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

I've got it, I've got it.

VO: ..behind the wheel of a classic car... Ooh!

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

Argh!

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

But it's no mean feat.

Doubled up there!

VO: There'll be worthy winners... £1,700.

SERHAT: Yay!

VO: ..and valiant losers.

Oh, no!

VO: Will it be the high road to glory... Loving it, loving it, loving it.

VO: ..or the slow road to disaster?

This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Yee-ha!

VO: Who's up for an all-new antiques adventure?

We're kicking off in the Kent countryside where spring has sprung.

BOTH: Ooh!

CATHERINE (CS): Don't go, don't go!

Oh look, they're friends, it's so sweet.

VO: And full of the joys today are auctioneer Catherine Southon and dealer Serhat Ahmet.

A sort of mutual appreciation society actually.

One thing I have noticed about you, you've got a lovely smile.

I smile a lot.

You're a happy bunny.

Well, I am absolutely stoked to be with you, Catherine, because you are a Road Trip doyenne.

So I'm looking forward...

I'm a what?

A Road Trip doyenne.

Doyenne?

Oh, thank you very much.

Yeah, that was a compliment!

Oh, very nice!

VO: Yes, a past master at this game is Catherine.

No stranger to this neck of the woods either, she's a big fan of sparkly and shiny items, but she doesn't shy away from the less precious stuff.

Really dirty.

Eugh, really dirty.

Filthy.

VO: Her competition, north London lad Serhat, is a relative newbie, this being only his second time out.

He's a Covent Garden based dealer with a craving for ceramics and a particular penchant for porcelain.

I think those are really really lovely.

VO: But this is the first chance they've had to get to know each other.

CS: I would like to know a little bit about your tactics.

Are you quite competitive?

I am competitive, but I think I do it in a very nice way.

I'd be really happy, when we're at the auction, that we're both making money.

Yes.

I just want to make a bit more than you.

VO: Yep, he's competitive.

They'll each have £200 to get them off and running and the keys to this rather special motor, a 1961 Morris Million made to commemorate the one millionth Morris Minor to come off the production line.

Rather fetching paint job too.

I can't decide, is it lilac, is it pink, or is it something in between?

Oh, no it's 100% lilac.

Your jacket's pink, that's for sure.

Yeah, but it clashes.

I'm going to have to change my whole wardrobe!

(BOTH LAUGH) VO: It was also built before seat belts were mandatory, but it does have a few nifty extras.

Do you know what's cool about this car?

When you indicate you've got these little indicators that come out and you can hear them.

Ooh.

Shall I, shall I demonstrate?

Yeah, I'm looking in the wing mirror.

SERHAT: I saw it!

CS: It's cool.

I like that.

Isn't it?

It's so cool.

I love it.

VO: Every car should have them.

On this trip, our pair of purchasers will embark from 'ere on an east of England odyssey, taking in the home counties, a bit of Norfolk and Leicestershire before a final auction at Nottingham.

For this first run out, we'll be pointing towards the bright lights of the big smoke as our pair hit the shops.

But we'll start this trip in the Garden of England at Faversham.

And having said goodbye to her traveling companion, it's Catherine who's first to take the plunge.

CS: Oh, I love that.

"Dogs welcome, owners as well if kept on a lead."

Love it!

VO: Upstairs Downstairs is the name of this place.

I wonder which she'll do first.

Ah, upstairs it is then.

It's packed to the gunwales in here so it should keep our girl entertained for a while.

Lots of small objects of desire and a few things you never knew you wanted.

What on earth is this?

What is it?

Ven... Venipuncture training kit?

That is just horrible.

That weighs a ton.

That looks like it doesn't weigh anything but it weighs a ton.

What do you do with this thing?

I need to know.

VO: Well, it's for student nurses to practice taking blood from a patient without having to start jabbing away at the real thing.

Quite handy really!

I'm determined to get this to work.

We have got the instructions.

We may be some time, come back to me in a few hours.

VO: Sounds like our cue to see where Serhat's got to.

He's a mere seven miles away in the village of Chilham for his first shop of the trip, Bagham Barn Antiques.

This 17th century former farm building is now home to a rather lovely collection of very nice things.

Well worth a browse for our keen-eyed ceramics man.

Think I've found the tiniest room in the shop.

And the most packed as well.

VO: They say good things come in small packages, Serhat.

Oh, wow.

This is actually something quite special.

So it is a Minton vase from the aesthetic movement.

And the aesthetic movement was about 1870, and this is when artisans decided we're just gonna make art for art's sake.

So what we have here is a beautiful deep glaze on the vase.

The color is called bleu celeste.

