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

I just love it.

VO: Behind the wheel of a classic car.

(HORN TOOTS) LOUISE: It's fast.

CHARLES: It's a race.

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

PAUL: This could be tricky.

MARGIE: £38!

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

VO: But it's no mean feat.

ROO: High five!

There'll be worthy winners... CHRISTINA: Mind-blowing.

VO: ..and valiant losers.

Could have been worse.

Will it be the high road to glory...

Car!

..or the slow road to disaster?

CHRISTINA: Aaagh!

TIM: Oh my!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Beep-beep!

VO: It's the last chance to share a few more magic moments with Catherine Southon and Paul Laidlaw.

PAUL (PL): Air is good, and if you look up at that... CATHERINE (CS): I can't look up.

PL: Don't!

Please don't look up.

O: No, no, don't.

Our sensitive trippers are setting out amongst the fecund fields of Oxfordshire.

Beautiful rape.

Lots of cowslip as well.

CS: I do like cowslip.

PL: Wispy clouds.

You're very poetic.

I could get used to this.

Be poetic.

VO: But it's not all been metaphors, similes and iambic pentameters for Bromley resident Catherine, and Paul from Carlisle.

PL: Och and aye.

VO: Well, Scotland originally, of course.

Hoots.

Who shoes them boots?

VO: Because the competition really hotted up last time.

The thing that's gonna sell this is the brand.

VO: ..where Catherine's Cartier stole the show.

AUCTIONEER: Selling then at 130.

(GAVEL) Well done.

CS: Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

PL: Result.

VO: Poetic justice, you might call it.

There's about 80 quid between us.

CS: No way!

PL: Yeah way.

VO: Well, actually a bit more.

VO: Catherine began with £200 and, mainly thanks to that auction, now has a splendid £363.62.

VO: While Paul, who started out with the same sum, has a marvelous £456.92.

Just over £90 ahead.

Oh, those heady days of a lead are long behind me now.

CS: Catching up.

VO: Exciting stuff indeed.

Our pair lifted off from Budby in Nottinghamshire, and they've seen a fair bit of the Midlands, not to mention Wales as well, briefly.

Before sidling back to the centre, and today, when their work is done they'll point their Morgan towards Middle Littleton and journey's end.

But long before we reach that climactic auction there's shopping to be done in Chipping Campden - the Cotswold town that hosts its very own country games, featuring some fairly unique traditional sports.

I am sure our awfully competitive Paul would be a fan of the shin kicking.

Ha!

So, what's worth fighting for in the shopping aisles at Stuart House?

Have a look at this.

It is a Victorian piece.

It was made at Doulton's Lambeth pottery.

You have got an oviform, an egg form vessel, but you must be drawn to this striking geometric, almost sawtooth-like decoration.

The body, simple stoneware, and the form suggestive of a utilitarian piece, but it is the height of esthetic decoration, which is as good as you get with Victorian ceramics of this type.

How good?

Well, your designer there is one HB, Hannah Barlow.

And that is a name that will resonate with some of you, and the rest of you should certainly remember and look out for.

But you'll never find that cheap, unless you are very lucky.

Now, you and I both know Granny's Doulton figurines are sadly unloved.

This Doulton stoneware vase, on the other hand, highly coveted.

What sort of budget would you need to secure this piece?

Well, the price tag says £958.

And that, for my money, is not expensive.

VO: Lovely work, Paul.

And Hannah.

What about the competition?

CS: Perfect parking, if I do say so myself.

VO: Modest.

Catherine has driven to the Gloucestershire town of Moreton-in-Marsh.

They used to have a V in it, but that was quietly dropped.

Who needs it anyway?

Catherine's last chance to catch Paul starts here.

What do these look like?

I feel like a wasp.

Do I look like a wasp?

VO: Waspish, certainly.

I can't see anything.

VO: Not great for browsing.

Can't see anything at all.

VO: Come on, Catherine.

Pfft!

VO: Let's do this thing.

I'm sure Sarah can help.

So, Sarah?

CS: Oh.

SARAH: It is quite heavy, isn't it?

It's very heavy.

But, do you know what, it is so heavy that I don't know that it is actually silver.

What's she got on the ticket?

She's just got white metal.

VO: It's a spoon holder.

What's that supposed to be?

Some sort of...

I don't know.

It looks like a scorpion.

The legs are too short, aren't they?

Yes.

I am not very good on entomology.

How are you on entomology?

Erm...

I'm not very good at all.

VO: Lordy!

CS: But this handle seems really, really heavy.

CS: Almost too heavy to be... SARAH: OK. CS: It's almost sort of brassy.

SARAH: OK.

But I do like the actual bowl of the spoon.

SARAH: Yep, it's quite pretty.

CS: I like the fact CS: that it's got a tiger.

SARAH: Yeah.

Oh, he's caught something, hasn't he?

He has.

I don't know what it is.

We're doing really well here, aren't we?

VO: Not really.

Weird.

I quite like weird.

It's unusual, isn't it?

