VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts with £200 each...

I love that.

VO: ..a classic car and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

Yippee!

It's a good job I like ya!

VO: The aim?

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

There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

Agh, I'm getting wet!

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

How much did you make?

About a couple of quid!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip!

VO: Yeah!

VO: Experts Philip Serrell and Thomas Plant are back on the open road for the final leg of their epic road trip, whizzing along in their oh- so-retro 1975 Triumph Stag, as they reflect on their fortunes so far.

PHILIP: I've worked it out, I think I've earned about 4p an hour.

THOMAS: Yeah?

PHILIP: Yeah.

I've done really rather well.

THOMAS: Yeah.

I've probably only gone up to 40p an hour.

PHILIP: Yeah.

THOMAS: But we've gone... We've ebbed and flowed, ebbed and flowed.

VO: Sadly, Philip has ebbed a bit more than he's flowed.

Even with almost 30 years' experience, he's still capable of making a boo boo with a canoe.

Did tell you 50 quid, didn't I?

That's a big ouch, isn't it?

THOMAS: That's a big ouch.

VO: And who could forget his vaulting horse fiasco?

WILL: £30... THOMAS: No!

Ooh... PHILIP: Ouch.

PHILIP: Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.

VO: Not that our Thomas has done any better!

THOMAS: Oof!

Ouch.

Ouch.

VO: Sometimes these two are more alike than they realize, like a pair of psychic twins, separated by only £50.

It's not like that, it's like that.

VO: Wrong sort of hat.

VO: For his initial £200 Philip now has £204.68 to spend on today's shopping.

VO: Thomas has really grown his £200 which means that he starts today with £252.20.

Well done, boy.

VO: The route for the week takes our intrepid road- trippers across land and sea from Samlesbury in Lancashire to the Isle of Man and back to the final destination of Greenwich, almost 700 miles away.

Wow.

But today's trip begins in Risby before ending up at auction in Greenwich.

VO: Founded around the tenth century, Risby is a picturesque Suffolk village, home to St Giles's church, a flint construction notable for its East Anglian round tower.

Rather conveniently, it's also home to the Risby Barn Antiques Centre, giving Philip a case of déjà vu.

PHILIP: D'you know what, Thomas, it's all coming back to me.

I've been here before.

THOMAS: Oh God, you've been everywhere, Philip.

PHILIP: Yeah, I know I've been here before.

VO: That could give him an unfair advantage.

I think that could give me an unfair advantage.

VO: Ha, told you so!

Why?

Because I should know what's in each place, but d'you know, I can't remember.

You can't remember what you had for breakfast, can you?

Which way...where do you want to go?

There's one there and there's one there.

I'll go over there.

And I'll go and have a look in here.

THOMAS: Right, see you later.

PHILIP: Worst of luck.

THOMAS: Best of luck.

VO: Isn't he sweet, Thomas?

The center features several antique emporiums.

Philip has bagged Risby Barn Antiques, housing 34 dealers and run by owner Richard Martin.

No that's not him.

That is!

Good to see you again.

PHILIP: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Cuz last time I was here I tried to buy a pulpit, didn't I?

You did indeed, but you hadn't got the money with you.

No, I never have, and, let me tell you, it's got no better.

VO: (SOBS) Enough of the sob stories, Philip!

Just get on with it!

PHILIP: I like that a lot.

You've got it down as a sycamore powder container.

D'you know what it does?

RICHARD: Powdering your wig?

PHILIP: No, it's called a finger carrot.

In the 19th century, ladies had long gloves.

Mm-hm.

PHILIP: You put talcum powder in there and then you put that down the finger of the glove and then you shake talcum powder into the finger of the glove and then, because they're very tight leather, the lady can pull the glove on easier.

But that's what that is - it's a finger carrot.

At auction it's 40-60 quid for this, so I've got to get it for like 35 quid or thereabouts, but can we put that by?

RICHARD: We'll put that aside... PHILIP: ..see where we can go.

VO: A finger carrot, eh?

Gosh.

At £70 you'll need to dig deep for that one!

But don't stop there, Phil.

What else have you found?

Something nutty?

PHILIP: Those are 1750s brass hazelnut crackers.

Mm-hm.

And when I started in this game these would have been probably... VO: Fairly new?

Haha!

...between 100 and £150, and now you can't sell them.

They're like 15 quid.

Yeah.

And it's just...it's just... You've got £28 on.

It's just a complete nonsense, isn't it?

I mean you've got these, which are brass, and you've got those, which are cut steel.

What can you do on the finger carrot?

Can you do me 35 quid on that?

RICHARD: I was hoping to squeeze you to 40 for that one.

PHILIP: I think the auction estimate for that is £40-60, but if it makes 40 I've got to pay commission, which is, commission on that is seven quid.

These things have got to be between 5 and £10 each.

RICHARD: OK, we'll go 35 on the... PHILIP: Yeah.

RICHARD: ..finger Yeah, I'd give you 40 quid for the two.

OK. Special offer today.

Alright, 40 quid for the two but I don't know which one of these I want.

Can I put those aside and I'll have a think and I'll continue to have a look round.

Thank you, you've been very good to me.

RICHARD: No problem.

That is a lovely old thing.

But...the hinge is broken.

It's 85 quid.

That wants to be £30.

Is this...

This is like...

It's not leather at all, is it, it's cardboard.