Beautiful garlands, that are all hand painted in really beautiful enamels.

Now I've noticed that there isn't a Minton mark per se on here, but I know from the style of the decoration this is Minton, and in the style of, or by, Christopher Dresser.

And he was a designer who was a huge proponent of this movement.

Some of the pieces that he did for Minton were outstanding and they are extremely popular today.

VO: Mm.

I think he's smitten.

SERHAT: But the best thing is the price.

It's £28.

Now, that is an absolute bargain, this sort of thing at auction is really hot right now.

I could see this making, on a really good day, I don't know, £200?

VO: Gosh, that sounds like a definite.

Back in Faversham, having given up on that spare limb, Catherine needs to chance her arm on something else.

Come hither.

There's a nice little brooch in here.

VO: And hither we come.

Silver and enamel double leaf brooch.

Beautiful, vibrant blue.

I love that color and that is by Aksel Holmsen of Norway.

So you've got the lovely sort of flowing simple lines of the leaf design and then also the variation in the leaf there in the enamel.

In perfect condition as well because this chips and once it chips there's no going back.

You cannot repair enamel easily.

Scandinavian jewelry, I mean, it does make money.

That's £48.

That is really, I think, a bit of a bargain.

Right, I think that's going to be my first purchase.

See what else I can find.

VO: So that's her off and running too.

Back in Bagham Barn, our boy is back on browse mode.

Ah.

Straight away, something that really speaks to me.

It's this.

It's an art nouveau or art nouveau style brooch.

VO: Brooches are very on trend today.

SERHAT: This is a really lovely piece.

It's one of these very typical kind of motifs used in the art nouveau period, of a maiden with flowing hair and flowing robes.

VO: And a flowing ticket of £45.

With the weight, I can feel it's definitely silver, and to be honest, I think even if it is not art nouveau, for £45 I think that's just telling me to buy it and I think that's what I'm gonna do.

VO: Oh, so decisive!

Colin will be the man to talk to.

Colin, I've got a couple of pieces.

OK.

I just wanted to see if we can do a deal.

Mm-hm?

There's this is turquoise vase, and in my pocket very sneakily is a silver brooch.

COLIN: What's on this one?

45?

Yes.

That can be 40.

OK. And the vase, 28?

Really needs to be 25.

VO: Which comes to £65.

Can I tell you what I had in mind?

It was more like 55.

I was thinking nearer 58.

We've got a deal.

Excellent.

Thank you very much.

VO: So, that will be £25 for the vase and 33 for the brooch.

And with £142 left in his pocket, that's one satisfied customer.

So let's see how the other one's getting on in Faversham.

CS: That's unusual.

A hat pin in the form of a hockey stick.

Seen them loads of times in the shape of a golf club, which we've got here.

So hat pins, going back to Edwardian times, the early part of the 20th century.

Very popular.

Ladies would have them in their nice big grand hats.

This one is quite nice, quite stylish.

By Lawrence Immanuel, not a name I know I have to say.

But I have seen novelty hat pins sell quite well.

£78 seems a little bit on the high side.

But the buyers are really going for something a bit out of the ordinary and I think this one might just tick the box.

And it's in a case.

VO: Time for a chat with shop owner Andy.

Hello Andy, you're arranging your epergne there?

I am my dear, yes.

I've seen quite a few things.

Yes?

I found this first of all.

Norwegian enamel brooch, love the color, £48 on that, Andy.

Mm-hm.

Is there any sort of negotiation on that?

ANDY: We'll say £5 off.

CS: £5, so... 43.

CS: ..we're saying 43.

ANDY: Yeah.

The other thing I found was these.

Oh.

I'm actually only interested in the bottom one, which is in the shape of a hockey stick, which I think is quite unusual.

This one's got 78 on it, what can you do on that?

If we said 70?

Nothing else?

I would go to 65.

CS: Worth a gamble.

ANDY: Yeah.

Right.

I'm gonna go with it.

ANDY: Well done.

CS: I owe you some money.

VO: £108 to be exact.

And with over half her budget spent on two items, I think it's time to jump back in the mauve Morris and head to pastures new.

Now, Serhat's taken a break from shopping and come down to the Kent coast at Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey.

VO: He's here to explore a remnant of the Second World War that was supposed to help the allied forces, but now poses a threat to the local area.

SERHAT: Hello!

FLO: Hi!

You must be Flo.

VO: Tour guide Flo McEwan is taking our man out on the water round the Thames estuary.

There lies the wreck of a potentially deadly wartime vessel, affectionately known to the locals as Monty.

Monty is actually the SS Richard Montgomery, which is an old American liberty ship.

