SHOUTS) Push!

VO: So will they race off with a huge profit, or come to a grinding halt?

I'm going to thrash you!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip!

VO: All this week we're on the road with a couple of cheeky chappies, auctioneers Charlie Ross and Charles Hanson.

CHARLIE: See any antiques?

CHARLES: I think if you look... CHARLIE: What was the oldest thing you saw?

CHARLES: You.

BOTH: (LAUGH) VO: Charlie Ross has started to rely on some rather unorthodox ways of hunting out treasure.

I'm looking into my crystal ball.

VO: Charles Hanson meanwhile, certainly has an eye for a bargain, but he also has an eye for the ladies.

I love your hair, by the way.

Jenny, are you available?

JENNY: Yes, I'm available.

CHARLES: Jenny is available.

VO: And his charm seems to have served him well - yesterday Charles achieved a major victory.

As a young boy, I always wanted one of these.

You can have it for £10.

We're selling now at 75... (GAVEL) VO: While Charlie was left out of pocket and trailing in his wake.

CHARLIE: That, 20 years ago would have been 560, 580.

It could be yours for 100.

AUCTIONEER: And I will sell it... (SIGHS) Oh, dear.

..at only £40... (GAVEL) Oh, yes!

VO: From his original £200, Charlie Ross now has a meager £212.16.

VO: Charles Hanson, meanwhile, has grown his £200 to a mighty £418.95.

VO: Charlie's got plenty of ground to make up - providing that their 1960's Ford Corsair doesn't break down again.

CHARLIE: (SHOUTS) I can't!

Come on, you're a big guy, Bean!

Come on, Bean!

(SHOUTS) Oh yes!

CHARLIE: # Denise, Denise, # I've got a crush on you.

# BOTH: # Denise, Denise... # VO: But today it seems to be running like a dream.

It sounds better, doesn't it, today?

I think it's fine.

Sounds good.

Hear that engine purr?

Yeah.

VO: Our two Charlies are traveling over 300 miles down the east of England, all the way from Bridlington to Rye in East Sussex.

VO: Today, they're leaving Bury St Edmunds and heading for their next Auction in Greenwich.

VO: The first stop is Lavenham, 13 miles away.

(ENGINE STUTTERS) VO: But actually, they're going nowhere fast.

CHARLES: Handbrake, ah, handbrake off... CHARLIE: (SHOUTS) Not again!

You are the most incompetent driver!

(ENGINE STUTTERS) CHARLIE: Oh, get out, let me have a go.

When you're ready.

Count me down, three, two, one.

CHARLIE: Three...two...one... Go!

CHARLIE: (SHOUTS) Keep pushing!

CHARLES: I am!

CHARLIE: Faster.

Run!

Oh!

(SIGHS) CHARLIE: (LAUGHS) Have you seen that sign?

CHARLIE: (LAUGHS) CHARLES: If Lavenham is 10 miles away, I think ditch the car and we'll just have to get there somehow.

CHARLIE: How are we gonna get there?

CHARLES: I don't know yet.

VO: Right.

We'll take care of the car - again!

CHARLES: Get off, this is my patch!

It's my patch.

CHARLES: He's got the gift!

CHARLIE: It's a shot in the dark, but you're not going to Lavenham, are you?

WOMAN: No.

I'm going into Bury.

CHARLIE: You're going into Bury?

(SHOUTS) Do you want to come with me or not?

No, I'll stay here.

CHARLIE: OK. Bye!

CHARLES: See you... OK, see you later, Charlie.

I could probably take you to Lavenham.

If I navigate you to Lavenham, will you take me?

Yeah, course I will.

You're wonderful!

Poor old Mr Hanson!

We'll do it the Hanson way, OK, it might be difficult, might be a free ride, but hey... VO: Stubborn as a mule!

But he soon admits defeat.

CHARLIE: Fran, this is Charles, Charles Hanson.

Now, you know where Lavenham is, don't you.

(LAUGHS) VO: Thanks to their angel in disguise, they finally reach their destination.

VO: In medieval times, Lavenham was one of the richest settlements in England.

Prospering from the wool trade, its wealth is still reflected through impressive architecture.

VO: Scattered throughout the village there are over 300 listed, timber-framed buildings - giving it an unspoilt charm.

Fran, thank you ever so much again, we really appreciate it.

When I've done my shopping, I'll ask you back for a cream tea.

VO: And at antiques shop 'Timbers' let's hope the chaps don't walk away with a lot of dead wood.

Hah!

Hello.

I'm Charles.

I'm Jenny, nice to meet you.

I'm actually Charlie, and he is Charles.

I'm not Charlie, I'm Charles.

Two Charlies?

Yeah.

My young assistant.

May we look round?

JENNY: You certainly may.

VO: What a couple of jokers!

Something has already caught Charlie's eye, but they're marked at a handsome £165.

CHARLIE: I spotted these lions through the window.

I'm pretty certain they're late 19th-century stoneware.

