VOICEOVER (VO): Some of the nation's favorite celebrities... That's the pig for you!

This is the pig for me.

VO: ..one antiques expert each...

Celebrities.

Off and running, off and skating.

VO: ..and one big challenge - who can seek out and buy the best antiques at the very best prices... No, we want things that are making money.

VO: ..and auction for a big profit further down the road?

We'll cut that bit.

VO: Who will spot the good investments?

Who will listen to advice?

You like that?

And I'll tell you what, it goes with your eyes.

Does it, yeah?

VO: And who will be the first to say "Don't you know who I am?!"

Cuckoo!

VO: Time to put your pedal to the metal - this is Celebrity Antiques Road Trip!

Yeah!

VO: Suffolk kicks off this celebrity buying frenzy for a retro Team GB - a pair of record-breaking gold medalists... Oh.

Gentleman.

VO: ..in a gorgeous, golden-hued Triumph Stag.

Each with £400 to invest.

TESSA: Ooh!

Seatbelt on.

TESSA: We're off!

Bye!

TESSA: I'm gonna be watching you.

ROBIN: I'll be watching you.

TESSA: I'm going to be watching you.

ROBIN: I'll be more than happy if you should win, but you're not going to, but I would be happy if you were to win.

TESSA: Oh my God, that hurt!

In that case, I'm gonna kick your butt!

VO: He's a British, European and world champion figure-skater, winning the 1980 Olympic gold medal in Lake Placid, USA.

He's now top judge of Dancing on Ice.

He's Robin Cousins.

VO: She's an amazing six-times Olympic athlete.

She's a record breaking javelin thrower.

She took 1984's Olympic gold in LA.

VO: She's a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

She's Tessa Sanderson.

ROBIN: My dad always said something is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it, regardless of what you think of it.

TESSA: I think, I think I'm just going to go with the way I feel about something.

ROBIN: Yeah, go with the gut initially, and then have the expert tell us why it's a good choice or not a good choice.

VO: Indubitably.

We moved mountains to get the very best experts available, and they don't come better than this pair, I tell ya.

DAVID HARPER (DH): Shall I take the driving seat?

DAVID BARBY (DB): Yes please, as always, David.

DH: Thank you.

DH: I've got one of these.

You need to remove your leg.

DB: I'm right over into the corner.

DH: Have you ever been involved in competitive sports?

DB: I used to play rugby at school.

DH: Did you?

DH: I don't like all that contact with other men in the scrum.

DH: Do you understand what I'm trying to... DH: David, stop it!

DH: Stop it.

VO: Oh Lordy!

He's the dealer with the wheels, a collector of lovely motors.

VO: He began buying antiques aged five, graduating to his own business and his very own long trousers.

VO: He's the wise man of antiques - he's David Harper.

Eh?

Fetching?

VO: And this man is known simply as "The Master".

A depth and breadth of antiques knowledge admired by all.

He loves a snazzy jacket.

DB: # I wanna dream lover, so I don't have to dream alone.

# VO: He's irrepressible.

He's unflappable.

A prince amongst experts.

He's David Barby.

ROBIN: We've got a choice today between David and er... David.

ROBIN: So who are you going to pick?

Cuz I want David!

DB: Do you think we should go together, shall we shop together?

DH: Shall we run away together in our little Morris Minor?

DB: I think we'll just shop!

TESSA: Shall I have the cuddly David?

TESSA: David... David a little bit larger, David.

TESSA: OK, I'm going to have the David.

ROBIN: The David, and I'll have other David.

VO: Huh huh!

So let's find out who's zooming with whom.

ROBIN: Good morning!

DH: Good morning.

TESSA: Hello.

Oh, this is where you are.

DH: Lovely to meet you.

DB: Hello, very pleased to meet you.

ROBIN: Pleasure to meet you.

TESSA: Very nice to meet you too.

DH: And what a gorgeous day.

Hello there.

Nice to see you.

Nice to meet you.

And we decided, I want to work with David, and Tessa wants to work with David... Well luckily for you two..!

Luckily we have two Davids, but I think...

Yes, I know.

..Tessa's already decided who goes where.

Bye bye.

Ah!

DH: Well, that's fine.

DB: I am pleased.

TESSA: I love you too.

Because, because you said in the car, you kept saying I want to go with...

I wanted the cuddly one.

DB: Don't you say it!

TESSA: I want the cuddly one!

That's the winning combination right here.

DH: We're off, goodbye!

TESSA: Goodbye, loser!

VO: Listen, you're all winners in our eyes.

VO: Robin and Tessa have a cross-county route ahead.

Taking in the delights of Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Greater London.

Today's first pin in the map though is Bury St Edmunds, ending up at auction in Greenwich.

VO: Bury St Edmonds bears a 13th century town motto: "Shrine of a King, Cradle of the Law", dating from when barons met and swore to make King John sign the Magna Carta.

VO: Shopping kicks off in the neighboring emporiums of Past & Present and Risby Barn.

VO: But are they big enough for our driven Olympians?

DH: Is it true that you're actually on stamps, somewhere in the world?

ROBIN: Seven.

DH: Seven?

Yeah, seven stamps.

Turks and Caicos being one of them!

From Olympic days.

Funnily enough, I'm not on a stamp anywhere in the world at all.

Can you believe that?

VO: Well, in a way, David, yes!

VO: Next door, beneath the canopy of Past & Present, the competition is already hard at it, with Joe lending a helping hand.

JOE: Would you do toys?

DB: Yes.

JOE: There was a special dinner party for collectors and they made the gold one, and it's got its rockets, original box.

DB: I think that's a possibility, actually, I quite like that.