She was built in the Second World War in a shipyard in America.

There was about 3,000 of them built, and they were used to transport materials and weapons and explosives around the world to help with the war effort.

So she set sail in 1944 from Philadelphia, fully laden with 7,000 tons of explosives on board.

VO: Bound for Normandy with supplies for the British and US troops there after D-Day, the SS Richard Montgomery was ordered to moor up in the mouth of the Thames and wait for a convoy.

Unfortunately the harbormaster directed her to a stretch of water too shallow for the draught of her hull.

She ended up stranded on the sandbank.

So then they tried to remove all of the explosives from the vessel.

But unfortunately, she started to settle on the sandbank and she broke her back.

And unfortunately started to take in water, and at that point they literally had to abandon ship and leave her with 3,500 tons of explosives still on board where she sits to this day.

VO: Resources couldn't be spared to recover her during wartime, and, as it would be a hugely expensive, risky and potentially devastating task to undertake, no attempts have been made since.

So Monty, with her perilous cargo, hasn't budged in over 77 years.

Here we are, here's Monty, and it is absolutely surreal.

But look at all those danger signs.

I guess that's marking out the perimeter of the ship?

It is indeed.

We're cruising just around the exclusion zone so we're not allowed to go any closer, you'll be glad to know.

And bearing in mind this is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes as well.

It's quite extraordinary, isn't it, that a ticking time bomb is literally just in front of us?

You know, there have been something like 20-odd near misses over the years... Oh, wow.

..when people have got a little bit too close.

VO: According to surveys of the ship, there are 286 one-ton bombs still on board and many more tons of cluster bombs and other explosives.

It could be that all those years under the waves has rendered them inert, but if not, there have been estimates of a possible explosion causing damage within a 25-mile radius.

How likely is it that these bombs could explode?

Nobody really knows.

That's the honest answer.

You know, we've got Southend, we've got the Isle of Sheppey, there is a lot of people living in this area and it would be potentially the largest non-nuclear explosion ever.

Gosh.

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

That's a very big bang.

VO: For now the vessel is under surveillance night and day, and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency carry out regular surveys to make sure Monty is as secure as possible.

There are plans to remove the masts for safety, to the dismay of some local residents who've become rather fond of their volatile neighbor.

Now, after that nerve-racking experience, something a little more tranquil.

Catherine is currently taking a gentle jaunt through the glorious Kentish countryside.

Whoops.

Hello!

VO: She's off to the village of Teynham for her next bout of shopping.

CS: Wild Winds.

Oh, it is a bit windy as well!

It's a perfect name.

Whew.

Wild Wind, here we come.

VO: This should be a breeze then.

Ha!

CS: Hello!

VO: Furniture is their big thing here, but there's lots more besides.

Plenty of little treasures to suit any budget.

This is something that I hope I will not need at any stage through my Road Trip.

Poor fund.

(SHE LAUGHS) VO: No, you're not that hard up yet.

But after this morning's big spend, you do only have £92 left, so I'd be a bit thrifty if I were you.

Oh, I like this.

A dressing table set, but that's really unusual, not what you would normally find, which is silver top boxes.

But totally different style with the tops there.

They're sort of more almost like copper.

But aren't they lovely?

So you've got glass fitted dressing table bottles and then these little jars as well.

That's really quite sweet.

Nice, purple lined interior.

Ooh, there's more.

And then another compartment there for your sort of manicure set and things like that.

Isn't that cute?

Look.

You've got a nice brass recessed handle, so it fits nice and flat.

VO: Perfect for the lady on the go, like our Catherine.

And it's always nice to buy something that you like.

Or not.

Because it's £130.

VO: So much for thrifty.

You know and I know that I haven't quite got that.

In fact I'm a long way off, but I might try and see if I can do something.

VO: Time for a spot of sweet talking.

Pat's the man you need to win around.

CS: Pat.

PAT: Yes.

I have found... ..a little dressing table box, which I really love.

It's got a few, few little problems.

The silk lining is very frayed and not in great condition and obviously it's a bit worn.

And we don't have the accoutrements underneath.

What you're saying is you want a super super deal?

VO: I think Pat knows which way the wind is blowing on this one.

I'll tell you the truth, 80 is kind of... 80?

..the end of the line for it.

Yeah.

I'm gonna go for it because I love it and you are supposed to go with what you love, so...

Here we go, you ready?

Oh my goodness.

I haven't got much left!

VO: A mere £12.

Might need to raid that poor fund after all.

Thanks very much.

Cheers, Pat!

VO: Right, time to blow this joint and pick up your pal.

SERHAT: End of our first day already.

CS: I know.

