VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts with £200 each, a classic car and a goal - to scour Britain for antiques.

Going, going, gone.

Yes!

I'm loving that, bird.

VO: The aim?

To make the biggest profit at auction, but it's no mean feat.

Yes!

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

Don't I look handsome?

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

I'm going now.

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip!

VO: Yeah!

VO: All this week we have been hitching a ride with a right couple of charmers - antiques experts Charlie Ross and Thomas Plant.

I have thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed my week.

Hasn't it been wonderful?

VO: Charlie ran his own auction house for over 25 years so really should know a thing or two about antiques by now.

I am a past master at buying things about which I know absolutely nothing.

VO: Thomas has clocked up over 20 years as an auctioneer, but despite his considerable knowledge is still yet to win a road trip.

I could really go completely wrong from now on in.

VO: Our chaps began their journey with £200 each.

But over the week, Thomas has been streaking ahead, leaving his sparring partner lagging behind.

THOMAS: Final leg.

CHARLIE: And I'm back over 200 quid.

That's marvelous!

VO: Charlie's sustained some bruising losses, leaving him with just £209.92 to spend today.

Thomas, on the other hand has made steady profits, so he has a luscious £553.44 to play with.

Doesn't it show?

Despite the feverish competition, our chaps have been jollying along quite happily in their natty 1971 Triumph Spitfire.

This week, Thomas and Charlie are traveling from Watchet in Somerset up to Shropshire via north Wales before looping back down south for the final auction in Bedford, Bedfordshire.

Today our chaps are kicking off in Walsall, West Midlands and then pop into Staffordshire and Leicestershire before traveling south to their auction showdown in Bedford.

Traditionally, the town of Walsall has sat at the heart of manufacturing in Britain and is most famed for making saddles, hence the local football club's nickname of the Saddlers.

Our couple of antique-hunting cowboys have ridden into town hoping to round up some quality antiques.

First stop for Thomas is the Curio Shop.

Hello, I'm Thomas.

Hi Thomas, I'm Spencer.

Pleased to meet you.

Thank you very much, thank you for letting us in.

You are welcome.

THOMAS: It's lovely and tight in here isn't it?

SPENCER: It is.

That's the way I like it.

I'm going to have a good rummage if that's alright.

VO: Lordy, there's stuff everywhere.

Get rummaging, Thomas.

Spencer's not lying.

It's crammed.

VO: But before long, Thomas spots a muffin dish.

THOMAS: From Winchcombe in Somerset.

This is terracotta body and then a glaze, and then this glaze is an ash glaze and he's just done a sgraffito design around that.

I like that, I'm going to buy that.

I like the 8.95 price bracket, but we will have to wait and see what else we find.

VO: And he's not stopping there.

How about another bit of pottery?

So, this is a blank, a Staffordshire blank, 19th century.

Before the age of television etc, some happy amateur has painted this as a still life.

Crying shame that it's got a great big hairline crack running all the way through it.

But what a super thing.

VO: And there's a mere £24 on the ticket.

Have you forgotten you're rolling in it, Thomas?

There speaks a man who's keen to win.

Meanwhile, the opposition is on the road, traveling nine miles northeast to the cathedral city of Lichfield.

Charlie's hot-footing it to a Road Trip old haunt, Lichfield Antique Centre, and there's a reception committee to greet him.

What a lovely day.

VO: Mainly women.

WOMAN: Hello Charlie.

CHARLIE: Nice to see you again.

You too.

VO: Come on, get a move on, Rosco.

How are you all?

Somewhere, I've got to find the lot of my dreams.

VO: Could this be just the ticket?

There's a Chinese mirror, but it's a quite unusual form.

It's got a bank of drawers at the bottom, it's then got a typical what looks like triptych mirror on the top.

A bit crudely made, the dovetails, and they are dovetailed, just pine, are very crude, but it's got this rather nice typically Chinese gilded decoration, but it's £185.

VO: The poor man needs help.

Any ideas, Madeleine?

MADELEINE: This one.

Right.

George IV, solid silver sauce ladle, Glasgae, you've got the full hallmark there.

Pretty thing isn't it?

It's got £9 on it.

Oh no sorry, £90!

I thought it was 9,000.

Can't take him anywhere.

You thought it was 9,000.

Good line.

Good line.

It's a nice thing.

Who does it belong to?

One of our traders.

Quality.

It is quality.

VO: Mark's the owner of this cabinet.

Perhaps Charlie can do a deal.