DB: And what's the best on that?

JOE: That's got 45 on it, that'd be 30 quid.

DB: I think we're looking at 19... 1965, 1970.

Yep.

That's before you were born.

I'd love to say so, darling, but, you know... DB: I think this is quite good, and it's gold painted.

What did you win at the Olympics?

BOTH: Gold!

VO: It's gold alright; possibly made as a commemorative item for Dinky employees themselves, back in the 20th century when some die-cast metal toys were actually - believe it or not - made in Britain!

VO: But what price can Tessa and David get it at?

I'm finished at £28.

TESSA: Oh come on, 20 quid?

We're stuck at 28 at the moment.

TESSA: 20!

VO: Tessa's not budging on the Dinky toy, so what items can Robin find to play with?

That pewter's very stylish, at the back.

ROBIN: Mmhm, two pieces.

ROBIN: If it's Liberty, it's worth looking at.

DH: It definitely is worth looking at.

Milk jug and sugar bowl.

ROBIN: Now, would there be such a thing as Liberty style?

DH: Yes.

DH: So if we look on the base there, and it says Tudric, pewter.

Anything with Tudric on the base was made and retailed through Liberty of London.

DH: But what they are is drop dead gorgeous in their style.

ROBIN: Hm.

ROBIN: Well then these seem to me, um... my first buy.

OK, but hang on a moment.

Because now we have to talk about the mercenary subject of money.

DH: We have to try and get some sort of discount.

A trade discount.

Should we be having this conversation with... Not really.

VO: Look out!

I'm very deaf.

VO: Where did Richard come from?

DH: Please, please be deaf!

VO: Richard has a ticket price of £50, and very soft footsteps!

Bartering is not one...

I give the man in the market exactly what he's asking for.

Well why won't... You've never been in my shop.

But I don't know what's fair.

DH: OK, OK. You are right.

I think fair...

I don't want to take somebody for granted.

No, no, no, neither would I. VO: Ha!

Remember David, you are not the cuddly David.

RICHARD: So I'm looking at £40 on here.

DH: OK. Now what would you say now?

I would normally say thank you very much, give him the money and leave!

But I won't, because from the look on your face, I should probably say "how about if I give you 35?"

And then he comes back at 38, we end up with 37?

VO: We started at £50, so it's heading in the right direction for Robin - but what about Richard?

Bearing in mind we've still got to make a living - I've got 500 kids to look after!

Very busy man!

RICHARD: So, er... Um... DH: Do 'em for 35.

RICHARD: Go on, 37.

ROBIN: 37?

37 it is.

And then my question to you... DH: Yes?

Good deal?

DH: It's a very good deal.

Robin, first purchase.

VO: Good work Robin!

You and other David are off and skating!

But we're still warming up with Tessa and cuddly David.

TESSA: David?

DB: Oh my God.

What have you seen?

DB: Look at that lavatory seat!

DB: Razor blades and barbed wire.

TESSA: Oh!

DB: My God.

Isn't that unusual?

TESSA: That is... let's... DB: Oh!

Oh my God!

Isn't that fabulous?

DB: Do you like that?

TESSA: Yes, I do.

DB: What's the price on it?

Oh!

Sugars!

VO: David looks flustered - at the ticket price of £85.

But this striking punk toilet seat is a bit special - possibly from the 1980s and often referred to as the "dangerous toilet seat" or the "ghetto fabulous lid".

TESSA: I wonder, does that put you off going to the toilet, with barbed wire on your bum?

JOE: It's a special... A special breed of people.

TESSA: It's quite nice though, quite quirky.

DB: I think it's quirky.

DB: Now look, the only point is, Joe, it's scratched on the top.

It's a toilet seat.

VO: Yeah, scratching might not be the worst that happened to it!

JOE: £45.

That's half price.

Oh, I...

I... Really like that.

I really like that, I think it's quirky, I think it's different, I think they'll look and think 'ooh!'

But I'm not that...

I think £45 might be a bit hard.

You're buying outside my box and outside your box.

JOE: I'll sell you that and the toy for £60.

VO: Looks like Tessa's stuck again!

Whilst Robin is steaming ahead.

ROBIN: There's a jug in there that I just want you to have a quick look at.

See that... DH: Oh, the silver?

ROBIN: Yeah, what do you think about that?

DH: It's Christopher Dresser.

DH: And I think if we described it for the auction as a Christopher Dresser style then I think it would have a chance.

ROBIN: I think it's beautiful, and I think you need to go back but slightly further into a corner for now, knowing that if we wanted to, we know where it is.

Oh right, OK. Now there's a big danger there, you know that.

Yeah, cuz your contemporary will probably rummage into the corners and find things, but...

He's been known to rummage in corners, I can assure you!

Let's just ask Richard while he's here, very nice Richard.

VO: Oh!

I wish he'd stop doing that.

So, this 1900s hot water jug is not designed by Dr Christopher Dresser, but it does have his aesthetic qualities.

He actually manufactured personally nothing, but his designs, sold to manufacturers, are classics of their type.

VO: This lookey-likey has a ticket price of £32.

What kind of money could we buy that for, if we come back for it?

RICHARD: Erm...

Looking around about the £25 mark.

OK. Now, for me... ROBIN: Yes.

..I'd pay £25 for that now and get out of here, personally.

ROBIN: OK.

But I want you to feel happy and comfortable.

No, I'm taking your word for that.

You went with me on purchase number one.

I will go with you now then on purchase number two.

VO: Respect!

This is the dream working relationship.

Now Tessa must decide if she wants the Starfighter toy at £20, the punk loo seat at £40 - or both?

So we're at 25 and 35, that's £60.