SERHAT: It just whizzed by.

It went quickly.

Very quickly.

It's been a long day though.

I'm exhausted.

I dunno about you, but I need an overnight.

I'm shattered.

VO: I dunno.

No stamina, these young folk.

Huh!

Nighty night.

VO: Next morning and it's Serhat's turn to take the lilac machine out for a spin.

Overnight, I had a little dream about lilac.

(CATHERINE LAUGHS) I did, I did!

VO: It's growing on you, isn't it?

It was a fruitful day yesterday for our two, with Catherine bagging a traveling dressing table set, a hat pin in the shape of a hockey stick and a Norwegian enamel brooch.

That is really, I think, a bit of a bargain.

VO: Those didn't come cheap, mind you, so she has a tiny £12 left for her shopping today.

Serhat spent more cannily, only parting with £58 on a silver brooch and a rather nice Minton vase.

This is actually something quite special.

VO: And one other glove box-sized item.

Dive in, Catherine.

A brooch!

Oh!

It's very art nouveau.

Yeah.

CS: Stylish.

SERHAT: Nice, isn't it?

Very nice.

So we're fully hallmarked.

Fully hallmarked.

Silver.

Bottom of her very flowing dress.

How much did you pay for that?

SERHAT: 33.

CS: Oh come on!

SERHAT: Is that alright?

CS: It's brilliant.

Yeah!

It's lovely with the lilies.

Yeah, lilies and some ivy... Just dropped the box.

The box wasn't important was it?

Well the box is half the... half the deal.

Might have lost that.

(HE LAUGHS) VO: Oh lordy!

Later, that and all their other goodies will be heading off to auction in Diss, Norfolk.

But we begin today on the east edge of Greater London and Romford.

Once part of Essex, the town has been a prominent place to buy and sell things since a market was established here way back in 1247.

Music to the ears of Serhat, who's just arriving at his next shop with some cash to splash.

Where are you?

Aha!

Here it is.

VO: Ah.

His next destination is half auction house, half shop, but it's the shop bit that he'll be interested in.

Let's see how far his £142 goes in Romford House Clearance.

Hello, hello, hello.

Hello!

I'm Serhat.

Mick.

Nice to meet you.

You've got a tremendous amount of stock in here.

Do you know, we do house clearances every day so you never know what you're gonna find in this shop.

Even we don't know until we open the boxes.

That's what I like to hear.

VO: There's an estimated 20,000 items on offer, so this place is a rummager's paradise and it all seems to be quite keenly priced too.

A fellow on a budget could get a lot of bang for his buck in here.

Gosh.

You know, I feel really bad already because I'm looking at the price range in here and this would really suit Catherine's £12 budget.

VO: Well, her loss is your gain.

You'll have to sort the wheat from the chaff to find the really good stuff, mark you.

So this is purporting to be a Mason's ironstone jug.

It's a copy.

It's got a nice decorative appeal.

But it's a shadow of the value of the real thing.

VO: Ah well, keep looking.

There's bound to be something in here that will rock your socks.

I thought it was gonna be a Royal Doulton jardinière, but it's not old enough.

It's probably from the 60s.

VO: That's not it either then.

Aha.

That looks good.

VO: Bingo!

Yep, just as I thought.

Clarice Cliff.

The Bizarre range that she did.

It was created by Newport Pottery, Wilkinson and Son, and she used them to manufacture her design.

She was really important as a potter, one of the first female potters.

Art deco period, so this dates to about 1934.

It's the Viscaria pattern.

Quite rare, not the rarest.

VO: But, and it's a big but...

It's got a massive crack, huge crack in it.

But I still think, without even knowing the price at this stage, I still think it is worth buying because a collector who wants an example of the Viscaria pattern might just want to have that instead of paying the... hm...£300 price tag that this would have as perfect.

VO: Well, if you're sure.

We'd better go and find out what Mick wants for it.

SERHAT: Hi, Mick.

MICK: Aha!

Found this bowl.

It's got a massive crack on it, but no price.

It has got a crack, but the lowest we will take... is £25.

Gotta be honest, I thought it was gonna be a tenner.

We'll do it for 20.

£20, do I want that?

£15, how's that?

Go on.

VO: Even better.

SERHAT: Are you sure?

MICK: I'm sure.

Well I'd better say yes before you change your mind.

Lovely.

VO: That worked out rather well.

Lovely.

There you go.

That's for you.

That's for me.

MICK: Thanks a lot.

SERHAT: Take care, thanks Mick!

VO: And that hastily done deal still leaves him with over £125.

Right then, off you pop.

Meanwhile, before she gets shopping, Catherine's taken a trip further into London.