They're in a lovely...some would call original condition Ah, the paintwork's coming off, but I don't mind that.

I certainly wouldn't scrub them and try and make them any better.

But, I've seen the price on them and it's just a question of, ah... ..how much they can be bought for.

Jenny.

May I have a word?

JENNY: You certainly can.

A quiet word in your shell-like ear.

You certainly can.

Take my arm.

CHARLIE: It is 165 on the label, isn't it?

JENNY: Yeah.

I don't really want to pay more than £100 for them.

No, that's a little bit... CHARLIE: Can you do that?

JENNY: No, that's a bit on the cheap side.

CHARLIE: You can't?

No.

(WHISPERS) 110.

JENNY: Nope, a bit more than that.

(WHISPERS) 115?

No, a bit more.

120?

No.

Oh, do them at 120.

Could you do them at 120?

JENNY: No.

A bit more.

CHARLIE: Could you do them for 125?

JENNY: Oh, go on then CHARLIE: Oooh!

You can have them at 125, but I want to see how much they make in auction.

CHARLIE: May I kiss you?

I'll let you know, come to the auction!

VO: Not a bad knock down in price, for a couple of kisses, but will the lions prove to be a success at auction?

Sobering thought, isn't it, really?

What did I start with today?

Just over £200 - 210, 212, something like that.

Walk into a shop and what does Ross do?

Blow well over half of it on one lot.

VO: Elsewhere in the shop, Charles is certainly making himself at home!

VO: Hmm, linen or underwear?

Sorry.

Right, OK, right, we'll go.

VO: Naughty!

I'm looking for...something, now with £400 to spend I'd be able to spend it all and buy quality, but it's something which is going to be a bit quirky, a bit different, a bit eccentric.

I like this ring here.

JENNY: Yes.

That's particularly nice.

CHARLES: May I have a look at it, Jenny?

JENNY: Yes, you certainly can.

(ALARM) That's for security.

VO: Well done, Sherlock!

CHARLES: This ring would date to the first or second century AD, and if you obviously were Emperor Constantine, you know, what has this seen?

What has this key opened a thousand years ago?

And it could be yours for £55.

VO: Unlike the modern key ring which holds a group of keys together, a Roman key ring was a finger ring containing an actual key.

Got it?

Do we have any provenance for this ring, at all, any history?

JENNY: I don't.

CHARLES: Could we find out?

CHARLES: Is that possible?

JENNY: We could ask...

I'm gonna find out, because provenance is so important in aiding value... ..to something which has such significant social history, and if we can find out a bit more pedigree... ..and put it into a catalogue, you know, it could do quite well at auction.

OK.

Thanks, Jenny, we'll find out.

We'll give them a call, we'll phone a friend.

VO: Try Julius Caesar.

Let's hope the vendor's in the mood for a deal.

CHARLES: Tell me, did you detect it or was it unearthed out of the ground?

Did it really?

It came from an auction in Germany.

I was hoping perhaps I could pay about £30 for it.

CHARLES: He says yes.

JENNY: Brilliant.

I say yes.

CHARLES: We're going.

Great, it's done.

I feel quite...

I don't know, quite distinguished, with a Roman key ring.

VO: Although he hasn't verified the key ring's history, Charles suspects it's a good buy.

Let's hope the bidders agree.

Elsewhere competitive Charlie is on the hunt for his second item.

CHARLIE: Now, I'm gonna ask you a very rude question here.

Yes?

I've been looking through here, there's lots of lovely things.

Is there something here you've had so long you really want to get rid of?

DEALER: Yes, glove stretchers.

CHARLIE: If you had leather gloves, of course, they would shrink from time to time, so stick the glove stretcher down into the fingers, press them a little bit and it just stretches the glove, so that you can get the glove on.

Now, I know these are very old-fashioned objects, but you know, they're nearly always made out of ivory, and these are...solid silver and they're Victorian.

CHARLIE: But, eh...our dear late queen died in 1901, so if you call something Victorian it gives it an extra cache, gives it...more of a sense of it being an antique.

VO: Go on Charlie - they're only £40.

Could I buy those for 15?

DEALER: Yes, you can.

Oh, goodie.

VO: Dear oh dear!

Chuffed with his first purchase, Charles is off to see the sights of Lavenham.

VO: Lavenham is full of perfectly preserved buildings, but this house, known as 'Little Hall' was once owned by identical twin brothers who transformed it from a high barn to living accommodation.

VO: Charles is going to meet Theo Gayer-Anderson, the grandson of one of the pioneering restorers, to find out more.

What a marvelous place.

Yes, welcome, yes.

Unbelievable.

It's my grandfather and great uncle's house and it's a 14th-century timber-framed house.

CHARLES: Yes.

THEO: It was a labor of love on their part to try and restore this building to something like what it might have been, but they didn't restore it completely.

We would have been standing here looking right up to the ceiling rafters and there would have been thatch on the roof... CHARLES: Yes.