TESSA: 50 and you're...

I swear.

I'll sell it to you for £50 on the one condition.

What?

You come and see us again.

Of course I will, darling.

Got a deal?

Yeah, alright.

We've got a deal.

Do you want a kiss from me, Joe?

No thanks.

VO: Well, how about a cuddle then?

Tessa and David are finally off the starting blocks and into this race, without their shopping going down the pan!

DB: I think this is fabulous.

Bye!

I can't believe it.

VO: Sorry Joe, you can have some peace now.

Though sadly, not for long, as our Olympians are swapping shops.

Is it jacket off territory?

Jacket off territory.

Yeah, I think so, yeah.

VO: Robin has proved his eye, but will he be able to negotiate?

DH: Talk to me about that.

Tell me why you like it.

It's the shape again, the shape and the feel.

ROBIN: I like the color patterns of it.

I like the fact that it's not just all one color.

That shape and form is 50s, 60s, 70s.

DH: And it's screaming Murano, and it's...

The colors are very... ROBIN: I think it's lovely.

ROBIN: If you said, you know what, it's a lovely piece, but it's not for the auction, I will pay for that and have that at home with my Murano collection.

DH: Right.

OK. VO: But this isn't your shopping trip, Robin - tell him, David H!

I would have it and take it home, because I like it very much.

VO: OK, so we all like it!

VO: Amazingly, glass-making on the Italian island of Murano dates back to at least the 10th century and hit its commercial stride in the 15th and 16th centuries, although this piece is 20th century and priced at only £28.

DH: But you don't love negotiating, do you?

Well, it's not a question of not loving it.

I don't know enough about it to not be blagging, so starting it at 20, would that be too cheeky?

No, I don't think so.

I would like to take this piece of Murano glass off you.

Piece of Murano glass.

As I'm sure you understand, I'm acting as an agent now for this person.

VO: Once more, Robin has deftly avoided any actual haggling, as Joe calls the dealer himself.

Er, the price on it is £28.

He'd like to buy it for 20.

JOE: Yes.

Don't say anything rude, we're on telly.

DH: It is kinda jazzy.

Thanks very much.

Bye bye.

DH: So how did we do?

She's trying as hard as she can.

But she'd like to make £22.

Then she can have £22.

That's very good.

Fair enough.

VO: A medal-winning first outing for both our celebrity teams, eh?

Right, thanks again.

Pleasure.

VO: Time for the next heat - and the next destination.

DB: But how do you handle all the adoration?

TESSA: Erm...

I think... TESSA: I like people, what people have always said to me is "how much is your medal worth?"

I mean in monetary terms, you know, like you're saying, but you can't put a figure on it.

DB: Well, that's right, that's right.

DB: How can you put a value on, first of all, the emotion... TESSA: Yeah, yeah.

DB: ..and all the sheer effort you put into it to get to that level?

VO: Our gold medalists are pure national treasures - so let's send them further round this treasured nation.

VO: The road trip leaves Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk behind, sadly, but briskly travels 30 miles west to the most learned city of Cambridge.

It is all very pleasant, isn't it?

DH: It's all quintessentially British.

VO: Handsome, cerebral Cambridge.

Roman settlement in the mid 1st century, university town from the early 13th century, recruiting ground for Cold War spies in the 1960s and today, a haven for leisurely punters and competitive shoppers.

TESSA: Oh, look at this!

DB: Oh, what a little haven.

TESSA: This looks very interesting.

VO: Lying in wait is the diminutive Gabor Cossa Antiques.

And with the delightful David Theobold to help.

Very nice to meet you too, thank you.

I try to be cheap.

VO: Oh, I hope so.

DB: Right, we're looking for something really quirky and interesting.

This little silver figure.

He's so expensive.

DB: Is he really?

Yes, I'm sorry.

Some things just are.

Some things are not, but...

Right.

And what about that little taper stick?

DAVID: Uh, well it's silver.

It's for sealing wax.

VO: These wonderful little jobbies date back to a time when a lady or gentleman would literally hand-write a letter, put it an envelope and seal it with a wax stick and seal.

Awfully stylish!

VO: But could a certain lady or gentleman part with any money for it?

DAVID: : Got to be 45.

Can you make a profit on that?

It's 1901.

DB: Is that the very best you can do at that?

It kind of...

I mean, I'm not being funny, it does owe me 40.

I mean, I try, but... TESSA: Oh, but you can do better for us.

Can I?

TESSA: Yes, we will.

Yes.

DAVID: If I take a loss!

TESSA: What is that?

Can I just see that?

I'll show you, actually.

Now, this is quite cheap, but it has got its spring, which is good.

And you see, you dig out the candle wax with that from your candlestick, and you trim the wick in there.

VO: The snuffers allow one to extinguish the flame without burning one's fingers or, well, blowing hard.

VO: It's 19th century - but will it catch fire at auction?

DB: I think the taper wax holder is unusual, it's quirky.

It's good.

I'm taking your lead on this, you know this, right?

I think that's quirky, that's quirky.

And I think the, um... TESSA: Candle snuffer.

DB: ..candle snuffer is the sort of thing you might get Greenwich ladies buying.

VO: Lovely ladies!

But will Tessa buy the taper stick at £40 and the snuffers at £30?

Or both?

TESSA: How much did we say?

DAVID: 70.

Seven zero?

DAVID: Yeah, I'm sorry.

Are we sure?

DAVID: Yeah, I'm sorry, that's it.

Anything less is a loss.

You're putting that face on.

Have you thought of doing this for a living?

VO: Don't give her any ideas!

For £70, Tessa and David B have bought a pair of bone-fide antiques, and put the loo seat behind them!