She's come down to the south bank of the Thames at Crossness to discover how the smelliest year in the capital's history forced the city to deal with its number one problem, number twos.

She's meeting Mike Jones, the chair of the Crossness Engines Trust, to find out more.

Mike, I'm a south Londoner, but I rarely get to be this close to the Thames, so it's wonderful to come here today and see a fantastic expanse of water.

It wasn't always like this.

I suppose if we go back 150 years, it would have been in a much worse condition, mainly because of the introduction of the flushing toilet.

The tributaries of the Thames became open sewers.

The Thames itself became an open sewer and the quality of the water and the area around it was absolutely appalling.

VO: Because of these terrible insanitary conditions, disease was rife.

In the mid 1800s, London suffered repeated outbreaks of cholera, leaving thousands dead.

But nothing much was done about it until the summer of 1858 and an event known as The Great Stink.

MIKE: It was a very hot year and for a couple of weeks in the late summer, the temperature in London was up around... MIKE: I think 35, 36 Celsius.

CS: Wow.

The river stank to high heaven.

I can imagine.

The House of Commons had only recently moved into the rebuilt parliamentary buildings, and they were on the verge of decanting to somewhere else, like Henley-on-Thames.

What, because it was so bad?

The smell was so bad and something had to be done.

VO: Once the effluent affected the affluent, the city turned to Joseph Bazalgette, chief engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works.

He had devised a plan some years earlier to tackle the problem, but it was deemed too costly.

In the wake of The Great Stink, however, parliament passed a bill agreeing to Bazalgette's scheme in a matter of days.

And by the following year, work had started.

MIKE: His idea was to take the foul water out to Abbey Mills on the north of the river and Crossness on the south and dump in the river at this point.

The tidal effect will actually take the raw sewage out to sea fairly quickly and disperse it.

VO: This was a massive undertaking.

Hundreds of miles of vast sewerage tunnels were constructed using over 300 million bricks and thousands more miles of pipes were laid.

Six years later, the vast majority of the city was connected to the system and Crossness pumping station was opened.

Oh, my goodness me, this is really not what I was expecting at all.

Gosh, all this really high Victoriana.

This is almost quite garish.

Why is it like this?

I don't think there's any operational reason why it's like this.

I think it's a reflection of a Victorian pride in what they were doing.

So although it's a room that contains four engines that pump sewage, there's no reason why it can't look quite beautiful in a way.

And I love these Corinthian sort of columns with these.

CS: What are these?

MIKE: They're fig leaves.

We believe it is a reference back to keeping regular.

Oh!

Um, a sort of Victorian joke I suppose.

Say no more, Mike, say no more.

VO: This cathedral of sewage is being restored to all its former glory, thanks to the hard work of Mike and his fellow enthusiasts.

But as well as looking magnificent, this pump house is also a hugely impressive piece of 19th century engineering.

What are we sort of talking measures on a daily basis?

Each pump can move six and one eighth tonnes of sewage at one stroke.

And if all four engines are running, they could move, in one minute, 539 tonnes of sewage.

Wow.

Which is a lot of sewage.

That's an awful lot.

Basically, every piece of sewage from south London will have come through this building on its way to the Thames.

VO: Bazalgette's project had a huge effect on the health of London's two and a half million occupants.

The last outbreak of cholera occurred a year after this station was opened, but in an area not yet connected to the new sewers.

And he built the system to be future-proof too, designed to cope with a 100% increase in the population.

Bazalgette had a direct impact on the health of Londoners, and I suppose may have been responsible for saving tens if not hundreds of thousands of lives.

In terms of public health, he's a very important figure.

VO: And although the sewers have been much expanded and improved since 1865, his scheme still forms the backbone of London's sanitation system to this day, an outstanding achievement.

Further into the city, Serhat is maneuvering the Million towards his final destination.

He's heading to Crystal Palace, named after the magnificent glass structure that was built for the Great Exhibition in 1851.

Crystal Palace Antiques might not be that grand, but it's still home to lots of lovely exhibits, four floors of them in fact, and with the added bonus that you can buy them.

I mean this my bag.

If I'm gonna buy something for myself, I love mid-century Scandinavian design.

VO: And with £127 still to play with, our man shouldn't have any problems picking up an item or two for the auction.

SERHAT: Genuinely know nothing about 18th century pestle and mortars, but...

I don't know, there's something about the naivety of this that I really like.

It has got a lovely weight to it.

You can see dozens of pairs of hands have used this in its 200, 300 year history, and it's still functional today.

We still use these things today.

What've we got?

£75.

OK. Well, that's in budget, but I'd really like to buy another item as well.