£25 doesn't seem unreasonable.

SARAH: No.

CS: Does it?

I'm interested to know what he's caught.

It looks like an oversized rabbit.

I don't think they get big rabbits in India but.... VO: Could it be a wolf?

SARAH: Shall I take that to the desk?

CS: May I...

Yes please.

SARAH: Yep, OK, that's fine.

I'm still looking though, Jane.

SARAH: It's Sarah.

CS: Sarah.

Did I call you Jane?

SARAH: Yeah, you did.

CS: I'm really bad with names.

VO: Oh, me too, how are you, Georgina?

Meanwhile, back in Chipping whatsit, that Scottish bloke - you know, the one who bought that camera, made all that money... PL: Rachel?

RACHEL: Yes?

They're alright, aren't they?

They're pretty, aren't they?

Really unusual.

So, Japanese Cloisonne vases, pre second war.

RACHEL: Yes.

PL: And maybe interwar.

I think these are Taisho period, 1920s.

And the reason I say that is... that esthetic feels slightly "moderne".

Yes, no I think you're right.

I think there's something going on there.

And the shimmering of the enamel in the blossom.

They're very attractive, RACHEL: aren't they?

PL: They are.

They are very attractive, yeah.

That one's had a wee bit of a ding, but I tell you what I like more than anything.

I like the mark.

You crack the mark, and you have added value, haven't you?

You've put early Cloisonne, absolutely, pretty pair, yes, 85.

Is there a price for me on those?

60?

It's a wee bit richer than I'd want to be.

I mean, all day long, if it wasn't for that.

RACHEL: Yes.

PL: I'll make you an offer.

RACHEL: Go on, then.

PL: Gonna offer you 50.

RACHEL: Oh, as it's you, Paul.

PL: Yeah?

VO: Very convivial.

PL: £50.

Thank you very much, Paul.

Next time.

RACHEL: See you soon.

Bye.

PL: See you.

VO: Not a single shin was bruised.

Now, time for more Moreton, and more Catherine.

I do like a cabinet.

VO: She does, you know.

I like that.

What is that?

I'm drawn to brooches at the moment.

I thought it was gonna be very light.

But there's certainly a bit of weight to it.

Silver brooch.

Scandinavian.

Carl A Christiansen.

Danish, and I think it's probably 1940s/50s.

It's just very elegant.

There's real craftsmanship here.

CS: Hazel?

HAZEL: Yes?

CS: This is yours, is it?

HAZEL: Yes, it is.

Can you tell me anything about it?

Oh, I bought it years ago and I used to wear it on a blazer.

CS: Oh, did you?

HAZEL: A navy blue blazer.

CS: Did it look nice?

HAZEL: It looked lovely.

Christiansen, Danish designer.

Yes.

I think he would've designed a lot of jewelry, a lot of rings, a lot of pendants, brooches.

HAZEL: Yes.

CS: Right up to the '70s.

So quite desirable at the moment.

HAZEL: Yes.

CS: You've got £35 on it.

What would you do that for?

I could go down to 30.

OK. That's a possibility.

VO: Catherine already has the strange spoon holder reserved, of course.

Decision time.

Can you come down a little bit on the 30?

28.

CS: That's perfect.

HAZEL: Yes.

Thank you.

May I have your brooch, then, at 28?

You may.

CS: And may I have your spoon... HAZEL: Yes.

..at 25?

HAZEL: Yes, that's fine.

CS: Yep.

Her first buys bagged.

If I give you that... HAZEL: Thank you.

BOTH: Thank you very much.

CS: It's been lovely to meet you.

HAZEL: Yes.

VO: But, while Catherine takes her leave... ..Paul's about to shuffle onto a new stage, in Warwickshire, at Stratford-upon-Avon.

Hometown of the finest playwright in the English language.

Where, like millions before him, Paul's made his way to the house on Henley Street, where the great dramatist was born.

To be... or not to be?

VO: There's a question.

To hear the story of one of the greatest Shakespearean actors, from Dr Paul Edmonson.

DR PAUL (PE): Paul, welcome to the Shakespeare Centre.

PL: How are you, Paul?

PE: Very well.

VO: Our man is here to find out about Ira Aldridge, the American who was the very first black actor to perform Shakespeare in Britain.

PE: He was the son of a slave.

Born in Manhattan in 1807.

He grew up inspired by Shakespeare's words, and he knew he wanted to act.

And he started to.

But he had to face so much prejudice in the States.

And at the age of 17, Ira decided that he was gonna get on a boat and emigrate to England.

So, he leaves his home in America, to cross the Atlantic by sail at 17?

A dangerous thing to do.

A pioneering thing to do.

But nothing was gonna hold him back.

VO: Once in England, Aldridge was able to reinvent his story and call himself the son of a Senegalese prince.

He found work as a theater manager in Coventry, and soon made his debut on the British stage.

His most famous role is Othello.

The tragedy of the jealous Moor, and it was an astonishing thing to see a black actor play that.

When Ira was doing it nobody had seen this before.