TESSA: Let's go.

DAVID: Bye bye.

VO: Just in time for the competition to arrive in town.

DH: Cool, aren't they?

Very cool.

ROBIN: Pull up at the front?

OK. DH: Can't you walk that far?

ROBIN: No!

So you want me to drive it a bit further forward?

No I'm fine, absolutely fine.

VO: Tell me about it!

Robin and David H now find themselves in the charming environment of The Hive, with courteous Bill and delightful Brenda in attendance.

ROBIN: We need a bit of steering in the right direction.

Er, skating?

Do you know any good skaters?

No, but if there's something skating, it's definitely not going in the auction.

ROBIN: It's prints and things usually.

For... well, there's a tile down there.

Show us the tile.

VO: Sorry Brenda, David means "show us the tile, please"!

Manners!

DH: Look at the colors.

Good colors.

ROBIN: I have skating memorabilia, ROBIN: I've got a nice collection of pieces, and it's porcelain, and it's figurines, or it's plates, but not a tile.

That's gorgeous.

DH: Now then.

Made by Minton.

DH: Now, Minton were incredibly good quality producers of porcelain, and known for making really good tiles.

VO: But can our boys stretch to the £125 ticket price?

Now, I'm gonna be mercenary here, because I'm thinking profit, I'm thinking about beating the others.

Come on, I'm getting you excited here.

Oh no, we are definitely taking it, but it depends where it's going once it's been taken and whose pocket the money's come out of to take it!

What a predicament.

VO: Oh dear; Robin's getting confused about whose shopping trip this is - again!

VO: I'm afraid we're only here to buy items for auction.

You've got the distinct tile collectors, and they are worldwide, and you've got the people like you... ROBIN: See, the more you talk about how unique and exclusive it is, the more you're talking yourself out of getting it for the team!

Listen, the dream team are getting that tile.

VO: Robin and David H have reached a stand-off, whilst Tessa and David B harmoniously arrive and move in next door: the Cambs Antiques center - with haggling veteran Steven just waiting to say yes.

Hello, Steven.

We're looking for something quirky, unusual.

STEVEN: Some bits and bobs here.

DB: Oh, right.

STEVEN: Some very nice little posey vases, very art nouveau.

Why don't you have a look at them?

TESSA: Oh, that is nice.

DB: And they're square set, which is unusual.

Birmingham.

What sort of date?

1905, 1907.

TESSA: I like that, the top bit.

They are stylized tulip heads, or crocus heads.

They are pretty.

DB: I think those are quite nice.

What's the price of those, Steven?

I was looking for around £95 for the pair, which I think is good value.

STEVEN: Where would you like to be, David?

Goodness me, that's asking me to be both buyer and seller.

Well, I can always say no.

You haven't had that asked, have you?

Alright, £40.

Can you squeeze the 42?

That'll give me a working margin.

£42?

Shall we have a look?

Then come back.

VO: Oh, lets.

So far, Cambridge has only achieved indecision for our teams, with Robin Cousins still hopelessly in love with that Minton skating tile.

DH: OK, let me do the rough end of the business with Brenda, and I mean that in the nicest possible way, by the way, Brenda.

Don't get worried!

The money side.

Brenda, what can be the best trade price on this one?

The death on that is 100.

We're...

Somehow, we're gonna have it.

Someone is gonna give you 100 quid.

So put that aside.

BRENDA: Right.

DH: Please.

VO: Another false start sadly.

Who'll be first to go for gold and get their wallet out?

Dust off the cobwebs.

Robin... What are we gonna do?

TESSA: I like these.

You like those, OK. Yeah.

Single stem holders.

TESSA: That looks very chic, I love the design on the top.

DB: Right, OK. VO: But they're still £42!

What did we say it was?

STEVEN: 35.

Yes.

Let's go for those.

OK. We'll have that.

Well done.

Decision made.

Thank you very much indeed.

And I wish you good luck with them.

So... yes.

Job done.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you.

Good.

Get your cash out.

Don't look at anything else.

VO: Well said.

DB: Do you have some change?

VO: Now David H must help Robin buy that skating tile - but not for his private collection!

Can the dream team have... ROBIN: Yes.

DH: Really?

Yeah.

DH: Robin... ROBIN: Of course we can.

DH: Thank you.

ROBIN: OK. You know this antiques business is full of disappointment, you realize that, don't you?

VO: Oh, I wouldn't say so.

Team Cousins gets the skating tile for £100, whilst Team Sanderson wins the vases for just £35.

So cuddly David is taking Tessa somewhere special.

This looks intriguing, doesn't it?

Interesting building.

Laboratory of Physical Chemistry.

VO: Hidden behind the hallowed walls of ancient Cambridge university lie aged devices for studying both outer and inner space.

The development of the telescope and microscope are about to be brought into focus.

VO: The Whipple Museum began with the much-loved private collection of the late Robert Stewart Whipple, former managing director of the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company.

VO: Ruth Horry and Josh Nall are resident PHD students and here to explain all.

They look wonderfully young, don't they?!

Hello.

Hello.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

Hello, David Barby here.

Very pleased to meet you.

What have you got to show us?

Well, lots of fascinating objects.

VO: Fascinating indeed.

Robert Whipple was an instrument maker by trade, but his passion was collecting artefacts which tell the history of galactic and molecular exploration.

RUTH: We've got in here telescopes, some microscopes.

Whipple himself was interested in design, craftsmanship.

From my early days at school, I remember reading about the Culpeper microscope.

VO: Lenses had existed since Roman times, but it wasn't till the late 16th century that Dutch spectacle maker Zacharias Janssen put multiple lenses into a tube to increase magnification.