VO: On you go, then.

Now, we all know that shopping in London can be a tad expensive, which must be a bit of a worry to Catherine with only just over a tenner to her name.

Ha!

Oh dear.

I've got myself into a bit of a pickle.

VO: Well, I think it's unlikely that you will be able to afford one of the cool bits of furniture that this shop specializes in, but I'm sure you'll find something.

Scour every nook and cranny is my advice, even the darkest recesses.

Boo!

(SHE SCREAMS) VO: Blimey, that'll wake up the neighbors.

You scared me so much!

(HE LAUGHS) That was brilliant!

I hate you.

Don't come near me, you're not my friend any more.

I've gone right off you, Serhat.

(HE LAUGHS) VO: And quite right too!

Catherine's got enough problems without you scaring her half to death.

Haven't you got some work to do?

That's really cute, isn't it?

Definitely old.

VO: Definitely small.

It's essentially a scale model of a full-sized item.

And these are often called apprentice pieces.

So someone that's starting out would have first started making these kind of small models in order to get to making the masterpieces, the full-sized pieces, the pieces that people would commission for their homes.

VO: £85 on the ticket, already been reduced I see.

SERHAT: Definitely in budget, but gosh, you know, I'd like to pay as little as possible basically.

VO: You don't say.

Better talk to the dealer, Nick.

And don't forget your big brass item from earlier.

SERHAT: Hi, Nick.

NICK: Hey, Serhat.

I've found two pieces.

NICK: Ah.

SERHAT: Here we have it.

One of those and one of those.

But I need something special from you.

You surprise me.

Go on then.

What could you do if I took the two?

Alright, so we're looking at 160 for the two, aren't we?

I could go for about 135 for the two.

That's... That's still a bit more than I've got.

Right, OK. Tell me your budget.

What's... What have you...

This is all my money and it would leave me with nothing so there's 125 there.

Yep.

And that's 127.

NICK: OK, yep.

SERHAT: Yeah?

We'll do it, yeah.

SERHAT: Happy with that?

NICK: Yeah.

Ish?

Well, I have been happier in my life!

But that's not too bad.

No, that's cool.

VO: Well, with pockets empty, I suppose that's Serhat's shopping done.

Thanks very much Nick.

Take care.

Alright, cheers, thank you!

Bye.

Bye bye.

VO: Elsewhere, having had a strong cup of tea to calm the nerves, it looks like Catherine might be onto something.

There's a couple of bits here which are almost in my price range.

That's quite stylish, I like that, it's almost got a sort of arts and crafts feel.

They call it "brass dish".

I just really like the sort of stylized pattern on it.

But just quite a nice design.

It's got a bit of a dent in it.

Quite a few dents actually.

That's probably why it's £6.

VO: Looks like a rather fancy dog bowl.

And then these.

I wouldn't like to use these myself.

Part of a dressing table set.

You would have had nice silver-backed mirrors, you would have had silver-backed brushes, some lovely little perfume bottles as well, perhaps a little pill box.

And then you would have had these.

I dread to think how many heads of hair these have brushed.

VO: They are priced at £18.

So, that's what I've got.

There's not a lot there, is there?

VO: Still, priced at twice what you've got.

Better have a word, eh?

CS: Hiya, Nick.

NICK: Hello.

Right, I have been shopping.

Aha.

I have found two items.

This rather charming brass dish, and I was particularly attracted to the price as well.

And then silver brushes, just a pair.

Now, is there any way that I can purchase these for £12?

Um.

OK, yes.

I can do the two for 12.

CS: Sure?

NICK: Yep.

Wonderful.

Thank you, I do appreciate that.

No problem.

For cash, of course.

Of course.

VO: All £12 of it, making the bowl and the brushes £6 each, and with our two completely cleaned out after all that buying, it's time for thoughts to turn to selling.

What are you hoping for in the auction?

I want my vase to do well.

I'm hoping for a miracle.

VO: But first, some shut eye.

Nighty night.

VO: Now, how's this for a place to park up and watch an auction?

Heavenly, isn't it?

Rather nice here, isn't it?

It's beautiful.

CS: St Albans cathedral.

SERHAT: Cathedral.

And on a really good day too.

We brought the sunshine to St Albans.

We brought the sunshine and I feel like it's gonna be a good day.

VO: Here's hoping.

They've made the journey from deepest Kent, through the capital and out to St Albans in Hertfordshire.

Meanwhile, their prized possessions have kept on going all the way to Diss in Norfolk.

Battle will commence at the sale rooms of TW Gaze with bidders in cyberspace for an online-only auction.

Catherine spent her entire £200 budget on five auction lots.