..earth on the floor, no chimney, just an open fire in the middle of the room; so what they've done is just kind of restored it to somewhere round what would have been left by the Tudors.

THEO: They were almost sort of pioneers in this village and when they restored this house everybody else was modernizing their houses.

VO: Not only were the brothers in the vanguard of restoration, they were also military officers interested in the arts.

They traveled the world with the army and collected exotic antiquities to adorn the home.

VO: Today, 'Little Hall' is looked after by Suffolk Building Preservation Trust and Jean Beard is its Chair.

Can we have a little tour of the house..?

Absolutely.

..as a threesome?

JEAN: Yes, yes.

CHARLES: Fantastic, Theo, I'll follow your lead, OK, you're the man of the house.

And I'll follow the chairman as well.

CHARLES: What a peculiar room, isn't it?

THEO: Yes, yeah.

CHARLES: Isn't it?

Because I can't quite put into context... Don't you think it's beautiful, though?

I think it's absolutely wonderful.

CHARLES: It's got, sort of, an Iranian, a Persian feel... JEAN: Exactly, yes.

CHARLES: It's got an aesthetic feel.

Tell me what period these pictures come from.

These are Persian, you were absolutely right, they are Persian and they're 17th, 18th century.

CHARLES: Wow.

THEO: Funny enough they had just enough to fill this room and it must have given them a great thrill to be able to fit out a room so perfectly and I think this was probably one of their favorite and most successful rooms.

CHARLES: Are they on leather, or just...?

THEO: They're wooden panels.

CHARLES: Wooden panels.

Fantastic.

CHARLES: So, we're entering the... Well, this is the inner sanctum, isn't it?

This is a very cozy room.

Yeah.

CHARLES: And the focal point in here, CHARLES: sitting in the center.. THEO: ..yes... ..is this cat.

Why?

Doesn't it look familiar to you?

CHARLES: Em... Eh... THEO: Haven't you seen that somewhere before?

This is the cat, it's the Gayer-Anderson cat.

It's a copy of the one in the British Museum.

CHARLES: Tell me about it.

Sorry, my ignorance... THEO: This cat is one of the iconic pharaonic pieces that they have in the British Museum and it was found by my grandfather.

CHARLES: Where?

THEO: In Cairo.

VO: A bit more enthusiasm please, Charles.

I know this is a replica, but his grandfather brought the original Egyptian statue to Britain!

You see, that would be an Antiques Road Trip's dream, you know, but it never happens to me.

THEO: This is about 2,500 years old and it probably would have been in a temple as some sort of devotional object.

THEO: Here's my grandfather at his desk making some notes.

CHARLES: This is the man himself?

This is the man himself.

THEO: Obviously the Nefertiti bust is a copy that he acquired, it's not the original, and here's a little...

This is a painting done by his brother... CHARLES: Yes.

And, em, there are lots of little jokes in it.

One is, of course, this cat here which is looking very much like the Gayer-Anderson cat from the British Museum, So...this was his world.

This was how he loved to spend his time.

VO: There's a vast and eclectic mix of paintings and treasures in all seven rooms, but sadly the end of the day beckons.

And so it's farewell to Little Hall and to the first day of shopping in Lavenham.

VO: The next morning, the car's fixed and the chaps are back on the road.

VO: They are heading for a car boot sale in Woolpit, 12 miles away.

VO: Yesterday, the boys had a great start - Charlie spent £140 on two lots - a pair of stone lions and a pair of glove stretchers.

That leaves a mere £72.16 for his second day of shopping.

VO: Charles on the other hand hedged his bets and only spent £30 on a Roman key ring.

That gives him a healthy £388.95 for today.

BOTH: # Oh, what a beautiful morning... # VO: Geared up for their early start, these songbirds are in a fine mood.

BOTH: # I got a wonderful feeling... # CHARLES: Come on, Rossco!

BOTH: # Everything's going our way # VO: Or possibly not!

CHARLIE: Car's packing up.

CHARLES: Car's packing up!

CHARLES: Car's breaking down!

CHARLIE: Car's breaking down.

The car is...has lost it.

CHARLES: What's happened to it?

CHARLIE: It won't go, sir.

CHARLES: Pull in here.

CHARLIE: Sitting here is useless.

CHARLES: Agreed.

CHARLIE: Action, Hanson, come on!

CHARLES: What shall we...what are we gonna do?

Don't they always say... CHARLIE: Follow me.

Follow me, I'm the captain.

CHARLES: Don't they always say stay near the car, Charlie?

CHARLIE: No, I'll phone up and get it taken away... CHARLES: Oh, I can't believe it!

CHARLIE: ...forever.

Come on.

Where are we going?

CHARLIE: I don't really know, but we've gotta go somewhere.

CHARLIE: Shall we cut through the woods?

Come on, follow me.

Hanson!

Look on the bright side of life, sir.

VO: Are they going for a pee?

I'm not a big fan of woods, Charlie.

CHARLES: Oh, Charlie, I've fallen over.