VO: Edmund Culpeper's instrument, from 1725, added a concave mirror to backlight specimens.

VO: Microscopes became world-changing in the mid-19th century, after Charles Darwin's famous Voyage of the Beagle - using his own, state of the art bespoke instrument.

JOSH: We primarily know Darwin for two things - in the late 1830s, he published his Voyage of the Beagle, which made him incredibly famous, principally as a travel writer and as a geologist, and then 20 years later, he publishes On the Origin of Species, and what's really interesting to think about is this microscope shows us what he was doing in that 20 years in between.

VO: World class instrument makers Smith and Beck of London created this microscope for the vast 19th century sum of £36.

It was through this very lens that Darwin developed his theories of evolution from which The Origin of Species were based.

How did you get this?

Um, we got it because one of Darwin's sons, Francis Darwin, became a Professor of Botany at Cambridge university, and he brought it with him, he inherited it from his father, and then he donated it to the university when he retired.

VO: Thanks to the benevolent Darwins and Robert Whipple himself we now have this wonderful collection of instruments: some to examine where we came from and others to look at where we're heading.

TESSA: It's a huge telescope!

VO: Telescopes developed following astronomer, Galileo's acclaimed model used to observe the solar system... though not all of it.

VO: 18th century composer, William Herschel used mirrors in this telescope to discover objects at great distance, and with a similar model he spotted a strange, moving disc beyond Saturn's orbit.

JOSH: Only with a telescope only a little smaller than this that he was able to discover Uranus and that made him one of the most famous people in Britain and he was made astronomer to the king and he was commissioned to make these telescopes for George III.

JOSH: The fascinating thing about William Herschel is that he was a musician and he played the organ and he made his own musical instruments, and it was through that skill in making instruments that when he got into astronomy he applied to making telescopes and he soon became better than anyone else.

VO: How fascinating!

Tessa and David have looked down the lens of history and witnessed a wonderful collection within these walls... DB: You've fired our enthusiasm.

TESSA: Thank you.

Fascinating.

VO: The Cambridge antiques shops are closing.

Our teams must look within and to the stars for inspiration as another day of action lies ahead.

Nighty night, Celebrity Road Trippers!

VO: Next day the sun shines upon our Olympian Goliaths and their chosen Davids.

TESSA: This is good.

I feel really...

I feel competitive.

TESSA: Nervous?

ROBIN: A little bit, yeah, to get it done.

TESSA: Ahhh!

Get out!

DH: Well we're both quite competitive aren't we?

Um...

I've never considered myself to be competitive, really.

DH: You liar!

TESSA: That's why there's a lot of world record holders but not everybody is an Olympic champion.

ROBIN: Right.

Pressure under fire.

VO: So far Tessa Sanderson and David B shopped rather well, spending £155 on five items: the Dinky Starfighter, the... erm... barbed punk loo seat, the plated snuffer and wick trimmer, the Victorian taper stick and the art nouveau tulip vases.

There's £245 left in their kitty.

Right, can you put your head through it?

Hello, no!

I'll sit on it, I'll sit on it!

DB: Oh no.

no, no.

I want to see... My gold medalist with my head through the loo?!

VO: Robin Cousins and David Harper tried their very best, spending just £184 on four items: the Liberty pewter set, the hot water jug with "the look", the 60s Murano art glass and the ice skating Minton tile, which is most definitely going to auction, and their purse has £216 remaining.

Sounding like a bronze bell, and it's vibrating in my hand.

VO: The day begins, still in handsome Cambridge, with Robin and the other David still hungry for more.

Two for one?

Can I offer you... ..two tiles, so I can get my one back?

Umm, let me just think about it, umm... VO: No!

However, feel free to browse the many delights at Stantiques, under the watchful eye of this man here.

Amazingly, he's called Stan - the man.

That's a nice tray.

ROBIN: Very pretty.

DH: Drinks tray, butler's tray.

If someone sent me a picture of that tray, I would say - well, subject to viewing it - I would say it's an 18th century tray, but then when I get it I'd turn it over.

DH: The color doesn't seem quite right, the cut, and then of course we know it's had some sort of alterations.

DH: But Robin, what do you feel?

Are you getting anything from that?

ROBIN: It's a nice decorative tray, but it is at the end of the day just a roughed up, prettily carved piece of wood.

DH: Really?

ROBIN: Yeah.

DH: Is that how you'd describe it?

ROBIN: Yeah.

STAN: The price may sway you.

My best price: £10, giveaway.

If somebody wants to believe that is an 18th century tray, it might make 100, 150 quid.

And if they didn't... Why are you looking at me like that?

VO: Poor old Robin, he's not terribly excited by the tea tray.

But at a delightful £10, does it really matter?

No, but I get it.

That's it.

I don't love it but I get it.

DH: If it doesn't make profit I think I'm just going to have to jump in the Thames and never come out.

VO: Stan's offer is just too good to ignore, so Robin will have to wait if he wants to buy something more up his street.

Speaking of which, it's time to get on that road trip again.

TESSA: Look at you!

You think you are at Brands Hatch.

DB: Yeah!

TESSA: (LAUGHS) TESSA: Panicking now.

DB: Are you panicking?

TESSA: Yeah, we need to get there and have a look.

DB: I know.

TESSA: Time, time, time!

DB: I know, I know.

VO: Indeed.

The last day of shopping will not last forever, and our teams need those money-spinning objects whether they like them or not.

VO: Cambridge is finally departing as our Olympians and Davids head 18 miles south, crossing into Essex and on towards Saffron Walden.

DB: It looks expensive, it looks expensive, oh it looks expensive.