He was a very, very great actor.

All of the accounts signify his emotional intensity.

His stillness on stage.

He didn't overact.

He was able to pull the emotion back, and his voice thrilled people.

He became famous.

VO: The rare handbills in the birthplace's collection reveal something of the effect that Aldridge had on 19th century theater audiences.

"The unprecedented novelty of a native African impersonating "dramatic characters has excited a degree of interest "unparalleled in the annals of drama."

VO: Aldridge traveled throughout Europe, performing other great Shakespearean roles, like Titus Andronicus and Hamlet.

But he was very aware of what his fame could help achieve, often addressing audiences on the subjects of slavery and prejudice.

He also performs in Hull, significantly, the birthplace of the home of William Wilberforce, who was instrumental in the abolition of slavery.

So, he's bringing his professional career to bear on political activism.

PL: Yeah.

PE: He's thrilling audiences, and at the same time he knows what he's doing.

Winning the hearts of the crowned heads of Europe.

VO: In 1851, the great actor came to perform in Stratford-upon-Avon, appearing at a theater which once stood in the birthplace's garden.

This is our visitor's book, and here is his signature, "Ira Aldridge, the African tragedian.

"Mislike me not for my complexion."

A quotation from the Merchant of Venice, the prince of Morocco.

And he comes with his wife, and his son, on 2nd May 1851.

Paying homage, like thousands have done before him.

His hands touched these pages, Paul.

Just a reminder.

(PL CHUCKLES) PL: He's clearly hugely famous in his day.

What's the legacy?

PE: It's kept alive through other black pioneers.

And wherever there is a black actor, since Ira Aldridge, they're all mentioning him.

They all know about him.

He is, in a sense, their dramatic father.

I see.

150 years later... PE: 150 years later... ..this man is an inspiration.

PE: He's a catalyst.

He is one of the greatest actors we've ever known.

VO: Meanwhile, somewhere in the wilds of Warwickshire and en route to her next shop, Catherine has a certain glint in her eye.

I've got £300 to spend.

I'm going to spend the lot.

I am going to spend the lot.

You heard it first.

Every single penny.

VO: Well, if that isn't the stuff of Shakespeare, I don't know what is.

In Stratford, too.

Looks big enough, doesn't it?

Up, down, around the corner, along the bottom.

I don't know where to look, actually.

VO: Quite.

Spending won't be a problem, then.

Oh, I love this.

What's this?

"Vintage mahogany jeweler's sample carrying case".

Essentially it's just a mahogany case, but beautiful brass fittings.

There we go.

Isn't that smart?

That flaps down.

And then you've got sections.

Sheepskin lined, so I guess maybe that's for necklaces or bracelets or something on that.

It's a carrying case.

Isn't that lovely?

And then the trays are different depths.

For the differing pieces of jewelry.

VO: So, what do we reckon?

I don't so much like the inside of it.

But the outside of it is lovely.

What a beautiful carrying handle as well.

That is one smart piece.

£195.

I'm not sure I would get that back.

But it's very yummy, isn't it?

I think I like it here.

I'm gonna stay here for a bit.

See what else I can find.

VO: She is a woman on a mission.

Aha!

Maybe I can spy myself a bargain from here.

VO: Beats wasp goggles.

That looks interesting.

What is this?

Jeu de grenouille.

VO: A frog game?

CS: Ah, I get it.

See, this is like a village fete game.

I think you throw a ball, and then hopefully it'll get into the...

I guess that's like the bullseye, when you go into the frog's mouth.

Or it would go into the other sections.

Maybe into these little arches.

It's not 19th century.

It's gonna be maybe 1930s, 1940s.

But I absolutely adore it.

It's the sort of thing that people are buying these days.

It's such good fun.

It's £375.

That is a heck of a lot of money, but I really, really, really like this.

VO: Jeu de grenouille is a very French version of shuffle board.

You throw flat stones or plates.

Let's get proprietor Richard roped in.

RICHARD: Jeu de grenouille?

CS: Jeu de grenouille.

Is there any deal to be done on this at all?

RICHARD: Well, it's on at 3... CS: I'm all hot and sweaty.

RICHARD: It's 375.

CS: Yeah, I know.

So, I reckon we could get it close down to three-something.

Could you get it under three?

Like 250.

RICHARD: Can you do 275?

Oh.

Is the 250 definitely out?

Go on, do 260.

CS: 260?

RICHARD: Yeah.

I've got to have it, haven't I?

You have got to have it, yeah.

(SHE SQUEALS) RICHARD: Yeah, brilliant.

RICHARD: Thank you.

CS: Oh my God!

I can't believe I'm gonna buy this.

Did I just shake your hand?

I did.

I'm buying it.

Yeah, you did.

You've bought it.

Oh, my gosh.

VO: You kissed him, actually.

He-he!

Not quite spent the lot, then.

But, then, she hasn't left the shop yet.

CS: I like that.

RICHARD: Nice decorative tray, isn't it?

It's very much in the style of the Anglo-Indian sort of occasional tables, isn't it?