CHARLIE: (LAUGHS) VO: Don't you worry boys - we'll get you to the car-boot sale safe and sound - and fix the car - again!

It's 7am in the morning... And the flat plains of East Anglia are alive.

There's a buzz about tat... and there is so much tat.

VO: There may be hidden gems too, Charles.

CHARLIE: What a wonderful tiller.

Isn't that fabulous?

In perfectly... original condition.

Fantastic.

That's the way they used to farm.

VO: A tiller was a mini plow used to break up the soil in a garden.

CHARLIE: I love your machine, sir.

Isn't that fantastic?

MAN: Hello Charles, how are you?

I'm very well indeed.

This is fab.

CHARLIE: And I reckon that's the original arms, aren't they, original handles.

Absolutely fantastic.

Beautiful thing.

Who's the maker?

CHARLIE: Planet.

J H Planet.

Very well-known maker of tillers.

MAN: (LAUGHS) What kind of money you talking about?

CHARLIE: Well, I love it.

Um...

I don't want... No, I don't want to insult you.

I have not come here to insult.

I don't... You don't want to take 20 quid, do you?

MAN: Oh, Phhh!

CHARLIE: Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

MAN: I always said... CHARLIE: ..It was an insult.

You knew an insult was coming.

VO: Huh.

Oh well, if you don't ask, you don't get.

VO: These Victorian stained- glass panels are marked at £20.

CHARLIE: Hello, how are you?

WOMAN: I'm fine, thanks.

They're really quite lovely, aren't they?

CHARLIE: May I look at your windows?

Yeah.

WOMAN: Sure.

Yeah.

CHARLIE: Aren't they sweet?

CHARLIE: Little bit of damage.

WOMAN: Oh, gosh!

CHARLIE: But not much.

No, they're in good order aren't they?

MAN: 18 quid.

Oh, coming down.

Coming down by the minute.

Are these yours or the lady's sir?

WOMAN: They're mine.

He's selling them, though.

CHARLIE: Oh, you're together, are you?

Team effort.

WOMAN: It's pretty that.

CHARLIE: It's a pretty pattern on that.

You could put that, couldn't you, either side of a front door, if you're doing up a property.

CHARLIE: Could I tease you at a tenner?

WOMAN: No!

(LAUGHS) MAN: Sorry!

Ooh!

No, no sir, you don't need to say sorry, I thought I'd give it a try.

18, the very best.

CHARLIE: 18.

Fantastic.

£20 of my hard-earned cash, madam, for you.

Is there a £2 tip in it for me?

No, no.

There's £2 change coming to me.

Hard man to do business with aren't you?

CHARLIE: Ooh, I'm a shocker!

For the first time, I'm actually seeing some true antiques.

We've got objects being unpacked now, and you never know, this gent here is unpacking his pine chest, which in itself is quite a nice object.

CHARLES: I quite like these objects here, these little ornaments.

They're quite quirky.

Being a footballer myself... VO: You what?!

Being a footballer myself... VO: I thought that's what you said.

..and enjoying the great game, this great multi...million sport industry, These are quite quirky.

We've got these football boots, carved in treen, or a softwood.

They're probably... What age are they, Trevor, 1950s?

Yeah, I reckon.

CHARLES: Yeah, how much are they, Trevor?

TREVOR: Fiver.

CHARLES: Fiver, CHARLES: and between friends, a couple of quid?

TREVOR: Oh, no, no, no.

CHARLES: Couple of quid, CHARLES: between friends?

TREVOR: No.

Gotta be a fiver.

CHARLES: They could be quite early.

They could be 1920s and that's quite good.

CHARLES: In my opinion, anything with a football interest, you know, could be fairly collectable and could make something at auction.

Your best price?

Four pounds?

Four pounds, we're going at £4.

Done.

£4, OK, we're going, going.

They think it's all over.

It might be now.

CHARLIE: I can't walk past these.

I'm not buying much in the way of antiques, so I think what I could do with is a sausage roll.

CHARLIE: (LAUGHS) I suppose you want another tenner, don't you?

WOMAN: I do, yes.

CHARLIE: Oh, here.

D'you know, I can't even do a bargain here.

Never mind.

Oh!

Marvelous.

Thank you my dear.

WOMAN: Thank you, bye bye.

Wonderful, bye.

CHARLIE: You've been haunting me, you two.

WOMAN: (LAUGHS) CHARLIE: Every time I try and go I think of this.

Would you like a sausage roll?

Go on, have a sausage roll.

You know I made you a very derisory offer for your lovely thing, of 20 quid... That was blood, you want blood, mate.

WOMAN: I tell you what, Charlie, I'll take 50 for it.

WOMAN: (LAUGHS) CHARLIE: It's gone up!

CHARLIE: You said 40 last time I came here!

CHARLIE: 25 quid?

No, no.

CHARLIE: Go on, 25 quid, I've got the cash burning a hole in my pocket.

WOMAN: 35, Charlie, that is it.