TESSA: Does it?

DB: Well, look at these buildings, they're all well-maintained.

VO: David's right to worry.

Saffron Walden is a well-heeled medieval town, its early wealth coming from the growth and trade in saffron, funnily enough, that rare yellow spice from the saffron crocus flower, used for dying medieval fabrics, now more commonly found in your evening curry.

ROBIN: Do you think it's sort of that one big ticket item?

We could, I mean there's a lump of money there to take a chance, if we find a chancey object.

DB: Shout if there is anything that's going to take your eye Tess.

VO: Tessa and David have found their way to the rather fine Arts Decoratifs, packed with some tiny treasures, possibly with eye-popping ticket prices.

Let's hope Anne here can be accommodating, especially as our teams have their eyes on the jewelry cabinet.

DB: This one here is gold with black enamel, and this has river pearls all the way around, not oyster pearls, river pearls, and then you've got these rather shiny pearls here.

DB: But this one's got something interesting on the back.

TESSA: OK. DB: This says Rebecca Inglis, 5th September 1818, aged 49, and that was worn either as a pendant or as a brooch.

TESSA: I haven't got a wow factor.

I do like that one.

Now madam... ANNE: Yes sir.

We're in a frightful hurry, we've got to make a decision fairly quickly.

What's the best you can do on that?

VO: Tessa and David will need a bit of slack from the ticket price of £92, I'm sure, and someone will need to find out who Rebecca Inglis was.

For now, can Tessa get the very best price?

This lady is going to do us a great deal on this, I can feel it.

One woman to another woman.

DB: You feel it in your bones.

We're going to have a great deal.

OK, hit me with it.

30.

Ooh!

DB: That's shocked you hasn't it?

And with a box.

DB: That's shocked you!

I don't know what to say!

DB: I like that because it's gold and it's dated.

How often do you find a piece of jewelry that's dated?

It's Georgian.

Hello.

Oh, I can see people in there.

VO: Oh, that's bad timing.

TESSA: Oh no!

DH: Oh no!

It's like a panto!

TESSA: What are you guys doing here?

DH: And you are?

TESSA: Don't we know you guys?

DH: You're not feeling grumpy David by any chance, are you?

DB: No!

David Barby has just given me a hand sign, and it wasn't waving.

VO: I'm sure he just means "give us two minutes here", or... My very best.

Your very, very, very best..

Yes.

And the box thrown in, 25.

Can't do less.

Done.

Thank you.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you.

He doesn't normally do that.

Oh, thank you.

VO: More cuddly than kissy is David.

DB: Bye bye.

VO: Now can Robin find that eye-catching, big ticket item he's been seeking?

ANNE: The secret is the prices are hidden, therefore you don't know what a bargain you're getting.

DH: Right, and how much have we got exactly, Robin?

206.

DH: £206, and we're willing to blow every last penny if you can find us something.

ANNE: OK. You want to make a huge profit.

DH: If you don't mind.

So you want my best ring?

Yes!

ANNE: This is 18 carat diamond cluster.

DH: Diamond cluster.

ROBIN: Yes it is.

It's very, very pretty.

ROBIN: That's a lot of diamond.

It feels heavy.

ROBIN: It's a tiny ring... DH: It's a tiny ring.

But the bling looks great because of the size of the ring.

VO: Bling bling - for real!

Probably no great age here, sadly, but we've got 18 carat gold, a cluster of seven diamonds, a London hallmark and Robin likes it!

DH: Now we have to literally put our money where our mouth is because... ROBIN: It's blingy.

DH: It's blingy.

It's in...

I'm thinking, pristine and beautiful condition.

How much is that to us Anne?

ANNE: £206 DH: £206?

Yes.

You're getting a bargain.

ROBIN: Would you do this, if it was you, if it wasn't for us?

DH: The answer is absolutely yes.

Well then there is my answer, so we have done our final buy.

Thank you Robin.

Thank you David.

Thank you so much.

ROBIN: It is beautiful.

ANNE: Thank you.

And we have spent everything.

That is the way to do it.

ROBIN: We have spent our pennies.

Gorgeous.

VO: Excellent work gentlemen, and great to see full use of your £400 budget too, especially on such an eye-catching treasure.

DH: What, if anything, do you really miss from the days of being on the road, and the competition and the performing?

ROBIN: I suppose it's the one thing about the ice, my big white canvas as I called it, was that freedom to fly, and I get great joy from seeing somebody perform well in something that I may have helped create.

VO: And Robin has now earned his stripes in the arena of antiques negotiations, so David's found a flamboyant indulgence for him.

VO: Saffron Walden is the past now as the road trip heads into the future, 52 two miles south, to the great city of London, landing in handsome, maritime Greenwich.

VO: As home to the British Navy, in the Thames Estuary and a historical center of sea trade, Greenwich has witnessed the ebbs and flows of imported fashions DH: Here we are - the Fan Museum.

ROBIN: The Fan Museum.

Electrical or otherwise?

Your fans, Robin!

ROBIN: Well, we'll be out of here pretty smart-ish then!

VO: Men!

Fans clearly began as devices for cooling the face, but throughout history have been used for anything but.

From Ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Greeks to Modern Europe, fans have been status symbols, objects of beauty, and, well, really quite sensuous.

VO: Deputy curator Jacob Moss is here to reveal all.

DH: Hi there.

JACOB: Hi.

I'm David Harper.

Hello David.

ROBIN: Robin.

JACOB: Hello Robin.

A big welcome to the Fan Museum.

VO: The unique Fan Museum opened in 1991.

It started from the personal collection of Mrs Helene Alexander, and grew to over 3,500 beautiful artefacts.