Is that faux leather...

Yes, yes.

This is in the 1920s, when they're starting to move away from leather.

PHILIP: What's the very very very very very very best on that?

We'll you're going to want it for a fiver, probably, knowing you.

PHILIP: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but I don't want to insult you.

I see that as another 40-60 quid.

Well, I was gonna come out and say 50, so... PHILIP: Can I think about that as well?

RICHARD: Yes, certainly.

VO: Thomas, meanwhile, has been rooting around in one of the other nearby antiques shops - Past and Present.

That looks like it's got a few nicks.

Oh yeah, a few little nicks here.

It's been dropped.

Stunning piece of glass.

The purity of the glass is just so good.

It's by Kosta Boda.

They had a little coding system on the base of each of the vases: LH, and you got 1444, over two something, but the most important thing in all of that is the L and the H, and that stands for Vicki Lindstrand.

VO: Lindstrand was a seminal designer for Kosta Boda, a company that has been producing glass in Sweden since 1742.

THOMAS: It's quite frankly the best glass in the world.

If you want my honest opinion.

VO: Good for you, Thomas.

It looks like he's found his first item!

Philip meanwhile is going for the hat-trick.

PHILIP: I definitely want that, because I love that, and out of these two little nutcrackers, I think those are the nicest.

Can you do 80 quid the lot?

OK, we'll go with that.

You're a gentleman.

We'll go with that.

Let me get some money out.

VO: Dust your wallet off!

Not a bad start for the day, that's the finger carrot for £35, the faux leather trunk for £40, and the nutcrackers for a fiver.

But if you want to get ahead, Philip, you'd better get a hat!

I wonder what Tom Plant's up to.

That's the thing about him, you know, you can never, ever trust him.

VO: You're a fine one to talk.

Ooh.

It sounds really wrong what I'm about to say, but I fancy buying a bit of flesh today.

VO: Oh grow up, Thomas!

At £165, she's a lady of class and distinction.

Really wrong but a bit of Deco figure, you know, Deco figure.

Depoise, which is good, so it's period.

Yeah, she's a nice figure.

Hopefully it can be a good price.

VO: Time to call in proprietor, Joe Aldridge, to see if there's a deal to be done on the Kosta Boda vase and the art deco figure.

I'll do you that at 120.

No real damage, which is unusual.

I like the Boda, what can the Boda be?

I'll sell you that for £40.

THOMAS: We can't sort of do 120 for the two?

That's... That's painful.

I know it's painful, but it's only a question and you can either say yea or nae.

JOE: I could do you the two for 150.

And you've got two quality items.

So, between 120 and 150, is there a figure we could meet at, like 130?

Do me 140, then, but that's it.

135.

140.

140, look this was started off at 165.

THOMAS: (LAUGHS) And?

140, you've got a deal.

Good man, you've been a really good man, that's brilliant.

VO: Great, that's the vase and the art deco figure in the bag - let's hope that they are well wrapped baby.

Nearby, Philip has found the Two Tinkers Antique shop, run by dealer Karen Funston.

And it doesn't take too long for him to find his next purchase... a butcher's block - don't ya know.

What do you reckon?

I think they're lovely and I want to buy one off you but it's price.

Which sells worse for you?

Well I would say the small one... PHILIP: Sells worst?

Sells worst, yeah.

OK... because you can make those into coffee tables.

Yeah.

Right OK but I got to be mean.

VO: Ha-ha!

Nothing new there then!

I'll give you 15 quid for it.

25.

PHILIP: I'll give you 20 quid and that's me finished.

Honest, honest finished.

OK. 20 quid?

20 quid.

Deal.

Oh you're an angel, thank you so much.

Better get some money out.

Oh lord.

KAREN: Thank you very much.

PHILIP: Thank you very much indeed.

What the hell am I ever going to do with that?

VO: Well you could always take it to auction old fruit; I think that's the idea.

Thomas, how you getting on?

Alright.

PHILIP: You having some fun?

I've spent some money.

PHILIP: What, real money?

Yeah.

Three figures.

What, £1.80?

Don't be so naughty.

What have you been buying?

I can tell you now that I think your lot will make probably three to five hundred.

THOMAS: No it won't.

PHILIP: It will.

I can tell you right now that the things you've bought will make a thousand to 1,500.

PHILIP: I'm going, I'm going, I'm going.

VO: And he's gone.

From Risby our experts just about fall into Bury St Edmunds, some four miles away, where Thomas is off to make a show of himself.

VO: Lovingly restored in 2005 at a cost of £5.3 million, the Theatre Royal is one of the finest and oldest surviving examples of a Georgian theater to be found and Thomas has come along to meet Julia Salmon.

Welcome to the Theatre Royal, my name is Julia and I'm a heritage guide here.

Brilliant.

Would you like to come through and I'll show you some of the auditorium.

THOMAS: I'd love to!

JULIA: Or would you like to... No, no, let's go through and look at the auditorium, that's all about the theater.

JULIA: OK, well come this way.

VO: The theater was built in 1819 by renowned designer William Wilkins.

Back then it would have only been open at certain times of the year, which meant tickets would have been at a premium and the actors played to packed houses - quite literally.

THOMAS: Wow, this is quite small isn't it?

It is.

It's a very intimate theater.

When it was built originally it was built for 780 people.

THOMAS: 700... JULIA: And 80.