Is any of it piquing the interest of today's auctioneer, Edward Taxil-Webber?

EDWARD: The brass dish, I really like the style to this one.

It's very very much of the art nouveau period, but it does have a few dents which might limit the market on this.

VO: Not to be outdone, Serhat burned through all his money too, also on five lots.

Thoughts, Edward?

EDWARD: So the vase, very much of the aesthetic movement, lots of gilding, enameling.

It's a lovely fine quality piece.

It's the sort of piece people want to buy today.

VO: Sounds encouraging.

Now, how's the mood in the camp?

I'm very excited.

You're very positive.

Well, I think so.

I might be eating my words later.

How are you feeling?

Um, worried that you're very very positive.

VO: Well, Catherine's up first.

That brass dish that caught the eye of our auctioneer.

£6, you can't go wrong on it really.

It just appealed to me.

Gotta start straight in at 25.

Oh, hey.

Oh, I'm so happy.

SERHAT: Ooh!

Well done.

EDWARD: At 32...

I wish I'd have bought loads!

All done?

Anything online at £32?

Well done.

I'm just really really happy with that.

SERHAT: Into profit.

VO: That's a jolly good start.

£6 well spent, I'd say.

It was the cheapest thing I bought, I think, and actually it's probably the thing I liked most.

SERHAT: Liked the most?

CS: Isn't that silly?

VO: Not at all.

Now, can Serhat follow suit with his cheapest item, that Clarice Cliff bowl, with a few issues.

Now this was cracked?

SERHAT: Cracked.

CS: Chipped?

But a rare pattern.

I know.

Can you stop with the negativity?

CS: No, no, no...

I'm gonna start straight in at the five.

Where's eight?

Low start at five.

Oh, that is quite a low start.

EDWARD: Now where's the eight?

Sweet little bowl there for the money.

Pop it in a display case, you may never know it's damaged there.

Exactly.

EDWARD: Hovering at the five bid now.

Five.

Any more than five?

Five?

EDWARD: Eight just in time.

At £8.

10, getting exciting.

SERHAT: Oh, here we go.

Oh, last minute, aren't they?

At 10 bid now.

BOTH: 10.

EDWARD: 10.

CS: Oh Serhat!

That was a good £5 loss.

VO: Well, condition is everything, as you know Serhat.

I thought people would engage with the pattern but they engaged with the crack.

(SERHAT LAUGHS) VO: Next up, another buy from Catherine.

Her dressing table brushes.

25.

Bit of silver in there as well.

There is.

Please!

Oh, please.

£10?

CS: Oh, this is painful.

SERHAT: Hm!

Two of these in the lot.

I've just got to start at five then.

At five... Oh dear.

Five, worth it all day long for that there at five.

Eight's jumped in now.

At eight... SERHAT: There you go.

EDWARD: Where's the 10?

You're into profit.

Where's the 10?

Silver should be worth that, more than that.

It should.

Looking for 10.

But all going and slowing down at £8.

Oh!

EDWARD: 10!

Thank you.

SERHAT: Hey!

CS: Oh, thank you.

Thank you, last-minute bidder!

At £12 and all going away at 12.

CS: Aah.

SERHAT: Well done you.

SERHAT: Doubled your money.

CS: That's alright.

VO: Those bargain basement purchases turned out quite well, didn't they?

Oh, thank you to that last-minute bidder.

VO: Something with a bit of heft now, Serhat's 18th century pestle and mortar.

Got to start straight in at... Good interest, conflicting.

Have to be 38, where's 40?

At 38 the bid now, at 38... Come on.

Come on.

At 38 the bid now, at 38.

A nice piece there.

40's got online.

At 40 bid now, at 40, good competition on this one there.

Come on!

At 40, is there any more at 40?

40 it sells there.

SERHAT: Is that it?

CS: Oh!

£40.

£40.

VO: Sort of ground to a halt, that one.

He started that so enthusiastically.

SERHAT: I know.

I thought you were gonna go quite high on that.

SERHAT: Oh dear.

VO: The first of our brooch collection now, Catherine's Norwegian enameled one.

Ah, on this going straight in, I have to be in at 50.

EDWARD: At 50 bid now.

SERHAT: Already.

Where's the five?

At 50, the starting bid.

Have a punt online.

At the 50 bid now, at 50 there... CS: Maiden bid 50.

SERHAT: Come on!

Can I interest you at 50?

It is worth that, it's in lovely condition.

That's kind of what I thought.

VO: And it's another profit, albeit a small one.

I'm happy with that.

I'm delighted.

Yeah, me too.

I know I shouldn't be, but I am.