VO: The walls may not talk in here, but the fans have plenty to say for themselves.

JACOB: There's a lot of mythology involved in the study of fans, and the language of the fan is one of those areas I think is a mixture of factual and fictive.

We certainly know that women used their fans to communicate their emotions, their character.

JACOB: There is even an early 18th century fan called the conversation fan, a printed fan, which gives instructions of how you might compose words and sentences with, you know, flickers to the left, a look to the right... VO: Flicker to the right?

How terribly rude.

Fan etiquette developed from European royalty - an essential accessory in Louis XIV's court but strictly kept closed in the presence of the king.

18th century Britain saw the peak of fan manufacturing, with new designs gathering widespread popularity, so ladies from all walks of life could hide behind these enticing panels and flirt.

This fan... more of a novelty than anything, but interesting nonetheless.

JACOB: Within the guard sticks, you've got some secret compartments, you have everything you need to effect a quick and speedy repair should your corset bust a seam.

JACOB: Would have made it quite cumbersome, so this would have possibly been a fan for the servant, for the mistress's dress maid, shall we say.

It's a bit of a rollercoaster with history of the fan.

Popularity dips, it ebbs and it flows, but then we have this sudden surge, shall we say, a last hurrah towards the end of the 19th century where really they become extremely opulent, and some of the most exquisite work is created in the late Victorian period.

VO: Sadly, within 50 years, fans would almost completely fall out of fashion.

VO: The First World War signaled the end of this refined opulence, although they would remain an inspiration for artists and lovers.

JACOB: So this fan is one of a series of works by Sickert known as the Old Bedford series.

This is the Old Bedford theater or music hall.

She's a character, this young lady in white.

She was a little known music hall star, Little Dot Hetherington.

Her hand is out, she's pointing up to a floodlight in the gallery, and this is a take on a very well known music hall song, "The Boy I Love Is Up In The Gallery."

Value?

Oh, what a question.

You taught me.

I do apologize, I know.

JACOB: It's not what you...

I feel we can safely say that this is a considerably valuable object.

VO: These flamboyant designs have clearly struck a chord with that world class performer Robin Cousins.

It's been a fascinating encounter with refinement, beauty and, well, flirtation.

VO: And now it's time to pull back the covers on everyone's shopping endeavors - stand by.

TESSA: Slowly, slowly, slowly.

Wow!

Yes, we said we all wanted something with a wow factor, and that is a... wow.

Yeah.

Tessa, was this your choice?

Yes.

It's you, it's you.

It is rock and roll.

ROBIN: Toys aren't necessarily my thing, but I know they are very popular and very much the thing.

DB: It was gold, and Tessa won gold.

TESSA: We won our gold medals.

Yeah, it fires things.

DB: It's never been out of its box.

What's that worth then?

I don't know.

How much did we pay for that?

£30?

TESSA: Yeah.

DB: £30, yeah.

This is a real eclectic mix of things.

DB: It is.

Bonkers, proper antique, really sort of now vintage and becoming you know... the new thing.

DB: Yeah.

VO: Yeah, it might well be the new thing, though just possibly a toy that's never been played with is a rather sad toy, isn't it?

DB: Oh, how wonderful!

Oh, look at you!

DB: How wonderful!

DH: We had a real tussle.

TESSA: That is great, kid.

DH: ..placed it.

DB: And those are Tudric?

Yes, they are.

DH: They are.

Liberty.

Lovely handle, lovely shape.

How much did you pay for them?

We paid... 37.

OK. That's good.

For the Liberty pieces.

Do you recognize... Christopher Dresser lookalike?

Yes, thank you.

In the style of.

We came to those coming right off of these two which are also Dresser.

DB: After Christopher Dresser.

Yes.

ROBIN: Tactile.

It's really lovely, the shape and the feel.

DH: Yes, I mean, it's ancient in style.

ROBIN: It's been great, and I'm very excited to see what you have, and I think we will look forward to seeing each other at the auction.

DB & DH: Mmm.

Me too.

I think that'll leave me in my... Oh!

VO: Aw, how lovely.

Now, what do you really think?

DH: What do you think of the toilet seat?

Hideous, but hideously kitsch.

DH: Very kitsch.

ROBIN: There are markets for things like that I guess.

I love the tile.

I love the tile, particularly with the skates.

DB: I think that's very good.

TESSA: Yeah, only because... Yeah.

But £100, are they going to make that at auction in a general sale?

Mmm.

I'm not certain.

Would you swap any of theirs for any of ours?

Oh!

Hm... DH: Can I predict?

ROBIN: Yes.

DH: The tray.

DH: Yes.

ROBIN: For the candlesticks.

ROBIN: Absolutely.

In one.

Not a difficult decision to make.

Do you know what?

It's been emotional working with you.

I have loved it so much.

And so have I. VO: It's been quite a journey for everyone.

We're still in London's handsome Greenwich but this road trip is nearly complete.

TESSA: I'm quite looking forward... ROBIN: How do you feel?

Are you excited?

TESSA: Actually, you know what?

I'm not sure how it will go now.

I hope that we bought the right things.

VO: Auction day has arrived, with nerves and expectations.

But, sadly, David Barby has been taken ill and can't rejoin this road trip.

DH: Slightly sad today because I am on my own.

I'm not with my lovely old friend David Barby.

He is poorly and he just can't make it, so today is kind of strange.

VO: So the pressure's on David Harper to carry on our Olympians' hopes and dreams.

But if any man can do it, then that man is David H!

TESSA: How are you darling?

DH: Mwah, gorgeous to see you.

Robin... How are you, squire?

Nice to see you.