If you buy a package, two or three items, I'm sure we can do something for you, Charlie.

I'm all for a package.

Is this your cabinet here?

Nice Tiffany buckle there.

Go on, let's have a look.

It's a nice piece, early.

It's a great buckle, isn't it?

Mmhm.

Great buckle.

American Express company, Wells, Butterfield & Company and I think... ..Wells, was it the Wells Fargo?

MARK: Fargo.

Yeah.

But the great thing about it, it's made by Tiffany, one of the great, great art nouveau movement makers, most famously known for their glass, their wonderful glass lamps.

I must say, they don't quite fit together do they really?

A Scottish silver ladle and American Express buckle, but it might give me a buying base mightn't it.

We have to live, remember Charlie.

So... You know.

I'm going to...

I've got a wife and three kids.

Have you really?

No.

(CHARLIE LAUGHS) No wife and no kids?

No.

Oh.

How do you do it?

MARK: I don't know.

CHARLIE: That's remarkable.

VO: Now he's got a rapport going, Charlie has decided to chance his arm.

I don't suppose that Chinese cabinet is likely to be ridiculously cheap, is it?

Er...

Priced at sort of...?

I could possibly do a deal on that.

CHARLIE: I mean, it's priced up at £185.

I would have to buy it for 65 quid I think.

65?

Erm... MADELEINE: 80?

I'd pay £70 cash for it, and... run and pray.

I will take £70 to help you.

You're... Oh, to help me.

I might beat Thomas, you never know!

VO: Look at that.

One purchase down and he's all excited.

Mark?

I'd like to buy the two of them for £70.

Charlie, you're... VO: Oh Lordy.

No.

It's Scottish silver, Charlie.

It is Scottish silver.

Absolutely, no, no we like a bit of Scottish silver.

Finest quality.

Glasgae.

Aye!

It's the very, very best.

MARK: 90 for the two.

75?

Oh, Charlie, I can't.

85.

And that's it.

Make it 80, I'll give you the fiver.

Ah!

Oh, you can't do that, that's cheating.

Go on then.

80 quid?

Yeah, yeah.

Look at you, smiling all the way to the bank!

I've been done, I've been done.

CHARLIE: You haven't been done.

MARK: I have.

This was priced at 35 quid till you see me coming through.

Is that right?

Yeah, yeah, OK.

So I owe you 150 quid?

Sounds like it, yes.

Pfff!

140, 150.

How's that?

Thank you, Charlie.

VO: Back at the Curio Shop, Thomas has just put aside the muffin dish and the painted plaque and now he has something else in his sights.

There's a corkscrew in this front cabinet please, also there's a corkscrew in there please.

Thank you.

This one has got a rosewood handle.

Obviously wine is quite popular.

Lovely, lovely twist on that.

VO: They are certainly something else to think about, and now for another possible corker.

THOMAS: These are cork pictures from the 1900s made in China.

You have got these pagodas and you've got the prunus trees.

Real aged.

VO: The landscape has been carved out of cork, which is then layered to create a 3D effect.

A bit more rifling, and Thomas unearths another cork picture.

THOMAS: Some sort of quality to them.

I think they're rather fun, these cork pictures.

The ticket price is 18.95 and they're quite fashionable these days.

VO: Time to see if Spencer is amenable to a deal.

Spencer?

SPENCER: Yes.

Yes, Thomas.

I have done my homework.

This is £95 for the whole lot.

For what?

For the corkscrews, for the muffin dish, for the plaque.

Without the pictures, so we have got to add almost another 40 on top of that, so that's 135.

That's ticket price, what are you offering?

THOMAS: £65.

SPENCER: Oh dear.

I know, I know.

Oof!

Where can we go?

I see this whole deal at being £100.

Oh!

Spencer.

That's what I see.

And you're not going to budge?

Not going to budge.

In fact, if you don't give me the money, I will show you the door.

VO: Yikes.

Spencer is no pushover.

THOMAS: £80.

95.

Half way at 90.

SPENCER: Deal.

You're a star.

Cheers.

Am I?

Thanks.

£90.

There you are.

You were a pleasure.

Good meeting you.

It's been a real pleasure.

Good to meet you as well.

What have I done?

Four items in my first shop.

Are they going to make a profit in Bedford?

VO: We'll have to wait and see, won't we?

With all this shopping extravaganza finally over, Thomas now has a chance to find out why Walsall is so famous for making saddles.

Just down the road is a museum dedicated to this heritage, and waiting to show Thomas round is curator Mike Glasson.