You know those ones with the sort of fretted stands?

There's lots of detail here.

And I like the depth to it as well.

It has got £50 on that.

Could you possibly do 30 on it?

CS: Go on, Richard.

RICHARD: 30 it is.

CS: 30?

RICHARD: Yeah.

So, I've, I've...

So, how much have I spent in your shop today?

RICHARD: 290.

CS: £290?

You can come back again.

I bet I can.

£290 in one shop.

It's been a great day.

VO: We'll see about that later, Richard.

Au revoir!

Oh, my goodness.

What have I done?

VO: Drama, darling, pure drama.

Just over £20 left now.

Ha-ha!

Best not to mention that.

This is the life, isn't it?

Oh, Catherine, isn't it just?

And I'm being chauffeured.

You like it, don't you, Paul?

I do.

VO: Lovely couple.

Nighty-night.

Next day starts with a quiz.

The sun is shining, and we are in...?

PL: Begins with N. CS: Begins with N. It's either Northamptonshire or Northumberland.

VO: Or Norwich.

Or Nuneaton.

None of the above?

Answer coming right up.

First, let's have a brief recap.

Paul has thus far bought a pair of Japanese vases.

Very attractive, aren't they?

They are.

DEALER: Yeah, very attractive.

VO: Leaving him with over £400 to spend today.

While Catherine's gone wild, spending almost all of her cash on a spoon holder, a tray, a brooch, and ooh-la-la... Jeu de grenouille.

VO: A very French game.

Could be the coup de grace.

VO: Peut etre, mon ami.

Now, that geography quiz?

Prizes for anyone who guessed it was destination A, Northamptonshire, for the last few shops.

Bestest moment, for you, in the whole trip?

Was wakening up that first morning and seeing you in the car.

VO: Aw!

Later, they'll face the final curtain - oh, sorry, auction - at Middle Littleton.

But the first stop today is Castle Ashby, where Paul, having dropped off his fellow tripper, has the place to himself.

Better tread carefully.

Looks very vintage, doesn't it?

I wonder what will attract the Laidlaw lolly.

Don't...!

VO: Oh, my lordy.

Steady as she goes.

Right... Any miniature chest or piece of furniture, so long as it's bigger than doll's house, it's gonna be described as an apprentice piece.

And I'll put it to you that, nine times out of 10, that's wishful thinking, or nonsense.

This could be a tradesman's sample.

An advertising piece.

Why not stick such a thing in the window and say, "You could have one of those "for your second bedroom, madam"?

Do I like it?

Well, generally, these things I abhor.

They're knocked together.

They're mis-described as apprentice pieces.

They bore me.

This one, because of the proportion, the skill employed in its manufacture, and indeed the timber, I actually quite like it.

Am I gonna buy it?

Remains to be seen.

The price on the ticket says £95.

I don't think it's crazy, but it would be crazy of me to pay that to take it to auction.

So, I'm gonna have a conversation with John and see how it goes.

But for now I'm gonna put it back.

You bear with me.

VO: Off to a promising start.

Just as well, because he does have a lot of buying to do today.

Look at this.

So, there's a 1940s photograph album.

Most of those are dreary.

But what happened in the 1940s.

Something big.

And this is a personal album of a British army serviceman who served in the North African campaign.

This is Montgomery and Erwin Rommel himself.

So, herein in is a pictorial account of one man's war.

Tobruch, 49 Company.

We've got the unit.

He was 49 Company, RASC, and here we have the man and his comrades at Tobruch, Christmas Day, 1941.

And of course Tobruch was laid siege to by the Africa corps.

And you've got everything else in there as well.

There are service records.

There are loose photographs.

It goes on and on.

I think I might see diary extracts.

How do you put a price on this?

Am I gonna buy it?

Well, d'you know, at auction these are unpredictable.

If I came here in civvies would I be interested and tempted?

Hell, yes.

But today I'm gonna put that back and leave this little gem for the next punter.

VO: It's not every day our Paul politely refuses some militaria.

Still, proprietor John does have lots besides.

Well, John, you do have two nice enamel signs.

And I don't know the going rate, but I know they're commercial.

They're both priced at about 165, aren't they?

That's right.

Yep.

What sort of a deal could you do?

So, you got them at the right money?

I got them at the right money, yeah.

75 apiece?

That gets to about 150.

They're cheap if I'm walking in here wanting to bolt them to the wall of my man cave.

But I don't know that they're cheap if I'm the trader.

I'll make you an offer on them.

But, maybe, to make it sweeter, there are a couple of other things we could throw into a pot.

JOHN: Yep.

PL: The pitch pine... JOHN: The miniature cupboard.

Yeah?

PL: I think it's a nice thing.

JOHN: Yep.

PL: It's missing a wee bit of superstructure, but, between you and me, I think it's better looking without the superstructure.

I'm about half of the ticket price on that.

And the last thing I did spot when I was mooching about was... a wee enameled silver fob medallion.

These abound, but they're not always 1917 dated and military.

