Bargain Hunt came to Southwell in Nottingham this week where two teams battled it out to see who could score the best bargain. The episode, number 61 was shown on March 14 on BBC but is still available on iPlayer.
The episode was set in an antiques fair in Southwell where the teams had just one hour to find three bargains for under £300 with a surprise when it came to auction. They were then partnered with experts who advised them on what, or rather what not, to purchase.
The red team was made up of friend duo, Vanessa and Georgina who like to have 'an adventure' in life. They hoped their sense of humour would lull the competition into a false sense of security.
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"We laugh a lot and that eases people into a false sense of security. We've come here to nail this," they said. They were looking for an expert who understood that 'cheaper is better.' They were expertly matched with Mark Stacey.
Their competition on the blue team were cousins who work in local politics and councils. Abbie, is a local government officer while Amy is a flood risk officer. Both women felt strongly that they were the 'best team Bargain Hunt had ever seen.'
While the girls may have felt confident, their nan asked them to 'not bring shame on the family' so they had their work cut out for them to bag a decent bargain. They hoped that their expert could help them find something worthy of being put in their house. They were partnered with expert Stephanie Connell.
The first challenge for the red team was to find 'something with a head.' After a good search, the girls focused in on a Swedish vase which had an organic appearance and was signed - but was only £45. Both women were finally in agreement and managed to haggle it down to £35.
Over on the blue team, the first challenge was to find 'something with a tail.' The girls decided not to go for a rusty ornate boot scrape and opted for a pine blanket box at £50 instead. They felt people would use it and they had become fashionable so would sell. Second items for both teams were slightly more difficult to find and neither team had the challenges.
The red team were taken by an ornate wooden bench that had two legs shaped like squirrels. Not only did it fit the challenge of finding an object with a head but the team were able to haggle the seller down to £75 which means both challenges were completed in one go.
The blue team were not taken with a camel statue and were struggling to find a second item. They bought a bronze bull statue as part of their challenge for £55. As a final item they finally settled on their final buy of a book press for £109 instead of the £145 that the owner originally wanted.
Host Charlie Ross visited founder of Soapology, Emma Grosse, in Moor Enterprise Park in Newark to examine the history of soap making. Emma uses traditional methods with a modern twist to create the beautiful soaps in her store.
"Soap has been around for 5000 years and people fond their washing was much easier when they realised the animal fats had combined with the ashes of the fire and they were washed down stream. It was a happy accident but mixing animal fat with the ashes of fire made it easier to clean things," She explained.
The red team decided to go with a bar shaped like a bar that was dated from the late 1950s and 1960s. The car was on sale for £150 but the team managed to get the owner to agree to £90 after a quick discussion. They both agreed it was 'hilarious' and 'fun.'
The red team spent a total of £200 leaving their expert Mark Stacey with £100. The blue team spent £214 leaving Stephanie with just £86 - could this be an impossible challenge?
Derbyshire auctioneer James Lewis estimated that the car bar would raise the most at auction because it was bonkers. He was concerned that the bronze bull would not raised nearly as much as the blue team had anticipated.
The teams watched nervously through a live link as the auction took place.
The red team were up first with their glass vase which sadly broke even at £35 however they were lucky with their big spend on the bench which sold for £80 making a profit of £5. Sadly the car bar failed to raise an interest and sold at a loss of £45. Expert Mark Stewart bought a bronze statue for £65 which went on to sell for £60 which also lost £5
Could the blue team be lucky? The blanket box managed to sell for £45 which lost the blue team a fiver. The bronze bull didn't raise the amount they had hoped selling for £25 despite having paid £55. Finally, the book press sold for £180 making a profit of £71. Stephanie selected a decorative upcycled scale at £25 which went on to sell for £25 thankfully breaking even.
The blue team were delighted with their win going on to make a £31 profit while the red team said they were 'crying on the inside' after losing £45.