Hello, I'm Thomas.

Hello, welcome to the Leather Museum.

Leather Museum.

So, I believe that Walsall is famous for leather, is that right?

It is, yes, it's unique in the world really as a center of the saddlery trade.

And you are going to show me around?

Absolutely, we're going to start in the tannery.

Lead on then.

Alright, follow me.

THOMAS: Why is Walsall famous for leather?

It goes back to the Middle Ages, Walsall became a center for making what is called lorinery - be it stirrups, spurs, all the metalwork associated with riding and horses and then at a later date somebody had the bright idea, if we're making all the metalwork, we might as well make the leather work as well.

VO: In the 19th century, the Walsall leather industry profited from a society very much centered around horses, with one of its biggest customers being the British Army.

Here we've got an example of a typical Walsall saddle, this is actually a military one, but it's very representative of the sort of thing that would have been made in Walsall really for most of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The saddlers tended to be men, all the cutting out and the assembly was done by men, but the actual stitching was generally done by women.

VO: And one of those women volunteers is here today.

Sue is going to show Thomas how leather stitching was traditionally done.

Pay attention, Thomas.

It's double-hand stitching, and that means we have got the needle in each hand.

We come in from the left with our left hand, obviously, then you go through with your right hand, retrieve it with your left hand, you have got two loops and you pull.

So Sue, do you think I could have a go?

Oh, certainly, yes.

VO: Uh-oh.

Don't mess it up, Thomas.

SUE: Left hand first.

Pull it through.

Pull it through with your right hand.

Now put the right-hand needle in the same hole going to the left.

Hang on, have I cast that over this side here, like this?

I think you have got a bit of a knot coming there.

Oh my God.

This is more compli...

I thought, you know, I'll do this.

I'll be alright.

SUE: Oh, you're very good.

Now, bear in mind that if you don't get it as neat as it possibly can be, they will give it you back, you have to undo it and do it again.

THOMAS: Really?

SUE: Yes.

Oh, I don't want that to happen.

VO: Yes, best stop there.

As the age of the horse disappeared, the leather industry here had to reinvent itself.

The skilled craftsmen and women instead turned to making light leather goods such as traveling bags, hat boxes and wallets.

In the 60s, you get the beginnings of mass imports from low wage economies in the Far East and that's really bad news for Walsall, but nevertheless, I think leather retained its cachet, so at the quality end, the top end of the market, there is still a real cachet about English made, that made in England brand is very powerful.

VO: Walsall leather companies now make goods for top-end designers such as Mulberry and Ralph Lauren.

MIKE: We have four royal warrant holders still in Walsall so it is very much a top end, quality trade.

This is a good example, this is a bag that was made to be presented to the Queen.

Two were made, and we have got one of them.

It's so lovely to hear that a trade in this part of Britain from the 19th century and before, you said, but still very popular and still going today.

Thank you very much.

It's been a real pleasure and I've thoroughly enjoyed myself.

VO: Now, while Thomas has been luxuriating in leather, Charlie has left Lichfield behind and is heading back to Walsall with his remaining £59.92.

This is where we dropped Thomas earlier.

I wonder if he's still in here.

Hello?

SPENCER: Hi.

CHARLIE: Anyone in?

Yes.

Hi.

I'm Charlie.

I'm Spencer, pleased to meet you.

Spencer, lovely to see you.

Is there really room for you in this shop?

No!

VO: The question is, how will Charlie fare in Spencer's Aladdin's cave?

SPENCER: It's an experience.

CHARLIE: Oh, my goodness me!

Is this where all the stuff goes that you can't sell?

Yes.

What an honest answer!

VO: Luckily, Spencer has an idea of something that might be visionary.

Good Lord.

From an optician?

Yes.

VO: The box of optician's lenses is Edwardian.

That is either worth three quid or 200 quid, depending on who wants something like that.

You test people with these.

Look at that.

You can't see anything through something like that.

Is it ridiculously cheap?

Is it sort of, free?

Mm, free?

What does that mean?

I'd like...

Yes... No, but is it a 20 quid thing?

It's 50.

It's not much each, is it?

No.

30 quid?

Sorry.

It's got to be 50.

VO: Er, did I mention that Spencer's no pushover?

Can you do the lenses for 40 quid?

If I don't steal that thing... Could you do it for 45?

I like that.

That's a very good impersonation of Rosco begging.

No, but I'd give you 40 quid, cash, and run.