PL: And I quite like that.

JOHN: Yep.

And it's priced at £25.

At the right price, I'd buy the four pieces.

But then again, that's easily said.

But I'll make you an offer.

JOHN: For all four?

PL: Yeah.

JOHN: Right.

PL: And it is... £170.

Would you do 190... for the four items?

You know what I'm gonna say, don't you?

(LAUGHS) JOHN: I can feel it coming.

Yeah.

PL: Meet me in the middle.

JOHN: 180.

For the four?

PL: £180.

Yeah.

Yeah.

JOHN: That's a deal.

PL: Good man.

I didn't see that coming.

(THEY LAUGH) VO: I don't think anyone did.

Ha!

20, 40, 60, 80, one.

20, 40, 60, 80.

JOHN: Thank you very much, Paul.

PL: A pleasure.

JOHN: Thank you.

VO: So, with one very happy shopper about to say farewell to Castle Ashby, let's head to the county town, where Catherine's taking a well earned detour, to the ground of one of Britain's oldest and pre-eminent rugby clubs.

This is impressive.

So, this is the home of the Northampton Saints?

It is.

This is where they've been since 1880.

VO: Journalist Graham McKechnie has written a biography of the club's greatest ever player, Edgar Mobbs.

GRAHAM (GM): He really is the embodiment of Saints.

Edgar Mobbs was the man who made Northampton famous.

You look at the club today and they are one of these top clubs in Europe, but really Mobbs started that.

He was their first superstar.

He was the man who got Saints known nationally.

People would think of Saints as Edgar Mobbs, and vice versa.

VO: Mobbs joined Northampton in 1905, and soon became their captain, scoring 177 tries from the wing.

GM: He was tall, and he was very quick.

He has this blonde hair as well.

He is instantly recognizable.

He had this high knee as he ran, which they said made him very hard to tackle, and he had a very powerful handoff.

They used to go down like ninepins when people tried to tackle him.

In fact one of the criticisms... What do you mean?

Sorry, say that again.

A handoff.

So, when someone is coming in, GM: it's the hand shot out... CS: Right.

..to fend people off that tried to tackle him.

Ah, so he was...

He was strong.

And he was hugely positive.

They said his greatest quality was no matter what the match situation, he encouraged them on to win.

He wanted to win.

VO: Northampton and England's hero retired age 32, in 1913.

But when war broke out just over a year later, Mobbs was thrust into leadership of a very different kind.

Rugby joined up en masse.

It was in its DNA really, so rugby players across the land joined the army.

The famous call to arms in August, 1914.

Now, Edgar Mobbs was turned down for a commission because of his age, so he enlisted as a private.

He gave a series of events around Northamptonshire.

He used his celebrity, and used his fame, and encouraged others to go with him.

And they did.

Here they are here, followers of the famous footballer, and a lot of these men were rugby players.

They were Bedford rugby players, the Northampton players.

They were from the local clubs around Northamptonshire.

It was a company he raised, Mobbs' own, the seventh Northamptonshire Battalion.

And Mobbs joins as a private.

He very quickly rose through the ranks and by the time they went off to fight in France right at the end of August 1915, so after a year of training, he had his commission as an officer.

VO: The rookie company suffered huge casualties in their very first engagement at the Battle of Loos.

With Mobbs becoming their commander, when men who were his seniors were injured.

Warfare, the men discovered, was nothing like a game of rugby.

He did exactly what they wanted him to do.

He led from the front.

And he knew the men.

He got to know the men.

After the battle of Loos, he writes about having to write the letters home to the families.

These were his men and he must have felt a burden of responsibility.

He told them to go to war and they followed him.

There is a photograph of him home in Kings Thorpe in Northampton with his arm in a sling in June 1917, and I think if you look at his letters that he wrote to his sister, you see a gradual wearing down of this optimism.

But, by the summer of 1917 there is a certain gloom to his final letter home, and when he was on leave, he said to his great friend this would be the last time he would see him back home in Northampton.

VO: Just over one month later, Lieutenant Colonel Mobbs led his men at the Battle of Passchendaele.

He took himself to the front.

He saw the position, he saw what was happening and he attacked this machine gun post.

He ran for one last time, that high kneed run of Mobbs, and he was struck down.

Bullets hit him in the throat.

And he fell, and they found him bleeding, ultimately to death, in a shell hole.

VO: There is a war memorial beside the Franklin's Gardens pitch which honors those who served.

Of the over 400 in Mobbs' own company, only 85 came home.

VO: Now, what about Catherine's B-road buddy?

A penny for his thoughts?

Worried that Catherine has a strong hand.

Whatever it was that compelled her, that cried out "you have got to buy me", worries me.

I think she could be going out in style.

But hey, game on, game on!

VO: Concerned of Cumbria is on his way to his very last shop.

Also in Northampton.

Catherine is expected along shortly.

Stay boy!

PL: This here is a good factoid for you.

A Sam Brown belt is standard leather accouterments carried by not only by British Army officers, but officers of all arms and services, civilian and military throughout the world.