...people, and 80!

In this space... it already feels cramp with me and you.

Yes, you would have been shoulder to shoulder, sort of head space only.

THOMAS: Stinky... JULIA: Very stinky, yes.

Oh!

Very stinky, very smoky.

People's personal hygiene was not wonderful at that time even as a member of the upper classes.

Pretty ma... VO: Ah yes, the roar of the greasepaint the smell of the crowd, was that the right way round?

Paint me a picture, Julia, of 1819, 1820 the theater, best night, what's performed, what went on?

JULIA: Well the thing about the audiences coming to the theater was that it was certainly for the lower classes and even some of the middle classes really quite expensive.

It would have cost you a shilling for a seat upstairs; two shillings to be in that middle area or four shillings for a seat in here.

And a shilling was about equivalent to £50 but that's a phenomenal outlay so they really expected value for money.

So if you're in the gallery upstairs and didn't actually like what you saw then you certainly brought along your rotten vegetables and your fruit and your tankards of ale and they did throw them and they did shout out and they were very bawdy as an audience.

VO: The theater has a long- standing tradition of performing new works.

In 1892 it staged the world premiere of Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas.

Here's another Thomas making his stage debut.

Now where did I put my rotten tomatoes?

JULIA: Follow me through the acting door here, onto the fore stage.

The fore stage.

Yes this is, fore stage is specifically Georgian.

So you're fore stage is the bit in front of this archway which is the proscenium arch, it's all this bit forwards.

THOMAS: Very involved, couldn't you, with your audience.

JULIA: Oh yes.

You could really sort of get into them and sort of... You certainly get feedback.

There's no doubt about that.

THOMAS: Yeah I bet you do.

So if it's going well then that's marvelous and you get all of that lovely response and if it's going badly then you certainly can see the whites of their eyes and you can get hit nicely by the things being lobbed from the gallery at the top.

THOMAS: Absolutely.

I admire the simplicity of what I'm looking at in front of me.

It is very Regency, it is very ordered and restrained in its look.

You know most theaters you go to are so glitzy, but this is rather lovely - it's brilliant.

JULIA: And even down to the color scheme, it's also very deliberate, I mean that's been restored back to its original setting.

So he was thinking again of the Greek amphitheater, where you've got the sort of mock stone colored archways and pillars.

Imagine that you're in Sicily and you've got the open sky... THOMAS: Oh yes.

It is a Suffolk sky up there, which is why we needed a ceiling cuz you couldn't actually have an open air Greek theater but that was the sense that he wanted to create.

So it's very much one of those places where you can kind of taste and feel it - was the idea.

THOMAS: Well I think this has renewed my interest.

JULIA: Jolly good.

THOMAS: Thank you very much.

You're very welcome.

I very much enjoyed myself and I've felt honored to be standing on the stage.

Oh well you're very welcome.

THOMAS: I could get used to this.

(LAUGHS) VO: As Thomas contemplates a career in the theater, the lights go down on act one of today's road trip.

Night night chaps.

VO: A brand new morning finds our experts hitting the trail for one final day of shopping.

Signaling an end to Thomas and Philip's traveling bromance.

Boo hoo.

THOMAS: So Philip, are you going to miss me?

PHILIP: Yeah I am Thomas... like hemorrhoids.

THOMAS: (LAUGHS) I knew you would come out with something caustic.

VO: Caustic?

Just disgusting.

So far Philip Serrell has spent £100 on four items - the butcher's block, the faux leather trunk and the finger carrot which he's paired with the nutcrackers - leaving him with £104.68 for the day ahead.

Thomas Plant, on the other hand, has spent £140 on two lots, the rare art deco figure, and the Kosta Boda glass vase leaving him with £112.20 to play with.

VO: In order to continue their spending spree our experts are heading west from Bury St Edmonds to Cambridge.

VO: Famous university town and an administrative center of the county of Cambridgeshire, the city of Cambridge lies on the River Cam.

And if our boys are going to take a punt there's no better place to do it.

Thomas' first shop is the Cambridge Antiques Centre, run by Stephen Hunt, where it's straight down to business.

THOMAS: These are fun.

These are mother of pearl and they're gaming counters.

They're Chinese, they become really, really valuable when say for example these ones here - the center has the monogram of the family who've had them commissioned.

VO: Chinese gaming counters arrived in the UK in the 18th century.

They would have been used in a variety of card games each designed denoting a different value - rather like poker chips.

THOMAS: What have these gaming counters got to be?

On a wet and windy day - £20.

THOMAS: (WHISPERS) Quite rich!

I was sort of.... Oh Thomas, that's not rich... Well it is, it is, it is.

If I can be helpful.

Is going below £10, is that going to be crucifying them?

I think so.

So can we say 10?

I think I'd like to settle on 10.

THOMAS: 10?

STEPHEN: Yep.

10 as... That would be good, yes.

VO: It's a good start but he's also got his beady eye on something else.

THOMAS: This is a leather telescope, possibly military, naval, with the leather, with this brown sort of leather and it does actually work I mean I can actually see the chimney pots over there - if not a bit dirty.

As we're selling in Greenwich near the naval college it is the thing to buy.

VO: Aye, aye, Captain Thomas!

If only you 'ad a treasure map to go with it... Well waha!

What d'ya know... THOMAS: "Hannah explores West Coast of Africa."