You can give me 45 and get out.

(LAUGHS) I don't know why I'm laughing!

I'm going to just take a ridiculously silly gamble and give you your 45 quid for those lenses.

OK. 45...is going to you, sir.

Many thanks.

VO: So, it's time to reunite our two experts.

Hello, my son.

Hello!

Had a lovely day?

Lovely day!

I've been waiting for hours.

Oh... What have you been doing?

I've been pretending to shop.

(THOMAS LAUGHS) VO: Off you go then for a little lie down now, chaps.

Night night.

VO: Day two and the sun is shining, but there's a tinge of sadness in the air.

THOMAS: This is such sad, sorry news.

It's our last buying day together.

CHARLIE: Do you think if we could finish with a dead heat they would then give us another week?

Yeah, I hope so.

VO: Oh, how sweet.

So far, Thomas has spent £90 on two corkscrews, a muffin dish, a pair of Chinese cork pictures and a 19th-century painted plaque.

That leaves him with a magnificent £463.44 to spend today.

Charlie meanwhile has already splashed out £195 on four items, a silver ladle, a brass belt buckle, an early 20th-century Chinese table mirror and Edwardian optician's box, leaving him with a miserly £14.92.

CHARLIE: This could be your first ever Road Trip win.

VO: Our chaps have left Walsall behind and are heading for the beautiful hamlet of Shenton in Leicestershire.

CHARLIE: Do you know where we're going now?

We're going to share a shop.

Are we going to share a shop?

Oh no!

VO: Yes, sadly the peace of this rural idyll is about to be shattered as our experts descend on Whitemoor's Antiques and Crafts Centre.

On hand to meet them are dealers Margaret and Dave.

Margaret, are you coming with me?

Yes.

Come on Dave, take me somewhere.

Take me in here, Dave.

This looks lovely.

VO: And pretty much straight away, Thomas hears something calling him.

THOMAS: It's an art deco speaker in an oak case with a painted black front to it of Pan playing pipes.

It is a speaker, it's nothing else but it's quite decorative and there are huge collectors for this stuff.

VO: It has £75 on the ticket so that's one to think about.

But there's plenty more to see here.

Just get browsing, you two.

Rosco is so relaxed isn't he?

He's got that real relaxedness about him, he's so wonderful to be around.

Hah!

Keep calm and relax.

Fat chance!

VO: Aha.

Has something caught his eye at last?

CHARLIE: An old drum.

Made by the world-famous Henry Potter and company, London, £49.

It is not a lot of money for snare drum.

Beautiful brass workmanship on it, isn't that fabulous?

Do you think you would sell a £49 drum for £14.92?

VO: Time to get Dave.

It's just beautifully, beautifully made and it's a good maker, but I'm just... That is Margaret's.

DAVE: If you give her a cuddle you can have the drum for the paltry amount that you have offered us.

It's all I have in the world, Margaret.

You are cheeky.

I know.

I'm sorry.

But you can say no.

As you are on your knees... Do you want a cuddle?

And if you give me a cuddle.

This is my lucky day, Margaret.

Melt into my arms!

Isn't that splendid?

Yes, it has been reskinned but, you know.

Passport to success.

So you are very happy.

I'm over the moon.

I'm so pleased I came along today, the sun is shining and # with musket, fife and drum, oh no sweet maid # I cannot marry you for I have no coat to put on.

# VO: Well, that's cheered him up.

How are you feeling, Thomas?

I'm feeling under pressure and I don't like that feeling because Rosco is quite a quick buyer.

VO: (YAWNS) No pressure at all, Thomas.

You just take your time, mate.

Margaret.

Hello again.

The speaker.

Oh, the speaker.

The speaker, yeah.

You were interested in, yeah.

75 is it?

Yes yes.

What's the best on that?

I actually had a word with the tenant and he's willing to let you have it for 55.

What... would he say if I offered 45?

Well, I really will have to have another word with him.

Do you mind?

I want to buy it for 45 quid, because it's got the potential of only making 20.

MARGARET: Thomas, he has actually said that he will go with your offer of £45.

Oh really?

I should have said 35!

Well I think, I don't think he would have gone that low.

I think that's lovely.

Let me give you some money.

VO: Well done Thomas, the deal is done!

And without a cuddle, too.

MARGARET: Lovely.

Thank you.

Rosco.

Wake up.

What are you doing?

What have you been doing?

Oh shut up.

I've been here for hours.

I've had four cups of coffee, spent my money.