Who was Samuel Brown?

Samuel Brown was a Victorian soldier.

Samuel Brown lost his arm in action.

And d'you know what's tricky with one arm?

Removing a sword from a tight scabbard.

And he designed a set of leather accouterments, belt, braces, sword frog, ammunition pouch and holster and so on in such a way that he could easily remove sword from scabbard.

That is a hero and an inventor in one.

And that's the belt that bears his name to this day.

And that's an antique shop.

So, see you.

VO: Thanks, Paul.

Not a moment too soon, either.

Good afternoon.

You all look very comfortable.

Are there any biscuits in there?

Certainly, yes.

Ooh, might come back for one of those.

VO: Cheeky!

CS: Well, hello.

DEALER: Hello.

CS: Hi.

Catherine.

CS: Good to see you.

DEALER: I'm Claire.

Welcome to Click Antiques.

CS: Oh, thank you.

VO: Well, she may only have £20.62 to her name, about one eleventh of what's lurking in Paul's wallet.

CS: This is steep up here.

DEALER: I know.

VO: But, by Jove, she's determined to spend it.

Such pluck.

CS: Look at this.

Now, I would never in a million years buy one of these, book sliders, or book troughs, or basically something to keep your books together.

I see them all the time, but this one is really good quality.

The craftsmanship is second to none.

The detail.

We have temples, we have little birds, maybe love birds carved on the top.

This is Indian, late 19th century.

It probably wasn't even ever used.

Because the condition is just wonderful.

Now, as you know, I don't have a lot of money.

VO: Ah, we've heard.

But I've got a feeling that £20 might buy this.

VO: Calling Claire.

CS: You've got a whole pile of these book slides.

We had a book-slide-buying frenzy.

What, you just bought them in one big job lot?

Yeah, yeah, it was a job lot.

I thought this was rather charming, because you turn it over here and it just says "G", whoever G was... DEALER: I know.

"..brought this for seven shillings and sixpence".

You'll want it for seven and six now, won't you?

CS: How much is that?

DEALER: I don't know.

I'm trying to work that out.

Is it 35p, something like that> 35p?

Oh, I can probably do better than that.

DEALER: How about £3.50?

CS: £3.50?

Yes.

Cos we've got loads of them.

CS: Really?

DEALER: Yeah.

Oh, no.

I can't buy anything for £3.50.

DEALER: Is that too much?

CS: That's... VO: This is an unusual negotiation.

I will happily give you £5 for it.

OK. That's fine.

VO: Crikey!

Thanks, Claire.

Ah... ha.

What you found?

(SHE CHUCKLES) Oh, are you gonna hit me with that?

Don't sneak up on me when I'm armed.

Oh, I don't like that club.

Hoo-hoo, ha-ha, hoo-hoo.

VO: Enough messing about, you two.

Buy something.

There's plenty to choose from.

I think he's playing the game.

Doesn't want to part with another penny, eh?

What's this in here?

This has caught my eye, purely, purely because of the subject.

Being a skier myself, a novelty brooch, I think this is.

You've got a pair of crossed skis there and then the binding on the top.

Gilt metal, there's nothing particularly precious about it.

Sadly, not silver or marked in any way.

But just a great subject.

And it's only £4.

Why am I finding lots of really cheap items?

That's quite good, though.

I've not got a lot left.

VO: Any more inexpensive brooches, Claire?

DEALER: Have you seen the bugs?

CS: Which bugs?

These bugs.

That bug's magnificent.

Oh, that is nice.

It's got a pin on the back, and you just screw it into fabric.

It's fabulous.

And you can afford it.

£10.

DEALER: Very sharp.

Don't stab yourself.

I was gonna say.

What does it say on the back?

CS: "Very sharp."

DEALER: Very sharp.

Ooh, it's lovely, isn't it?

What sort of a bug is that?

VO: Not entomology again!

A fly-y type bug, I think.

A flea.

A flea, we'll go for a flea.

We'll go with a flea.

Right.

I think I'm on it.

Hooray!

VO: Yes, hooray!

£5 for the book slider.

I found over there this rather charming skiing brooch.

£4, and I found... Well, you found, this little bug for £10.

If my maths serves me correct, that's £14.

CS: That's £19.

DEALER: £19.

Oh, that's so annoying, cos I've got £20 and 63 pence.

I want to spend it all.

VO: Never mind.

Paul?

How're you doing?

Are you done?

Shopped up?

PL: Are we going?

CS: I'm ready.

I'm done.

PL: Vamoose.

CS: Vamoose.

Come on then.

PL: Come on.

CS: Thank you very much.

PL: Thanks again Claire.

All the best.

CS: Bye-bye.

VO: Yep, he's leaving empty handed.

(HORN BEEPS) CS: Ooh!

Was that you?

That wasn't me.

VO: Wasn't me.

Time to go to auction.

PL: How're you feeling about said auction?

I've had such a great time.

The result... is immaterial.

Well it's been alright.

Alright?!