VO: Battle of the brooches part two.

Serhat's art nouveau style one.

Starting straight in on this one.

I've got interest, half a guide at 25.

At 25... SERHAT: 25.

CS: That's a very good start.

A sweet little brooch there, make a lovely gift for someone.

28 is bid now, at £28, 28, take the 30.

Come on.

At £28 it is for the brooch.

CS: Come on.

SERHAT: Oh please?

Make it 40.

At £28.

Any more?

No?

Aah!

You are... You were so close!

VO: And yet still no cigar.

It's not gone his way yet today.

CS: That's annoying.

SERHAT: I'm on a streak.

VO: Now, can Catherine continue to clean up with her traveling dressing table set?

Well, so this was your biggest purchase.

Yes.

Yes.

On this where are we gonna be?

Gotta start straight in at 70.

Where's five?

At 70 bid now... CS: Oh!

SERHAT: That's OK. EDWARD: ..where's the five?

CS: Surprised.

SERHAT: Ooh!

I'll take the 80.

At £75.

Needs a little bit of work, it may be good to go.

At £75, any advance on 75?

No?

CS: I'm happy with that.

SERHAT: I'm happy for you.

VO: So close, very nearly washed its face.

It's a bit of a loss, but I actually thought he was going to start at 17, but he said 70.

VO: Let's see if Serhat can get off the blocks with his scaled down chest of drawers.

30.

SERHAT: 30.

OK. CS: Aw!

EDWARD: Yep.

For 30.

Oh, we're running.

What are we at?

38?

CS: Running, that's good.

SERHAT: Running is what we need.

CS: Run.

40.

42 it is now.

42, 45, 48.

Good run on this.

50 is it?

55 is bid.

At 55...

Some good momentum.

At 60.

60's gonna get it now, at 60.

CS: Sounds like it's gonna go.

Well done.

Nearly.

Hang on, hang on.

Still worth that all day long.

At 60 and we're going.

Aww!

It was going so well, why did it end?

No way!

VO: Oh dear, fourth loss in a row for Serhat.

Not really top drawer, eh?

That felt like that had legs.

CS: Didn't it?

SERHAT: Four good feet on it.

CS: Yes!

VO: Ha-ha-ha, very clever.

Last up for Catherine, her jolly hockey stick hat pin.

This has gotta go straight in at £20.

Where's two?

CS: Oh dear.

EDWARD: At 20...

It's got a long way to go.

..clear hallmarks as well on this.

At 20, 22, 25.

Have to be on commissions... CS: Aw.

At 25 now, where's the eight?

At 25.

Surely one more online there at £25?

I thought 50.

CS: Ouch.

SERHAT: Ouchie.

That hurt.

VO: Perhaps the bidders were more into golf clubs.

We'll never know.

SERHAT: It felt like that pin stuck into you rather.

Yeah.

No, it did!

VO: And finally, Serhat's Minton vase.

Our ceramics man has high hopes for this one.

OK, so I think this is my favorite purchase.

Yeah.

SERHAT: It's the Minton aesthetic movement, so 1870.

Turquoise blue vase.

And I think it's Christopher Dresser.

Going straight in at 50.

50!

Yes!

80.

85 now.

90.

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

EDWARD: 100.

CS: Oh!

EDWARD: 110.

VO: The boy knows his stuff.

110 is bid.

150, 160.

Good competition on this.

Keep going.

Please!

Come on, come on!

EDWARD: 200.

200 the bid now, at 200.

And a lovely sweet vase there.

210 it's got now.

At 210, looking for 220.

EDWARD: At 210... CS: That is immense.

Lovely piece still.

At 210, last chance and selling.

Speechless.

VO: Finally, a whopping profit for Serhat and I think that's shaken things up a bit.

CS: That was a brilliant first auction.

SERHAT: Well, I'm really happy.

I feel like I'm a little bit ahead of you.

I'm not sure.

CS: Oh come on.

SERHAT: We need to do the maths.

Not just a little bit, I think you're a few kilometers ahead.

VO: Well, let's see what the numbers say.

Catherine started this trip with £200 and after an initial run of success, she's down on the day.

After saleroom fees, she's left with £159.08 for her shopping next time.

But thanks to that one huge profit, Serhat has managed to grow his £200 starting budget.

After auction costs, he's now sitting on a rather comfortable £285.36.

Cor, what a turnaround, eh?

Serhat, if you're going to do it, do it in style.

SERHAT: Thank you very much.

CS: That's what I say.

I'm taking that as a compliment.

VO: Well, that's one down, but there are more antique goodies out there just waiting to be discovered.

CS: You are the king of the road.

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