That means you are going to be stopping all the way to your visit.

"I want a wee wee, I want to go to the loo."

Have you bought something?

Yes of course I have, come on.

There's no rest for the wicked here.

The thing is, it's easy for you when you've got no money to sort of find something.

For me, it's just more difficult.

Don't be pathetic.

You know, it is more difficult.

I bet you've still got a great pocketful of money.

I haven't got a pocketful of money.

VO: Calm down children.

So with our Charlie entirely spent up, what better time to go visit an amazing piece of local history?

Thomas is giving him a lift to Bruntingthorpe airfield.

CHARLIE: What do you think's in there?

Woah, look at that!

You are going to have some fun today, you lucky boy.

CHARLIE: I certainly am.

THOMAS: Look at you!

You go and spend that 550 quid.

I've got five lots.

Off you go, have a lovely time.

I will.

You lucky old stick.

You might never see me again.

Enjoy yourself!

VO: Charlie's meeting Chris Norris, who has something rather special tucked away in his shed.

Is this your garden shed?

Well no, not really, but if I can just show you.

Yes?

(THEME FROM "TOP GUN" PLAYS) VO: Charlie's in for a treat.

He's about to get up close to some of the fastest military jets ever built.

Not one, but two English Electric Lightning jets.

These magnificent machines have been bought by the Lightning Preservation Group, of which Chris is a member.

They were built to defend British airspace during the Cold War, with the aim of intercepting aircraft from the USSR as they approached our airspace.

CHARLIE: This is the closest I have been to a Lightning since I had my Airfix model at home when I was probably about 10.

CHRIS: We actually bought this aircraft in 1988, direct from the RAF for the princely sum of £11,300.

VO: These Lightnings have been decommissioned now, but still remain a remarkable feat of engineering.

Once, the supersonic jets were able to fly over twice the speed of sound and could climb 50,000 feet per minute to an altitude of over 16 miles, flying faster than Concorde.

CHRIS: The original design was conceived in 1947.

So... That's just two years after the end of the war.

Absolutely.

And they were flying Spitfires and Hurricanes.

CHRIS: Yes, well it was a quantum leap from that and then you went to the Lightning and Squadron service in 1960 when it first entered service, and it was an immense plane for the guys to fly.

This underneath here, that's an enlarged ventral tank which increased the range.

So... CHARLIE: What was the range?

They could only stay out for about an hour.

CHARLIE: Is that all?

CHRIS: Yes.

I suppose at that speed, they can go a fair distance.

Absolutely.

Here's the engines, one on top of the other which is quite unique, but can be a problem if you get a problem with the top engine, then you went from a single fire to a double fire and there was a lot lost which went in the North Sea.

You get a fuel leak from that one, it explodes this one?

Absolutely.

Thank you very much.

It's wonderful from the front, when you pulled back the doors, the view of it is absolutely breathtaking.

It looks like a wasp coming towards you.

CHRIS: Absolutely.

CHARLIE: Rather a large wasp.

VO: The Lightning was never required to fly in a combat situation, but instead acted as a deterrent to the Russians.

CHRIS: It's got two red top missiles on this one.

That's those things at the front.

CHARLIE: They're air to air?

CHRIS: Yes, they are air to air.

I'm looking at that ladder thinking it needs climbing.

Am I allowed in?

I think that could be arranged, Charlie.

VO: Step aside, Tom Cruise.

There's a lot of knobs up here!

Oh my God.

(LAUGHS) CHRIS: Pretty cramped, isn't it?

How on earth does anybody concentrate on all this lot?

Extraordinary instruments here.

You're one of the elite now.

Yeah.

I'm so thrilled.

What's my mission, sir?

I'm absolutely terrified, to be honest, Chris!

Tell Thomas there'll only be one for tea!

CHRIS: OK!

Nice knowing you!

Goodbye, sir!

CHRIS: Goodbye!

VO: As the Cold War was drawing to a close, these extraordinary planes too had had their day.

Lightnings were finally decommissioned in 1988, a year before the falling of the Berlin Wall, paving the way for a new generation of super jets.

I'm a very, very privileged guy to be sitting one of these.

I shall savor this moment for a long time.

And I shall think of the chaps that flew them.

VO: While Charlie disappears over the horizon, Thomas has more earthly matters to consider.

He has traveled six miles east to the village of Kibworth.

He's come to splash the last of his cash at Kibworth Antiques Centre.

Hello, I'm Thomas.

Hello, I'm Sharon.