"Eric the Red discovers Greenland in 984."

So are these all the trips?

So this is proving that, you know, the world wasn't discovered by Christopher Columbus.

That's quite a nice travel map, isn't it?

It's rather lovely.

STEPHEN: Good fun.

THOMAS: Yeah, really like The Great Discoveries... STEPHEN: OK. And I really like the telescope.

Right.

Well they would go together nicely.

They look really nice together, as a sort of thing.

OK, well I was looking for about 35 on the telescope and 25 on The Great Discoveries.

THOMAS: Yeah, I haven't got that, to be candid.

I... really cheeky can I give you 20 for the telescope and the picture.

VO: Cor, that's really cheeky Tom.

Yes, it'll save me cleaning it.

I haven't cleaned it.

THOMAS: £30.

BOTH: Thank you very much.

VO: Elsewhere in Cambridge, Philip is still shopping.

But why on earth is he going into an off license.

What's the old codger up to?

Hi, I better introduce myself, I'm Philip Serrell.

I'm James North.

James, good to see you.

I'd like malt whisky.

JAMES: We've got about 350 whiskies.

PHILIP: What's the dearest?

JAMES: The dearest is about 215 but we've have had them over 300, 400.

For a bottle of scotch?

Yeah, these are investment... That would be a really expensive hangover.

It would be.

Ah, I see where he's going with this.

A good whisky can be an investment - often increasing in value with age.

Probably my favorite malt.

They produce their standard 10 year old in the smallest distillery on mainland Scotland in Pitlochry.

Three people work there, one chap's called Ramsbottom, I'm not sure whether he still works there anymore but we love saying that to people and they take their normal 10 year old and pop it into a different cask, for different vintages and in this case it's spent time in a Soturn cask, which is a sweet wine from Bordeaux.

PHILIP: That isn't going to come between 25 and 30 quid?

JAMES: Hm probably not.

I could see what I could do on it but I think we're probably talking more around the 40 mark.

PHILIP: You can't do 32 could you?

35 would be the lowest I could go.

It's giving you my staff discount.

PHILIP: Right does that mean I can work here?

Which would be 25%, yeah if you worked here you would get that, you would be looking at 37.50, so I'm actually doing you a favor and giving you another 2.50.

35 quid.

35 quid I can do.

VO: Well, at 12 years old it's an antique of sorts.

It's spiritual, warming, a liquid asset if you like.

Thomas has also gone off piste.

He's in the Campkins Camera Centre.

Oh, dear.

THOMAS: Thomas.

Hi, Robin.

Erm, we're filming the Antiques Road Trip, which means I've got to buy things and then sell them at auction.

And I've noticed you have quite a few vintage cameras.

What would you recommend?

ROBIN: Lubitel?

THOMAS: Lubitel.

We have it modestly priced at £80.

It's a piece of, eh...Cold War history.

It was far easier to just take something from the west, copy it.

It was...just cheaper.

THOMAS: What date's this?

19...60s?

ROBIN: Well, the first two digits would tell us the year.

THOMAS: Oh, right, OK. Not always reliable, but '84, a good year.

The beauty of this is although it's very pretty to look at, it's actually something useable, because this takes a film called 120, which is actually an available film.

THOMAS: This is an awkward question for a shop but what can be done on that price?

Anything?

(WHISPERS) Let's try 70.

OK. £70.

That's a...that's a good discount, that's a good 10%.

Would you be happy and meet me at 60?

65.

65...you got a deal.

OK.

Excellent.

It's a real pleasure.

Thank you.

VO: Let's hope he doesn't regret that "snap" decision.

Ha!

With almost £70 still to spend, Philip's next port of call is the Cambridge Antique Centre, where Thomas bought the mother of pearl gaming counters earlier.

And as usual, he's starting with a sob story.

Here we go!

I'm £50 behind Thomas at the moment.

Oh, no.

Yeah, and I ne... Have you got anything...any fresh stock in?

Well, I've got some stuff down here which I brought in this morning, that I haven't unpacked yet.

You can have a... ...browse through that.

To be quite honest, I can't remember what's in there.

PHILIP: Glassware... You got lots of glassware.

Isn't that just a bit of fun?

STEPHEN: Peter Pan.

Yeah.

"The boy who never grew up".

I've been accused of that, you know.

Well, me too.

VO: Yeah, but do you believe in fairies?

STEPHEN: Oh...what's that?

Oh, yeah, I remember.

PHILIP: That's a nice coffee cup.

STEPHEN: I remember buying that.

That shape, I would say that's about 1820.

Really?

PHILIP: I would think that's probably continental...em... hand painted, and not worth a great deal of money.

VO: It rarely is, Philip, when you're shopping.

PHILIP: It's like all this Wedgwood and Goss as well.

STEPHEN: Oh.

PHILIP: That's interesting.

STEPHEN: That's...that's... really sweet.

PHILIP: Can I have a look at that?

STEPHEN: Yep.

PHILIP: It's not actually the pots that interest me.

These game counters are lovely.

STEPHEN: Oh, little fish.

I think they're quite fun.

STEPHEN: Ha.

VO: That's exactly what Thomas thought.

"Great minds", eh?

I think the whole lot's worth a tenner.

Oh, Philip... Em...what about £15 the lot?

No, I think it's too much, honestly.

Cuz...

I think they'll sell, for between 15 and 25 quid.