That's it.

CHARLIE: You said that was it at 40.

WOMAN: Well, 35, it's a bit later.

And you've come back, another fiver off.

Every time I come back I get another fiver off.

I'm going away again.

CHARLIE: (LAUGHS) You know, I'm absolutely useless at this competition, because I just keep on...

I am, because I keep falling in love with things and I can't not buy that because it's.

Oh, 35 quid.

It's so fabulous.

First of all you've gotta slap me hand, mate.

I will slap your hand.

Give us a kiss, darling, come on.

Permission, sir, permission.

Mwah.

Well done, Charlie.

CHARLIE: I am going to till the soils of Suffolk!

(LAUGHS) WOMAN: See you Charlie.

Take care.

VO: Car's back - again.

CHARLIE: Marvelous!

CHARLES: Sounds good, doesn't it?

(HORN) VO: So, the boys are back on the road.

For a bit.

CHARLIE: I'm not quite sure where Clare is on the map.

Are you?

VO: Let me enlighten you, chaps.

They're going 25 miles from Woolpit to Clare.

CHARLES: Charlie, you know, it's lovely, you know.

It's a glorious day and I think, just to have that cushion, that lovely sort of buffer, as you might call it of a whole £200 makes me feel at ease.

CHARLIE: Well, it must be lovely for you to walk round these shops knowing that actually you don't have to buy anything.

Do you?

You know you've got Rossco just where you want him.

And I have to spend my money to try and catch you up.

VO: Clare is an old wool town set in the heart of the beautiful Suffolk countryside.

VO: It has a fascinating history and was already a substantial settlement of 600 folk when it was mentioned in the Domesday Book back in 1086.

CHARLIE: Well, well, well.

CHARLES: We're here.

VO: Charles frantically wants to spend some of his dosh so gets to the shop first.

Good day, sir.

What a fine day.

I like that pink top, by the way.

CHARLES: Very very smart.

DAVID: Thank you very much.

CHARLES: I'm Charles by the way.

DAVID: I'm David, hi.

We've gotta find some things, H. (EXHALES) VO: With only £19 left, Charlie chances his luck in the hope of buying a final item - an art nouveau bowl.

It really took my eye, this, and I always like to find something in an antiques center that hasn't got a price on it.

Cuz you live in hope, know what I mean?

DAVID: Yes.

CHARLIE: I'd love to know how much it is.

DAVID: It's £24 CHARLIE: Um...would 15 buy it?

No, I couldn't go... CHARLIE: No.

..as low as that Charlie, I'm afraid.

I'll do it for 20.

If, by any chance £19 would buy that, I'd be delighted to buy it.

DAVID: 19...

It sounds a silly price, but it's all I've got.

No, I understand, I understand.

I could do that for £19, yep.

CHARLIE: Put it there.

That's really kind of you.

CHARLIE: Thank you.

DAVID: You're quite welcome.

VO: With a hole burnt in his pocket, Charlie is off to Colchester 24 miles away to explore the Roman history of the area.

VO: And about the best place to do that - is Colchester Castle, once the Roman center of Britain.

Built on the site of 'The Temple of Claudius' the castle is now a museum - housing some of the most significant relics of Colchester's turbulent past.

VO: Charlie has come along to meet Philip Wise, the Heritage Manager, who can tell him more.

So, Philip, what have you got lined up for me?

What I'd like to do this afternoon, Charlie, is show you three objects... Yep.

These are from the iron age and Roman periods, and they demonstrate how important Colchester was at that time... CHARLIE: ..Right...

PHILIP: ..in Britain.

So, what's the first one?

PHILIP: In this display case we have a coin of Cunobelin.

But, as it's you, I have one in my pocket, which I'm going to hand over to you to have a look at.

CHARLIE: Ooh!

So, you're having a rare treat.

CHARLIE: Gosh, I am indeed!

PHILIP: We're in the late iron age.

We're round about AD20, AD30, something like that... CHARLIE: Yes.

PHILIP: Cunobelin was the man who said what goods were traded where, so all the luxuries coming in from the Roman Empire, like wine and pottery and glass... Wine was coming in from the Roman Empire then?

Yes.

PHILIP: And we British were sending out slaves, hunting dogs, hides, grain, gold, silver and iron.

CHARLIE: Well, it looks much more sophisticated than I ever thought it would be.

Ah, well, this is because of the influence of Rome, spreading into areas outside the Roman Empire.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And where traders go first, it isn't long before the military arrive... ..No.

And where I'd like to take you next is to look at the arrival of the Roman army in Colchester in AD43.

This is the tombstone of a man called Longinus Sdapeze, who came over with the Roman invasion force in AD 43... CHARLIE: ..Right...

PHILIP: ..and captured the center of British power, which had been built up under Cunobelin.

Yep.

And here you can see Longinus on his horse, with his armor And you can see the details of the horse harness.

CHARLIE: Yep.

PHILIP: You can also see a representation in stone of the cowering ancient Briton.