THOMAS: Nice to meet you.

SHARON: Nice to meet you.

Is this all yours?

It is, we've got about 40 different dealers within the center.

VO: Right, with £418.44 burning a hole in your pocket, what's the plan here, Planters?

THOMAS: So I've already got five lots, so here I'm looking to add to one of those lots, and the best lot is going to be the corkscrews.

We either buy more corkscrews, buy every single corkscrew I see, to make it into a really beefy lot of corkscrews, or we buy a coaster, buy anything wine related, so that should be quite fun.

This is a cellarman's corkscrew, it's just literally your bog standard, for your cellar, and there were loads of these produced.

It's definitely a cellarman's one.

It's quite n..., I mean, it's no money.

That's definitely something which we're going to add to the lot.

Well, we found this corkscrew, so there's a corkscrew there.

OK.

So I'm going to leave that there.

OK. See if we can find any more items.

VO: Ah-ha.

He's spotted something.

THOMAS: There's these two studio pottery bits which are quite nice, they look like they're by Walter Keeler.

Sharon?

Thank you.

And the other.

They're quite fun and colorful, aren't they?

They're lovely.

Really nice.

They're really sweet.

Those were 20 quid each, weren't they?

They are, yes.

Do you think I could have them for 20 for the two?

No?

Why not?

Why not?

Because I'm not allowed to let you have them for that.

What could I have them for?

You could have them for 17 each.

Oh, really?

Yes.

Look...

I'm afraid.

Not 30 for the two?

Do you want me to call the dealer?

Do you mind?

No.

See what the very best is.

That'd be really helpful.

For the two.

These could go with my muffin dish, make a lot, a lot of studio pottery, contemporary pottery.

What's the news, Sharon?

So I've spoken to the dealer.

Because you're buying the two, he's happy to do them for 30 for you.

Oh, look at that.

Isn't that lovely?

What a nice chap.

I will have those, and the corkscrew.

Now, not a great deal, I know.

So could I... What could I do for that?

Could I have the whole lot for... What are you going to do?

I would say there's really not a lot to do on the six, but I would say... Keep figures even.

Let's do the two for 34.

Oh, thank you very much.

35.

There you are.

Thank you very much.

Brilliant.

Thank you very much.

THOMAS: Thank you.

SHARON: Thank you.

That concludes my Road Trip.

VO: Yes, just stuff the rest of your cash back in the pocket, old fruit.

So with both chaps shopped out, it's that time again when they have to reveal all to each other.

First on the chopping block is Charlie.

Oh, what have you got here?

A drum.

Is this a signed drum?

A miniature drum?

It's a signed drum by Henry Potter of London.

Henry Potter of London.

Unfortunately, this of course is not original, but I like the brasswork on it.

How much was that?

That was all I had in the world, Thomas.

Was that with Margaret?

It was £14.92.

How did you get that off her for... Because I gave her a cuddle.

Oh, Rosco!

That is my gamble lot.

I didn't see that, I didn't see that.

Because that could make 20 quid, and it might make 150 quid.

They're quite fun things, aren't they?

Some of these are remarkable, look at the thickness of some of those.

The thickness, yeah, like jam jars.

And when you...

Anyway.

It's a gamble lot, 45 quid.

Oh!

£100.

CHARLIE: Have a look at the back of that.

Who made it?

THOMAS: Tiffany.

CHARLIE: Yeah.

THOMAS: Tiffany, Broadway, New York.

40 quid.

I quite like that.

VO: Right, whip it off, Thomas.

# Dun dun dun, dun dun dun, dun dun dun... # You bought some corkscrews.

One very ordinary one... THOMAS: Yeah one... CHARLIE: One slightly better.

And... Yeah, they're too expensive.

They're my bad buy.

Yeah.

What about your plaque?

THOMAS: 19th century Staffordshire plaque, painted with a still life.

That's rather... May I look at it?

Yeah, yeah.

I think it's rather well painted.

It's beautifully painted.

CHARLIE: Oh, it's lovely.

It's like a...

It's like a 17th century Dutch still life.

This time, I went for color.

CHARLIE: How much?

THOMAS: £15.

That's...

I think that is a good profit.

CHARLIE: I've never been a great lover of these.

I've never been a great lover, but there's something...

They're chancy.

There's something wonderful about them.

They were 30 quid for the pair, you can't say fairer than that.

You can't.

165, I think you've spent.

Yeah, it's something like that, I mean I've got loads of money left.