I think you'll get a bit more than that for them.

PHILIP: Do you know that's what every dealer said to me..?

VO: Oh...crikey!

PHILIP: There was a man who sold me a canoe, who told me that it would well.

And then there was another man who sold me a vaulting horse, and they were all going to do wonderfully well at auction.

And they didn't?

(GAVEL) VO: Oh-ho, diddums!

£12 the lot.

Go on, then.

Are you interested in...in the coffee cup?

Mm...moderately but not specifically, you know?

I mean...

Em...well...I'd like you to have that... Are you sure?

...and all of it for...£15.

Throw in the Peter Pan one and I'll have the lot for 15 quid.

STEPHEN: Done.

PHILIP: You're a gent...

Thank you very much indeed.

Have I been?

I don't know.

Hold on.

I think you know you haven't.

VO: Those old heartstrings will be worn out with the amount of pulling Philip's been doing lately.

PHILIP: Thank you very much indeed.

STEPHEN: You're welcome, Philip.

Yeah.

See you soon.

Bye.

STEPHEN: Nice to see you.

Take care.

Bye!

VO: The last shop of the day is The Hive, run by Bill Deadman.

And Thomas gets first pick, with just £17.20 left to spend.

THOMAS: That's quite decorative.

Nice sort of plant pot, with enamel.

I don't know how old it is.

I think it's probably Persian or Indian, don't you?

BILL: I'd have thought Indian.

There's quite...There's a lot of work that's gone into that.

(QUIETLY) I wonder if there's profit in it.

What can this one be?

22?

THOMAS: I haven't got that.

How far apart are we on it, then?

THOMAS: Well... VO: About two meters?

Looking at sort of half that...and a bit more.

You know, obviously... Mm...no, I can't... Not as in... As in not half, as in 22, as in 12, but I've only got a bit more than that.

VO: What is he gibbering on about?!

BILL: How does 18 sound?

THOMAS: For 15, for this.

Go on, then.

Deal.

You're a scholar.

A star.

£15.

That's it.

That's my buying done... OK. ...for this year.

Done.

Kaput.

VO: Or is it?

You can almost hear the cogs turning as our Thomas attempts some mental arithmetic.

Sums were never his strong point.

Thank you.

THOMAS: I think I've got £2 left.

Oh, what can I find you for £2, then?

THOMAS: Some nutcrackers.

BILL: Nice pair of nutcrackers.

VO: Same idea as Philip, look.

THOMAS: I've got £2.20.

You're not going to get nothing for 20p.

THOMAS: I'm not going to get nothing...

So you're going to get me a drink, are you?

I'm going to give you 20p!

WILL: Thank you very much.

VO: Oh, he's all heart!

One out; one in, then.

And Philip is on the lookout for another whisky-related item, to add a bit of vintage to that modern bottle of scotch.

PHILIP: I am on a very mean budget, but I need to try and buy these for, like, a fiver.

That's the issue.

And that's the one I'd like.

BILL: No, you're not going to buy that...I'm afraid.

That's got no trade on it as well, but, em...I'll do it for six.

PHILIP: Could you do that one for six?

BILL: No, no.

What's the best you can do that for?

12.

It's unusual - really unusual.

Yeah, it's just that they're both plated, and they're not the main item, really.

See those?

That's just a...pressed out bit of plate, isn't it?

It is.

But it's...it's... That one's lovely.

I like that one.

BILL: But I don't think I'm going to get down to your price on that, so... PHILIP: So that's a no-no, isn't it?

It is, really - it is.

How about £4?

PHILIP: I'll give you two quid for him.

Three.

That's it.

Go on, then.

Go on.

You're a gentleman.

VO: And you're a bandit!

Ha!

Having finished his looting in Cambridge, Philip is galloping off to Luton to for a trip back in time.

VO: The Stockwood Discovery Centre is home to the Mossman Carriage Collection - the largest private collection of horse-drawn vehicles in the UK.

Philip is here to meet curator Philippa Bakker.

PHILIP: Hi, I'm Philip.

PHILIPPA: Hello there.

How are you?

Alright?

Philippa, nice to meet you.

Welcome to the Mossman collection of carriages.

VO: Born in 1908, George Mossman was a local man.

A butcher by trade, he collected, restored, and constructed carriages for over 50 years.

His incredible passion has provided a lasting legacy for all to see.

PHILIP: This is just an awesome collection, isn't it?

PHILIPPA: It is spectacular, yes.

What we have here is a good variety of examples of horse drawn vehicles from your trade vehicles - such as a bakers van, right through to grand coaches.

PHILIP: How many carriages have you got in the collection?

We've got about 60 on display here.

PHILIP: And they were all his?

About 54 of them came from George Mossman, we had a few already.

My granddad had a carriage business.

Oh really.

Yep and he just felt that the motor car was coming in so no one was ever going to use horse drawn vehicles, so he burnt them all.

It's almost the opposite to George Mossman who realized that they were disappearing from the roads and decided to try and rescue them.

Clearly Mr Mossman was a bit more astute than my grandfather.

VO: Indeed he was!

Mossman provided carriages for the Queen's coronation procession in 1953.

But they weren't just for the nobility.

At the turn of the last century carriages were commonplace.

PHILIP: That's a ladies phaeton.

PHILIPPA: Yep.

And that would date to when?