Come on, let's go.

Let's go.

Take me to the auction.

VO: Don't forget the shuteye.

VO: Well, what an idyllic corner of Worcestershire this is.

After setting out in Gloucestershire at Chipping Campden, Catherine and Paul's final circuit wraps up at Middle Littleton... at Littleton Auctions.

With internet bidding.

PL: Last chance saloon.

Oh-ho-ho!

No pressure.

And it's close.

Oof!

CS: A bit too close.

VO: There's no such thing.

That's just the way we like it, Catherine.

Busy, busy.

Oops, sorry.

Ooh.

VO: With less than 100 between them, Catherine went for broke, parting with £362 for her five auction lots.

This game.

Not any old game.

Wait for it.

A game changer.

Because I think this is my nemesis.

VO: Paul, of course, spent an awful lot less.

£230 on his five lots.

Little wardrobe.

Pine.

It's actually quite naff.

It doesn't do anything for me.

(SHE SIGHS) Sorry.

VO: It looks like it might all come down to Paul's canny buys versus Catherine's glorious gamble.

What does auctioneer Martin Homer make of those?

MARTIN (MH): The French frog game.

That's my favorite lot.

A lot of interest in that one so far.

The two enamel signs will do very well.

I think we'll be quite surprised at the amount they actually make.

VO: Blimey!

It's gonna be quite a ride.

Good luck, my friend.

Here we go.

It begins.

VO: With Catherine's decorative book trough.

Formerly seven shillings and sixpence.

15 I'm bid, thank you, sir.

17, 20.

22, 25, 27, £30.

At 30 in the corner.

I doff my cap.

At £30, the room has it.

And I'm selling at £30.

(GAVEL) VO: Six times better.

Great start.

Dearie me.

Hey, beautiful.

Beautiful.

VO: Paul's turn.

A couple of Japanese Cloisonne vases.

£30, bid's with me.

At 30.

Is it two in the room?

Bells are being rung.

32 in the room.

35, 37... (BELLS RING) CS: Come on.

£40.

45.

At 45, the bid's there at 45.

PL: Oh, it's close.

MH: Looking for 50.

PL: Oh, I'm looking for 50.

MH: At £45.

Are we all done?

CS: No, we're looking for 50.

MH: I'm selling at £45.

PL: So close I thought... MH: 45.

OK. No great damage.

VO: Catherine's catching up fast.

I've not been scorched.

I'll take that.

VO: She's pinning her hopes on this next lot.

20 I'm bid.

Thank you, madam.

The room has it at 20.

Internet's flashing up.

27, madam?

27 room.

30 on the net.

Come on, I need a bit more than that.

35, net.

37, room.

40 on the internet.

45, room.

Bidding's on now.

50.

Five.

60.

65.

MH: At £65 in the room.

PL: Wow-ee!

MH: Room's winning at £65.

CS: A lot more than I thought.

Are we all done?

Fair warning, then, at £65.

(GAVEL) MH: Sold at 65.

PL: Belter!

CS: I'm happy with that.

VO: I'm not surprised.

She's started very strongly.

That makes a change, doesn't it?

VO: Now, is there any cupboard love in the room?

I've got a little bit of interest on the book, and I can start you off at just £20.

Mmm... MH: I'm looking for 22 now.

CS: Hammer down, gavel down.

Oh.

Catherine!

25.

27.

CS: I'm getting competitive now.

At £32?

32.

The bid's seated at 32.

Oh no.

It's too cheap at that.

At 32.

Are we all finished, then?

£32.

(GAVEL) This is an outrage, Catherine.

CS: Love it.

VO: I'm sure.

A disappointing loss there.

This could go anywhere today.

Yep.

Yeah.

VO: Another crafty buy from Catherine, the Indian tray.

20 I'm bid, thank you, sir.

We're in the room.

MH: 22 on the net now.

CS: 22.

25, room.

27 on the internet now.

30 sir?

£30 in the room.

30.

We're going on the internet here.

We're at 45 on the internet.

PL: Oh, that's a good result.

CS: 50.

At 50.

You out sir?

OK. We're on the internet at 50.

He's out.

Don't be out.

MH: At £50, I'm gonna sell.

PL: Do be out.

CS: Don't be out.

PL: That's way too much.

At £50.

(GAVEL) Sold at 50.

PL: Oh, happy days.

CS: Yeah, no.

That's good.

I'm so glad that that didn't make 30.

VO: They're now just about neck and neck.

You are on fire.

This is good here, isn't it?

Nice little place.

Nice people.

I have got work to do here.

VO: Can a bit of trademark militaria stop the rot?

At 20 in the room.

Is it two anywhere?

At twen... 22 I've got.

25.

27.

At 27 with you, sir.

At 27.

Are we done?

And selling at £27.

(GAVEL) Sold at 27.

A modest little profit.

VO: Sure beats those horrid losses, though.

You know what you are?

A jammy dodger.

Greedy.

That's what you are.

(LAUGHS) It's never enough, Catherine.

It's never enough.