There he is, naked, lying on his shield, in a very submissive and defeated pose.

So, from the triumph of our homegrown coin, we've got to this, haven't we?

PHILIP: Well, there's been a change from trade, which is in part on a sort of equal footing... ..Yep... ..to conquest, where the Romans are very much in charge now and will be for another 350 years or so in Britain.

PHILIP: So, Charlie, this is the third object I'd like to show you.

This is a statue of the Roman god, Mercury.

CHARLIE: Yep.

PHILIP: And it comes from the time when Colchester is a leading Roman city.

CHARLIE: Mmhmm.

PHILIP: He was found at Gosbecks, just outside Colchester, in about 1945 by a ploughman.

A man called Beales.

Yes.

And so the story goes, Mr Beales gave this figure to his daughter to play with And she used to push it around the farmyard in a dolls' pram.

CHARLIE: No!

PHILIP: And it was only after a little while, that the curator of this museum rescued it, having recognized it as being one of the finest Roman bronze sculptures from Britain.

This figure is something that would be entirely at home in Rome itself.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

PHILIP: It's actually been made in the center of the Roman Empire and has come here and ended up in Colchester.

Yeah.

Wonderful.

May I touch it?

Well, no, I'd rather you didn't.

CHARLIE: No.

OK.

I'll get close to it.

PHILIP: Yes.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

VO: While Charlie's been having an educational afternoon, Charles found nothing to buy in Clare.

VO: Charles is now heading nine miles down the road to Sudbury for his last shop of the day.

VO: The ancient market town of Sudbury dates back to Saxon times.

For centuries the weaving and silk industry flourished here, allowing great houses and churches to be built.

VO: More recently, the town was used as a location for the popular TV series Lovejoy - featuring another cheeky but lovable antiques dealer.

So, I've got what, the best part of three hours, two hours, left.

Ideally, I want to buy five lots for the next auction, keep my varied mix up and coming.

At the moment I've only got two.

Panicking a bit, yes.

Afternoon.

How is life?

I'm running worryingly out of time, OK, and I'm getting quite desperate in my search for the elusive object of art.

CHARLES: Oh, Mary, what are these over here, these big glass shelves?

We'll take one out.

MARY: Those?

CHARLES: Yes.

They used to have tapestries in them.

CHARLES: OK. And there's a pair, aren't there?

MARY: Yeah, a pair.

There we go.

These are quite nice.

MARY: You could make them into so many different things, you could put all your... MARY: ..mind your head... CHARLES: ..Thank you, Mary... ..all your photos in on the back.

CHARLES: I would have thought, Mary, they're probably around, what, 1910?

MARY: Mmm.

CHARLES: 1915...

They're good quality and I quite like them, but again, I suppose if I was going to go to auction with a pair, you know, one might guide the pair between £40-60.

What's your best, Mary?

30 quid to you.

CHARLES: For the pair?

MARY: Yeah.

Would you take perhaps £15 for them?

Yeah, I'll get rid of them for 15.

CHARLES: £10, Mary?

No.

15.

She knows how to deal with this young Charles Hanson, you know, Mary could make mincemeat of me... don't...

I could eat you alive.

She could eat me alive.

CHARLES: Has she made mincemeat of me on these screens, and at £15 I can't ask much more than that.

VO: Mind the step now.

Ooh, you are a clumsy clot.

We've been here before Charles.

Ooh, my... CHARLES: Oops... VO: Watch out.

CHARLES: Ooh!

Sorry about that!

VO: Ooh, gosh!

Ah, there we go... Hah!

Oh, dear.

VO: With today's spending over, both chaps meet up in Sudbury to see what the other has bought.

CHARLIE: A pair of stained- glass panels.

CHARLES: I quite like them.

If I had seen them at a boot fair, and let's be honest, we're going down to pence, rather than many tens of pounds, Charlie.

But I still rate them quite highly.

I reckon, old bean, you paid for the two together, £15.

£18.

Oh, no!

£18?

CHARLIE: Yeah.

CHARLES: That's good.

CHARLIE: Here I'd like to give you the Planet double tiller, with adjustable hoes.

How's that?

So, essentially, Charlie, it's a charming, rustic, rural bygone.

CHARLIE: I like the way you've catalogued that.

If they don't sell, I'm going to give it to my wife to do our vegetable garden.

CHARLES: I think... ..these...are...a cracker.

Because...what we've got, like so...the pair.

What do you think?

Tapestry screens, or would have been, someone's put glass panels in them.

CHARLES: Yeah, absolutely.

You know, they are vibrant, they are... they have...

They're not vibrant!

They have a rustic arts and crafts charm, with the oak, which is well patinated, well finished.

They must have been cheap.

Yes, but, Charlie, you can be creative with these.

I think any consumer can go away and they can put photos of loved ones... CHARLIE: ..Yes, I like that!

..from the Edwardian period.

You could put, maybe...

I'm not sure what else.