This is late 1800s.

PHILIP: Why is that a ladies phaeton and that's a gentleman's phaeton?

Well they're quite different vehicles.

If you have a look at this one, it has a very low-slung body.

I know just how it feels.

PHILIPPA: It would be more... easier for a lady to get in and out of it in a more graceful way.

It also had a much lower center of gravity so it was a safer ride; it was less likely to tip up and inside there is plenty of room for the lady's voluminous dress that she would have worn in the Victorian era.

PHILIP: Right, so that's the ladies' phaeton and this is the gentleman's phaeton which is a bit more racy.

PHILIPPA: This is called the spider phaeton, so this is a more speedy vehicle.

It was quite well known for making sharp turns, which meant it was more likely to tip up, so it was quite a dangerous vehicle in that way - it had a reputation but that made it more attractive I think to a lot of gentlemen drivers.

VO: From the butcher, the baker and even the undertaker, everyone relied on horse power... a case of 'only foals and hearses'.

Ha-ha!

PHILIP: That's the Rolls Royce isn't it?

PHILIPPA: Yeah, you'd have been wealthy to afford that hearse.

PHILIP: And this one here, that presumably is like the Ford Focus?

PHILIPPA: Yeah if you'd a bit less money you still got a roof on it in case of bad weather.

PHILIP: And that's pulled by a horse as well?

PHILIPPA: Yeah.

That's right.

PHILIP: Then round here we've got a push bike.

Or the funereal equivalent?

PHILIPPA: Yeah, so if you really didn't have very much money at all... PHILIP: No horses, pulled by hand.

PHILIPPA: You'd have had this bier.

PHILIP: I think you've got such a good job.

Me too.

I want your job.

VO: No time for that now, Philip.

It's back to your own day job.

With all shopping completed, our experts have reunited, to show and tell for the last time...

I've spent all my money.

Literally every penny.

I've taken a risk, I've done a canoe and I've done a vaulting horse.

All in one go?

All in one horse.

Oh let's have a look, let's have a look.

And I think I've really dropped one.

PHILIP: Really?

THOMAS: Yep.

THOMAS: (EXCLAIMS) This was £100!

PHILIP: That was a weak moment Tom.

THOMAS: Really?

You think that's that bad?

I think she's beautiful.

I thought this was a really good buy.

VO: Philip's not so sure.

THOMAS: And in London she could sell well.

VO: Stop rubbing it.

I think your telescope is going to do really well.

How much were your game counters?

THOMAS: They were 10.

PHILIP: And how much was your nutcrackers?

£2.20.

PHILIP: Right are you ready?

THOMAS: Ready.

PHILIP: I want you to concentrate.

I am concentrating.

What...I don't understand why.

Concentrate really hard.

Oh I don't believe it.

VO: Snap.

Where did you buy them from?

I guess the same man that you bought yours from.

THOMAS: Stephen?

Yes.

I think Stephen was having a joke wasn't he?

PHILIP: I think he's a good man.

Quite funny.

He's sold us both a profit hasn't he?

I think he has sold us both a profit.

How much was this?

PHILIP: That was 20 quid and it wants treating.

So you've done what you said you weren't gonna do.

Which was what?

Buy a butchers block?

No, buy things for £20.

But it's your turn to buy a canoe and it's your turn to buy a vaulting horse and there she is.

Roles reversed.

I do hope so because I might make a profit then.

What you doing?

I thought we were friends?

PHILIP: No, no, we are friends Thomas.

THOMAS: No, no, no.

VO: Seems like there's a bit of tension building.

He's done exactly what he said he wasn't going to do.

He's played it safe, it's brilliant!

And I've gone and risked everything.

Tables reversed, roles reversed.

The only difference is I wanna make the profit.

This is gonna be really, really interesting because Thomas has been and done the lot and he's put £165 into his top two lots.

I think the worst that can happen to me is that I might break even and with a bit of luck I might make 50 to £100 but I can see this being a really, really tight one.

VO: There's only one way to settle this and find out who will be victorious.

It's off to the auction we go.

VO: From Luton our experts embark on the final 40 miles to the saleroom in Greenwich, southeast London... VO: Home of Greenwich Mean Time, the Cutty Sark...and Greenwich Auctions where our experts will go head to head for one last time.

The auctioneer today is Rob Dodd, and having had a look at our experts' items, he's got some breaking news on Thomas' rare art deco lady...

ROB: When the courier brought the items in we noticed that the lady hadn't been particularly wrapped very well and unfortunately I won't be able to put her under the hammer as it were.

I'd forgotten how beautiful she was.

VO: "Was" being the operative word.

THOMAS: Look at her!

VO: Thomas is also in bits.

Poor thing.

VO: She's armless.

PHILIP: That is probably the highest grade plaster of Paris I've ever seen... (LAUGHS) THOMAS: Why don't you... Let me... PHILIP: Have you seen that?!

It's plaster of Paris, it's like a garden gnome.

And, and, and, and?

This is an upmarket garden gnome.

And 20th century, beautiful, signed, French plaster art deco figure - it's wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

Absolutely deluded.

ROB: It's a one off.

A one off.

Thankfully.

VO: Well, the rare art deco figure has just become a lot rarer.

Never mind Thomas, she'll be covered by insurance - more about that later.

Poor thing.

Thomas started this leg of the road trip with £252.20 and has spent it all on six lots...including the damaged figure.