Greedy.

VO: Now her white metal spoon.

Go tiger-r-r. At 15.

17 here.

I thought he said 50.

Room's at 20.

22 here.

At 22.

25, sir?

25.

At 25 with the gentleman at the back.

At 25.

Is it 27 anywhere?

At £25.

All done at 25?

(GAVEL) £25.

Oh, that's what I paid.

VO: She's right.

That's the only one you've not made a significant profit on so far, Catherine.

VO: Oh, he sounds worried.

Could be a very good time to sell a bargain bit of enamel advertising.

£100 all day long.

Unless someone has snipped the internet cord.

Which I could go and do now.

There is time.

A lot of interest here.

Lots of interest.

..on my book.

I can start you at £100.

(SHE GASPS) MH: With me at £100 on the book.

At 110, 120 with me.

Couldn't this be mine rather than yours?

150.

At £150.

New bidder.

That is £100 profit.

PL: It's flying.

MH: At £190.

The bid's still with me on the book, at 190.

CS: 190?

PL: 190.

At £190, are we all done?

At £190.

(GAVEL) There is life in this old dog yet at this auction, Catherine.

VO: Yep.

Paul is most definitely back.

You've got one sign left.

Maybe if we put that in my name, I might have a chance to win this auction.

Oh, I'll have your froggy game.

I'll do you a deal.

I'll swap that all day long for your signs.

PL: Seriously?

CS: Yes, seriously.

PL: I will swap the frog.

CS: Frog for sign?

We can't.

That's not in the rules.

PL: We can't do this.

CS: I don't care.

VO: Here we go.

Can Catherine pull it off?

Let's play jeu de grenouille.

160.

Straight on the net at £160.

170 now, in the room.

It comes into the room.

180 on the net.

190 in the room.

At £190.

Looking for 200 now.

My heart's beating so fast.

Are we done then, ladies and gentlemen?

CS: No.

MH: At £190, going once.

CS: No!

MH: Going twice.

PL: I don't believe it.

(GAVEL) I've seen these sell at auction for 600.

VO: I'm sure he means well.

But that maybe wasn't quite the right thing to say.

Oh, I feel a bit ill now.

VO: Understandable, given Paul's last lot.

Sign number two.

I have commission bids all over the place... CS: Oh.

MH: ..and I can go in at £190.

CS: What?!

PL: It is the better one.

At 190.

200 on the net.

Back to me at 210.

At 210.

I told you I wanted to swap that.

240.

Back to me at 250.

At 250.

Still with me, on commission.

At 200... 260.

Back to me at 270.

PL: What?

What?

What?

MH: At £270.

With me on the book.

280.

Back to me at 290.

At... 300.

Takes me out.

Why?

Why's it worth as much as that?

I think the other one was better.

At 300, going once.

Twice.

(GAVEL) £300!

I would like to congratulate you, but I feel very bitter.

VO: Well, I think she's undoubtedly the moral victor, don't you?

I can't take any credit for that.

Well done, my friend.

I didn't think they were worth that.

Well done.

Who's smiling the most out of you two?

CS: Not me.

MH: Not you?

I'm not smiling.

I am not smiling.

Is it that Laidlaw again?

What can I say?

Oi, oi, oi.

VO: She made a valiant attempt to unseat him, so bravo, girl.

But, after auction house fees, Catherine made a loss today of £66.80.

What a shame.

Leaving her with a very respectable £296.82.

While Paul made a whopping great pile.

After costs, he picked up £257.08.

So, his final total is £714 exactly.

Wow!

All profits go to Children In Need.

Ugh!

I feel that I was actually that close and now I'm that far away.

Don't dwell on the ending, Catherine.

No, I won't, because it's been marvelous.

Thank you for being... PL: I have loved it.

CS: ..such a good companion.

It's been fabulous.

Enough of this buying and selling nonsense.

You know what I'm thinking about?

PL: As always.

CS: There's only one thing.

It's the F word.

CS: Food.

PL: Come on, then, it's on me.

VO: Yeah, solids.

Good plan.

Reflect on an eventful week, eh?

MUSIC: 'Kick Drum Heart' by The Avett Brothers # There's nothing like finding gold # Within the rocks hard and cold # It's not the chase that I love # It's me following you... # (THEY LAUGH) # My, my heart like a kick drum... # (LAUGHS) CS: Whoo!

# My, my heart like a kick drum... # 65.

# My, my heart like a kick drum.. # Spend money.

# My, my love like a voice... # PL: Want a hand?

Or a foot?

CS: No!

# My, my heart like a kick drum... # (THUD) CS: Ooh!

We've left something behind.

VO: Memories?

Next time, we've a couple of foodies on Antiques Road Trip.

Is it ciabatta?

Ciabatta.

No, it's concrete.

VO: James Braxton and Roo Irvine take a culinary jaunt around the north.

Need to worry about the figure.

VO: There might be some antiques for good measure.

That sounds like, to me, pure profit.

Yes, they're a like.

VO: It's a goodie.

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