You couldn't use them as a screen to change your clothes behind, could you?

You could always tint them, couldn't you?

CHARLIE: (LAUGHS) CHARLES: I suppose.

What are they worth?

CHARLIE: 600,000?

CHARLES: (LAUGHS) VO: That would safely break the Antiques Road Trip record.

CHARLIE: OK, close your eyes.

Close your eyes.

Open up your hand.

CHARLES: OK. CHARLIE: Right.

Now, they feel, like a pair of nutcrackers.

Oh, no, they're glove stretchers.!

CHARLIE: Yes.

They're nice, actually, Charlie.

They're silver.

They are.

CHARLIE: And the lady had 40 quid on them and I offered her a tenner and we settled at 15.

That's a profit, and you might even double up.

CHARLIE: Oh!

Aren't they wonderful?

Oh, I love them Do you really?

But I'm not quite sure what they are.

Tell me...

I got to guess?

CHARLES: No.

I don't know.

I think they're wonderful.

How much?

CHARLIE: Well, I think you probably paid as little at £10 for them and I think they'll make 38 quid.

Charlie, I paid... Two?

£4.

CHARLIE: Yes.

I bought a dish.

CHARLES: Oh, Charlie, that's nice.

I would say Deco in the center, and Charlie, I like it.

Fruit bowl?

I think it's decorative, Charlie.

CHARLES: Turn round.

I'd give her the thumbs up, OK. Oh!

CHARLES: Try it on for size.

Now, this, believe it or not, Charlie, is hands on history.

It's a true Roman first/second- century AD key ring.

Is it?

Absolutely, 100%.

Who's been spinning you this yarn?

I believe it, don't you?

No.

CHARLES: Really?

What do you think?

Taiwan?

VO: You might be right there, we'll see.

CHARLIE: You saw them in the window, and there they are.

CHARLES: Do you know what, I really, really, really rate them highly.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

And they're great, Charlie, and I think, if they roar, I think Rossco will be back in very close competition with me.

VO: They've seen each other's buys, but what do they really think?

Go on, dish the dirt.

We have spent two wonderful days, many hours, scrounging, ferreting for antiques, and all we've really come up with is probably, between us, a really fine Roman ring, which is mine, a really fine pair of football boots, which are mine, and probably Charlie's one out of five item, which I rate, are the lions.

I really, really have high hopes of the stoneware lions.

If they can see me 250, 300, I might yet be back in the hunt.

VO: So both our experts have high hopes as they get back on the road.

VO: It's been a competitive fourth round from Bury St Edmunds to Lavenham, then onto Woolpit, Clare, Colchester and Sudbury.

So, from idyllic Suffolk to the big smoke - their final destination is the auction in the London borough of Greenwich.

CHARLES: London, the theater of dreams, bean.

Rossco's comeback starts here.

CHARLES: This is where Charlie, you never look back.

I know.

I feel big profits in the air.

CHARLES: I doubt it.

VO: Greenwich Auctions have been doing business for 11 years and Robert Dodd is our auctioneer today.

So what does he think of our boys' buys?

The pair of panels, nice wood.

Nice early glass.

Don't know what anyone's going to use them for.

Victorian stained-glass panels, they don't generally make as much as they used to make, although saying that, you ain't half gotta go a long way to find them.

I think the football boots are terrific.

Nice to see the balls.

Seen lots of boots like that.

It's the balls that tend to get lost.

VO: Quite right!

Charlie Ross started today with £212.16, and spent £212 on five auction lots, leaving him with just 16p in his pocket.

Ah!

VO: Charles Hanson began with £418.95, and spent just £49 on three lots, leaving him with a healthy reserve of £369.95, but can Charlie make a comeback with the items he's bought?

Stop laughing.

VO: It's time to kick off the auction.

VO: First up, Charlie's stained-glass panels.

Here we go.

Our Father.

And the bid's with me on those at £8 for the two.

Who'll give her a tenner on 'em, 10 I've got, looking for 12, are we all done?

On those panels, at £10 only... (GAVEL) Aw!

Charlie!

VO: Not a great start for Ross.

VO: But next up his stone lions, that both experts are confident will make a profit.

I think the lions will suit any great Greenwich townhouse.

They're graceful, they're gracious... CHARLIE: Here they come.

CHARLES: Here we go.

The bid's with me on these lions at £55 only.

Looking for 60, five, with me.

Looking for 70 on them they're worth all of that.

Doing better.

Doing really well.

ROBERT: Looking for 80.

80, five with me, looking for 90.

Are we all done?

On a pair of lions, at £85... (GAVEL) They roared away in part.

VO: Ooh!

They didn't see that coming.

A second loss for Charlie.

VO: Next the Hanson self-publicity machine kicks in.

Such a show off.

CHARLES: Showing here, sir.

CHARLIE: Ahh... ROBERT: ..with pierced panels.. CHARLIE: ..showing here sir.

ROBERT: ..on a square support.. ROBERT: About 1920s, and the bid's with me at £30 on these.