So he's quite literally going for broke in order to win!

Philip on the other hand started with £204.68 and has also bought six lots costing a slightly more cautious £153 - leaving him with £51.68 cash in hand.

Come on boys, it's time to get this sale under way, with the very excitable auctioneer Rob.

ROB: At £10.

VO: Oh my.

Doesn't he clatter that gavel down?

He does hit that down, doesn't he?

VO: Philip has a lot at 'steak' on the vintage butcher's block...chop, chop!

Gonna start with a bid with me of £25 on that.

Oh profit.

30 with me, looking for 32.

32, 35, 38, £40.

42 I need, 42.

Oh that's alright Phil.

48, 50, take 52 if I have to.

52.

Five with me looking for 60, five with me, looking for 70.

Phil, what is going on?

Are we all done at 60?

£70 on the telephone, I'm out, looking for 75, this is cheap.

Are we all done?

Last time on the telephone at £70.

VO: The butcher's block turns out to be a prime cut, delivering a meaty profit!

THOMAS: I better just go now, I better just go.

Do you know what I do think now?

THOMAS: What?

PHILIP: We're neck and neck now.

THOMAS: Yeah, alright.

PHILIP: Aren't we?

We are!

VO: First up for Thomas, it's the collection of mother of pearl gaming counters and silver plated pair of nutcrackers.

Stunning lot!

What a great lot.

Yeah.

ROB: £8.

They're worth a lot more than that.

10, 12 with me.

I've got 12, are we all done?

At £12 only.

THOMAS: (WHISPERS) £12.

20p down from that.

PHILIP: Are you?

THOMAS: 20p down.

Oh that's sad.

VO: An unlucky roll of the dice on the gaming counters...with a 20p loss.

Next up for Philip it's the faux leather trunk.

£30 only on that, looking for 32, five, eight, 40 with me, 42 - I'm out.

Looking for 45 anywhere?

45, 48, 50 I want.

£50 and two, I'll take 52.

Five I need, 55 looking for 58.

Are we all done?

At £55 on that trunk.

THOMAS: Better than nothing.

PHILIP: Where are we now, where are we now?

You are winning.

PHILIP: Really?

THOMAS: Yes.

VO: Packing a tidy profit, the trunk turns out to be not too shabby at all.

Another of Philip's items now, it's the finger carrot and the brass hazelnut nut crackers.

And it's got to start with a bid with me at a paltry £10.

Ouch.

ROB: Looking for 12, 15, 18, 22, I'm out.

Looking for 25 on these two, 25 28, £30.

£30 there, looking for 32.

All done at 30, they're worth more than that, we all done?

Last time at £30.

PHILIP: That was an ouch.

That was an ouch, ow.

PHILIP: Ouch.

VO: The saleroom fails to go nuts for the crackers resulting in a loss for Philip.

The Kosta Boda vase designed by Vicki Lindstrand is up next for Thomas.

£15 only on the vase looking for 18, 20 with me, looking for 22, 25, 28, I'm out.

30 I want, I've got 28, £30 there, 32 I need sir, £30 there, looking for 32.

We all done at 30?

That is an ouch.

ROB: For the last time.

It's an ouch.

ROB: At £30 on the vase... THOMAS: Ouch.

VO: Ouch indeed.

That's another loss for Thomas.

PHILIP: Really I don't mind who wins or loses.

THOMAS: Really?

Really..?

PHILIP: We're equal now.

No, it doesn't matter... THOMAS: It's all about the winning for you.

No, it's just about taking part.

VO: Talking of which, it's the straight from cask, 12 year old whisky and the silver-plated label bought by Philip next.

Got to start with me at a paltry £15 only.

Looking for 18, 20, two, five, 30 I'm out.

32 I need, 32, 34, 36, 38, £40, 42 there, looking for 44.

44 with the voice.

Looking for 46, this is cheap.

(DOG BARKS) Oop, the dog wants it now.

Have they let my ex-wife in?

46, 48, £50 I need.

£50 I've got.

Take two, 52, four I want.

54.

No.

£54 at the back of the room, looking for 56.

Are we all done?

Whoa, 56 he's back, looking for 58?

Yes 58 down the back, looking for 60, are we all done?

Last time, at £58... THOMAS: Well done.

PHILIP: I think it was a bit of a fluke result in all truth.

Not really.

I really do.

I'm pleased with it though.

I'm really pleased.

VO: Cheers Philip and a "dram" fine profit.

Back to Thomas now for his Lubitel camera.

£10 only, on that camera.

Looking for 12.

I'll be back.

12.

15, 18.

I'm out.

£20.

22.

You coming in?

22.

Looking for 25.

Five.

Looking for 28.

Eight, looking for £30.

£30.

Looking for 32.

I've got 30.

Are we all done?

Are you sure?

At only £30 on the camera.

VO: Ouch!

ROB: Lot 131... What did that cost you?

Go away!

VO: A negative result on the camera, and another loss for Thomas.

Now more mother of pearl gaming counters.

This time they belong to Philip.

ROB: Lot 150.

Another really good, stunning lot, this.

And the bid's with me at £8 on these.

Eight.

Looking for a tenner.

They're worth all that.

12.

15.

I'm out.

Looking for 18.

I got 15.

18.

Sorry, Thomas.

£20 I need.

18 there, in front.