You've got about 400 quid and all that lot.

And I have got precisely rien, and these bits.

Someone's got to lose!

How many road trips have you ever won?

None.

How many have you won?

One!

We're gonna be all square at the end of this.

"One!"

CHARLIE: One each.

THOMAS: Oh, Rosco!

Thomas, it's been a treat, old bean.

Treat, hasn't it?

A treat.

VO: So, what did they really think then?

The spectacle things, I mean they are, those were doing really well when he had his saleroom.

Poor old Charlie!

Disappointing, Thomas, disappointing, old boy.

Quite a good plaque with a crack.

I can't stand the belt buckle.

I really don't like the belt buckle.

He's done alright, but I would rather he'd have spent 400 or £500.

VO: Thomas and Charlie have had a thoroughly enjoyable final leg, kicking off in Walsall in the West Midlands before passing through Staffordshire and Leicestershire.

Now they're en route to their final auction in Bedford, Bedfordshire.

Oh Rosco.

Well driven.

Good luck, old bean.

Good luck.

Right.

I'm told there are some very fine corkscrews at this sale.

There are, very fine and rare.

Come on, Rosco.

Last time I have to get out of that car!

VO: Today's battlefield is W & H Peacock, a thriving auction house that's been in business since 1901.

Presiding over the proceedings today is auctioneer David Fletcher.

Let's see what he thinks of our experts' choices.

The so-called Tiffany buckle, not terribly happy about this lot really.

In my view, that's not by Tiffany.

I hesitate even to call it reproduction because I don't think anyone ever made them so we have catalogued it as modern.

I hope someone will part with a tenner for it, but you never know.

The Staffordshire painted plaque, an interesting thing this really.

I think this will do OK, plenty of people out there buying this sort of thing.

Not as saleable as it might have been five years ago.

I'd like to think it might make £100.

VO: Charlie started this leg with £209.92 and blew every penny on five auction lots.

Thomas began with the princely sum of £553.44 and spent £169 also on five auction lots.

It's an uphill struggle for Charlie, but he still has a chance to win the day.

Now settle down, chaps.

First up, Charlie's buckle, made by world-famous designers Tiffany's.

Or is it?

It is sold as a Wells, Butterfield and Co style buckle, it is marked Tiffany, but it's not being sold as Tiffany.

£10 for it?

Why don't you actually shoot me?

10 may I say?

Five I'm bid.

Six, eight, 10, 12, 15...

This is better than I could possibly have hoped.

22, 25, 28, 30, 35, sir?

See, it is alright.

At £35, all done..?

Hang on!

40.

Fresh bid now, at £40.

This is a world record price for a buckle!

I beg your pardon, sir!

£45.

On my left at £45.

VO: Tiffany's or not, it still made a profit.

Had he not said that, it could have made £450!

I'm not speaking to him again.

VO: Thomas's first lot of the day is next.

His three corkscrews.

30.

£20?

Bid.

Thank you, madam.

At £20.

22 online.

Online, now you're going.

25.

28.

At £30.

They're taking off now.

In the room at 30.

All done, lady's bid at £30.

VO: A loss for Thomas, especially after the auction house takes its well-earned commission.

It's a really small consolation to me, but today, I'm winning.

Today, you're winning.

VO: Will your next lot drum up a profit, Charlie?

30?

20?

Oh.

£20 I'm bid.

Thank heavens.

£20.

Lady's bid there at 20.

22.

25.

We're off now, 28.

30.

35.

All done at 35... THOMAS: That's enough, that is enough.

I don't think it is.

It's far too much.

VO: Another profit for Rosco.

Things are looking up.

Now it's Thomas's art deco speaker.

40?

30?

20?

Oh dear.

£10, the lady over there, thank you...

This is wrong, this is wrong.

Thomas, this is not fair.

12 online, thank you, at £12.

Get two people online.

15, lady's bid.

Come on, come on.

18, may I say?

It's in the room at 18, online again, 18.

CHARLIE: It's an iconic thing.

THOMAS: It is, it is.

At £20.

CHARLIE: Come on.

DAVID: All done?

VO: Another blow for Thomas.

Charlie's lead today continues.

I think I bought it and then thought 'oh dear', you know how you do?

I've done a Rosco, bought two items now... (CHARLIE LAUGHS) VO: It's Charlie's gamble lot up next, his optician's box.

DAVID: £50 anywhere?

THOMAS: Oh, Rosco.

Most of you are wearing specs, so you're probably alright.

30?