CHARLIE: Oh!

It helps, Charlie, it helps.

On the pair, are we all done?

They're very nice.

ROBERT: Last time.

At £30... (GAVEL) VO: Success!

A decent mark up on those.

You're a genius.

Get out of here, bean.

You are the best.

You should have a premises in Bond Street.

VO: Now, the Victorian soil tiller, which Charlie fell in love with at the car boot sale.

Let's hope it ploughs up a profit.

Good original lot, that, and it's gotta start with a bid with me at £40.

Looking for £42 on that, 42, I need, I've got 42, five with me Looking for 48.

Are we all done?

Last time.

Selling this tiller at £45... (GAVEL) VO: At last, a victory!

This might be the start of a comeback.

But only if the art nouveau bowl also does well.

Gotta start with a bid with me of £12 on that, looking for 15.

There's a bit of age to this.

18, £20, I'm out.

ROBERT: Standing, 20, looking for 22.

Are we all done at £20?

I'm selling it at £20... (GAVEL) VO: £1 is better than nothing.

A pound profit is great.

It's a loss.

Why, you got a pound profit.

Commission.

15%.

Well, it's a pound profit.

£3, plus VAT.

Lost three quid.

VO: Here's the Roman key ring that Hanson bought for just £30.

You want old, this is old.

Correct.

When it first came in I thought it was a piece dropped off a tractor.

ROBERT: But - Roman, early ring, with a key shaft.

Don't know what the hell it was used for, but there we are.

ROBERT: Nice piece though.

Nice curio.

CHARLES: Good lad.

It's gotta with a bid with me at £40 only on this.

45, 50 with me, 55, 60, five, 70 No, 75, 80 here, looking for 85, 85 90 here, looking for 95, 100 with me.

Looking for 110.

Are we all done at one... 110.

120 with me.

ROBERT: I'll take 125, I have to.

Got 120.

This is cheap.

Are we all done?

Last time.

125.

130, one more bid.

I want one... why not?

ROBERT: 135, I'm out, looking for 140.

Are we all done at 135 on a piece of a tractor... (GAVEL) ROBERT: Selling to that man.

VO: Look at that!

A whopping profit of £105.

You're the man.

VO: Let's hope someone stretches to more than £15 for Charlie's next item.

Ha!

Bid's with me at £12.

Would you like to play?

18, 20.

I'm out.

Looking for 22.

ROBERT: I've got 22 standing, 24 I'll take.

I've got 22, looking for 24.

Are we all done?

24, 26 I need, sir.

26, looking for 28, you can bid, you're allowed.

I'm not in your league, but it's a profit.

Standing, at £26, on a pair of glove stretchers, which are really handy!

ROBERT: At 28, at 30, I need, sir.

I've got £30, standing.

Looking for 32, there.

Looking for 34, are we all done?

This time, at £32... (GAVEL) VO: At least Charlie ends up with a profit.

VO: Last up... ROBERT: Absolutely stunning lot this.

They're a pair of probably 1920s, maybe 30s treen football boots and it's got to start with a bid with me of £20 for this.

CHARLES: Come on, let's go.

Looking for 22, I've got 20.

Hello, is there anyone out there?

ROBERT: Thank you.

22, 25 down here, looking for 28, sir.

£30, looking for 32.

£32.

I hope you...

If you get this...

Honestly, if you get these for £32 with your luck go and do the lottery every Friday.

ROBERT: At £32 down there, looking for 35.

35, there, looking for 38.

38.

Looking for £40.

£40, looking for 42.

Two there.

45 I need.

No?

42 down there, looking for 45.

We all done?

Last... 45 there, looking for 48 48, 50.

I'll take 52, I'll take.

52, looking for 55.

ROBERT: We all done down the back of the room?

Last time.

At £52... (GAVEL) VO: He thought these boots were a true collectors' item and he was right, which means that today's victor is...Charles.

Ooh!

It's a hat-trick.

Hat-trick all round.

I give up.

I've never had such a sound thrashing since I was at school.

VO: Charlie started today's road trip with £212.16 And, after paying auction costs, actually made a loss of £54.56.

He has just £157.60 to carry forward.

VO: Charles, meanwhile, started with £418.95 and made a tidy profit of £128.94 So, he has a sumptuous £547.89 to spend tomorrow.

Oink.

CHARLES: Come on girls.

How to be upbeat with no money in your pocket.

By C Ross.

CHARLIE: You did very well... CHARLES: Charlie, you make your own luck in the business.

CHARLIE: You are a pro.

CHARLES: Well... Take me to Tunbridge Wells with my £146.

CHARLES: (LAUGHS) VO: Actually, you've got £157.60.

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip...

The groaning Charlies momentarily lose a bit of focus.

BOTH: # ..going on a summer holiday # to make our dreams come true-oo-oo.

# VO: But when their focus returns, they talk tactics.

My dream would be to buy big.

I want you to buy big and sell small.

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