Looking for 20.

Are you sure...are you sure they weren't mixed up?

ROB: Are we all done?

Last time.

At £18... THOMAS: The luck... ..the luck of Philip!

That is just...

I don't know, but that's made my week.

I don't care what happens now!

THOMAS: Pfff!

VO: Ha-ha!

It may be a small profit but it's still better then the loss Thomas made on his counters!

Aarr!

Shiver me timbers!

Let's see if he can gain any ground with his early map and brass telescope.

Aarr!

ROB: Got to start with a bid with me of £20 only.

Looking for 22.

22, 25.

Eight I need.

You don't have to think about it.

28.

£30.

32 I want.

32.

I'm out.

Looking for 35.

35 there.

38 I need.

We all done at 35?

38, new place.

£40.

42 I need.

Yes.

42.

45.

48 I want.

I got 45 in front.

Are we all done at 45?

The last time.

At £45... THOMAS: (QUIETLY) 45.

PHILIP: That's made all it should, hasn't it?

THOMAS: Definitely, definitely.

VO: Which means the competition could still go either way.

If I win by less than six quid, I'm going to gain no satisfaction from it at all.

THOMAS: Yeah, yeah!

PHILIP: Ha!

VO: Philip's final lot is the coffee can and the Peter Pan coffee cup.

But will it need fairy dust to make it fly?

This is a really, really good lot.

I mean, this is exceptional!

They sniff these things out.

VO: Someone is getting their leg pulled!

The bid's with me on these, seriously, at £5.

I'll take six.

You know we can't do 50p's in this auction room.

Six.

Here we go, this is more like it!

Seven.

Eight, madam.

You can't pull out - you started it!

I'll take nine there.

You need to come back at 10.

11, I've got £11.

Go 12.

Go 12.

It's a pound.

£13 there.

Looking for 14.

There, new place in the room.

With you, sir.

On a coffee can and a Peter Pan cup.

PHILIP: Rare lot.

Very, very rare!

At 15... £16 in time.

This is now getting serious.

17 I need.

I've got 16.

Are we all done this time?

You sure?

I'd've bought more if I'd've known!

ROB: 18 there.

Looking for 19.

Are we all done?

Are you sure?

Go on, 19.

Looking for £20.

Are we all done this time?

How do you do it?!

At £19, on two cups... Give him a round of applause!

(APPLAUSE) THOMAS: No justice.

VO: Clap your hands if you believe in Philip!

Go on, Tinkerbell, give us a smile!

PHILIP: Oh, God, I'm going to go home I think!

Yeah, I think you should!

VO: Thomas' last item is the Benares brass and enamel-footed bowl.

£12 on this.

Looking for 15.

18.

19 there.

£20 there.

Looking for 21.

Are you sure?

21 there!

Looking for 22.

I got £21.

Looking for 22.

Yes, madam, great!

22 there.

Looking for 23.

Last time.

At £22, with a smile... VO: Thomas makes a small comeback on his last lot.

But what about his smashed figure?

PHILIP: Do you know what, Thomas?

I don't want to be picky here, but your insurance claim could swing this one way or the other.

No, it's not going to.

My insurance claim...

I've lost money on my insurance claim.

But I reckon it would've made £200.

VO: Ah, sadly, Thomas, we'll never know.

The insurance pay-out valued the figure at £120, giving Thomas a final £20 profit.

But will it be enough to tip the scales?

VO: Thomas started the show with £252.20, and after auction costs, he's made a loss of £39.82, giving him a grand total for this road trip of £212.38.

VO: Philip, however, began with £204.68, and after costs, he's made a profit of £52, taking his overall total to £256.68, with all profits going to Children in Need.

VO: Which means that, after a nail-biting last auction, Philip wins the day and this road trip.

Congratulations, old bean!

Philip... Thomas, I don't want you to feel bad about it.

What do you mean?

Feeling bad about what?

You, again, lulled me into that false sense of security.

You played it safe and you've beaten me, by...let's say, what was it?

All of... PHILIP: Well, do you know what I think it was?

Do you know what I beat you by?

£30 or something?

Cost of the camera.

Come on.

THOMAS: Cost of the ca..!

I know!

VO: So, it was that camera what done it!

Never mind, Thomas - here's a few snapshots from your road trip and a souvenir of what a great week it's been.

PHILIP: Come on, Thombo - let's go.

Let's go.

PHILIP: ..who can buy the daftest, dangerous, most stupidest lot ever.

(FOGHORN) Poor thing!

I'll give him a run for his money!

VO: It's been a right roller coaster of a trip, which included boats... (FOGHORN) VO: ..trams... (WHISTLE) I do like the whistle bit.

VO: ..and automobiles.

PHILIP: Now, in your own time.

THOMAS: It's not working!

Agh, I'm getting wet!

Thomas, what are you doing?!

I'm pretending to be a Catholic priest.

(LAUGHS) Nice baps.

No, I like a good pair of baps.

Oof!

(BEEP) PHILIP: Thomas!

THOMAS: Yeah?

PHILIP: No, no, no, come on!

THOMAS: I don't know...are we going the right way?

VO: Next week on the Antiques Road Trip, we're with a brand-new pair of experts - the enthusiastic Mark Stacey.

Would you like to have a go?

No, not really.

VO: And the...raring to go...Paul Laidlaw.

Lovin' it!

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