I've got it online, thank you, at £30 online.

At 30.

CHARLIE: Oh, now five.

At £30.

All done?

And I sell.

VO: The buyers just didn't have the vision for that one.

Why, when I lose money, do you laugh?

When you lose money, I say "it's all wrong".

Cuz it's... You're a cruel man.

VO: Now, Charlie wasn't keen on them.

How will the bidders feel?

Five I'm bid, thank you, at £5.

I think they're overpriced at five.

I don't think they are.

Six anywhere?

All done at a fiver.

Six.

Eight.

It's creeping.

10.

THOMAS: There you see, double figures.

At £10.

12.

12.

15.

18.

20.

22.

At £22, back of the room, all done.

VO: Clearly not much interest in those, another loss I'm afraid, Thomas.

Let's see if Charlie's silver will ladle up a profit.

£30 I'm bid, thank you.

That's it, it's worth it.

Two, five, with me at 35, not you online, it's here at 35.

40 online.

40, there we are.

42 I've got here.

45 I'll take.

45.

45 in the room now.

Fresh bid, in the room at £45, at 45.

VO: A small profit, but a profit nevertheless.

Superb.

A little gentle nibble.

VO: Thomas's collection of pottery is up next.

£10 is all I'm bid for them, at £10, it's a start.

All done, I shall sell for just a tenner.

12, lady's bid.

15.

18, madam?

18.

At £18.

Anyone would think we were going up in thousands.

(BOTH LAUGH) 20, at 20.

Gentleman's bid, at £20.

All done, sir, at 20?

VO: It's really not going well.

That's Thomas's fourth loss of the day.

It's Charlie's big hope now - his Chinese cabinet.

10 anywhere?

VO: Oh dear.

10 I'm bid, thank you madam, at £10.

The back of the room, at 10.

12 anywhere?

At £10.

12 online.

15.

18 may I say?

18 online now, at 18.

20.

22, fresh bid.

Fresh bid.

At 22.

Nope?

At £22, lady on my left.

VO: Ouch!

(SOBS) Poor old Charlie.

Stretcher bearers!

(LAUGHS) VO: Thomas' victory is ensured now, but by how much?

It's his last lot - the plaque.

50 to get on?

A sea of blank faces.

50 bid, thank you madam.

At £50.

55.

60.

65.

DAVID: 70.

CHARLIE: Thomas!

Five.

Ride it Thomas, ride it!

85, madam?

85.

90.

Ooh, make it a cool 100.

95.

Go on, madam!

100.

I said it'd make £100!

You did!

You're a clairvoyant.

At £100.

All done?

VO: And true to form, Thomas goes out on a blinder.

Well done, old bean.

Well done, Rosco.

I can only say, it's a bit like my life, really.

I've done my best, and so often, my best is not good enough.

Come on, you thrashed me.

VO: Oh Charlie!

Don't despair.

Let's see who won the day.

Our Rosco started the final leg with £209.92 and made a loss of £64.78 after auction costs, leaving him with a miserly £145.14 at the end of the trip.

Thomas meanwhile kicked off with £553.44 and after making a much smaller loss of £11.56, he is crowned not only today's winner, but also the champion of this week's Road Trip - his first ever win.

He's left with a grand total of £541.88.

Well done, Thomas!

All profits of course go to Children in Need.

(CHARLIE LAUGHS) You have got one under your belt now, Planters.

I have.

I have.

There will be no holding you.

Rosco, you did so well to begin with, but then what you've done is you have lost and you have bought, you have lost and you have bought and then you've made money and then you've lost money, but that's quite cool.

CHARLIE: Don't ever spend more than 40 quid on anything!

THOMAS: Come on.

That's the rule, isn't it?

CHARLIE: Toot, toot!

THOMAS: It's been a marvelous week.

VO: And what a week it's been.

Well done!

VO: Once upon a time, long, long ago, Charlie won the first leg.

Since then... (HE SOBS) I feel your pain.

Thy will be done.

WOMAN: You may indeed.

CHARLIE: Mwah!

Do you want a cuddle?

£60, sir.

Oh!

Don't I look handsome?

Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha!

I've never been in a car with such a rich person.

I only came in here for an insult.

VO: But despite the yawning gap in their fortunes, something beautiful has blossomed out on the road.

THOMAS: You've improved me.

I've learned so much from you, Rosco.

Your temperament has been such a pleasure.

CHARLIE: My mate Thomas.

And all he taught me.

VO: Bon voyage!

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