Are you well?

Very well, thank you.

Good, brilliant.

Brilliant.

I'm afraid, I'm so sorry, I am on my own today.

So you two have got, I'm afraid to say, disaster, you are going to have to share me.

So, Tessa, I'm on your team and Robin's team... DH: OK. ROBIN: That's alright.

So, we're gonna do it for David.

VO: Greenwich Auctions first opened their doors in 1999, specializing in fine art and collectibles as well as general sales, all under the keen-eyed stewardship of auctioneer Robert Dodd.

At £10.

VO: But what does he think of our celebrity hopefuls?

ROBERT: I think this originally was part of another piece of furniture, so it could have been based on a campaign table and that's probably what I'm going to use, and the fact that as soon as you use the word "campaign" then the military collectors prick their ears up.

ROBERT: I like this lot, it's very collectable.

It was actually launched at an annual dinner dance for Dinky, and these were given to people who were there.

ROBERT: Yeah, I think one or two of the collectors of Dinky, and certainly you've got people who collect Dinkys but you also have people who collect space related items.

ROBERT: It's a shame we haven't got the provenance that it was a Dresser piece, because this would be hundreds and hundreds of pounds.

ROBERT: Maybe you're looking at sort of 30, £40 for it.

ROBERT: Absolutely stunning lot this, this is the sort of thing that I can see in somebody's collection, like putting a framed record next to it of the Sex Pistols or something like that.

Whether it will ever be used again as it was first designed who knows, but who cares.

ROBERT: Really what we want is with every lot, is two people who want something for completely different reasons.

And one will pay more than the other.

That's an auction.

VO: Never a truer word said, Robert!

Our celebrity road teams began with £400 apiece.

Yes.

VO: Tessa Sanderson and David Barby spent wisely and well, £180 on six auction lots, whilst Robin Cousins and David Harper showed great fortitude, spending the entire budget, exactly £400.

Bravo!

Also, on six auction lots.

OK, where is it?

Bring it on!

VO: Settle down now, road trippers - the auction is about to begin.

VO: And we kick off this hotly anticipated sale with Robin's Liberty cream jug with sugar bowl.

Come on Greenwich, do your best!

This bid's with me straight in at £38, looking for 40 on this.

Hello, anyone out there?

42, five, eight, 50 I'm out.

Looking for five, £60, no?

55, looking for 60.

Yes!

ROBERT: 60 standing, 65, last time at £65.

VO: Well, don't we all like a nice little profit to start us off?

VO: Let's launch straight into Tessa's Trident Starfighter.

Can it make good on its £20 purchase?

And it's got to start with a bid with me at a paltry £25, looking for 28, £30, two, five, eight, 40, two, five, eight, 50, two I'll take.

£52 there.

55, £60, £70.

Come on.

ROBERT: 80 and 90.

TESSA: Come on.

£90 I've got, 100, and 10, 110, 120, 130, 140 I need.

130 there.

Are we all done?

Last time at £130 on the Starfighter.

VO: My goodness, that's a cracking start for Tessa.

And all from a plastic toy.

Who'd have thought it?!

Well done you, well done.

Thank you.

Well done.

VO: Robin will need lady luck on his side today, as his Dresser-esque hot water jug awaits the bidders.

At least it's got "the look".

The bid's with me straight away at £30 on this.

Looking for 32, 32, 35 with me, looking for 38, 40 with me.

Looking for 42, 42, five with me, looking for 48.

Are we all done?

Last time at £45.

VO: Well, a £20 profit, but... well, it's not a Sanderson-three- figure-special, is it?

20 quid.

It's steady, it's calm.

We are doing profit, but we're not making as much as plastic toys from the 80s.

VO: Sorry Robin, that's the market sometimes.

Tessa's next shot at glory comes with the 1980s punk toilet seat, another piece of plastic.

This is a bit special this.

If I was speaking to my ex-wife, this is a present I would definitely give her.

ROBERT: What a great piece of art this is.

DH: Lovely.

Lovely.

Fantastic.

It's tasteful.

It's absolutely stunning.

VO: Steady on, Robert!

Tessa's already got a healthy lead, you know.

ROBERT: £30 on this.

DH: Wa-hey!

TESSA: Come on, come on.

32, 35 with me.

Looking for 38, 40 with me.

DH: Come on.

TESSA: Come on!

42, 45 with me, looking for 48, 50 with me, 55, 60 I'm out.

Looking for 65.

Come on!

Last time at £60.

Yeah!

VO: Tessa's storming ahead with modern collectibles.

DH: Yes, well done.

ROBERT: Give them a round of applause please.

VO: Robin's got another gorgeous lot to go - it's glass with class.

Good luck, old fruit!

And it's got to start with a bid with me of £20.

Looking for 22 on this, five with me, looking for 28.

Yes, we're in profit!

£25, looking for 28 on this.

Are we all done?

Come on, go on!

Last time at £28.

Doh!

VO: Another profit for sure, but not much antiques justice so far in Greenwich.

Wasn't plastic.

Wasn't plastic, but it's profit.

We are not losing money yet.

I think they're rubbish that team, personally, don't you?!

VO: Don't worry Robin - up next Tessa's trying to sell an antique... on the Antiques Road Trip of all places!

The lovely Regency snuffer and tray asks for a fair deal.

And a bid is with me at only £12.

Ooh!

Looking for 15 on this, 18, 22, five, I'm out.

ROBERT: Looking for 28, 28, looking for £30 there, looking for 32, two, looking for 35.

Come on!

Into profit.

Five, looking for 38, eight looking for 40.

£40, looking for 42.

Are we all done at £40?

ROBERT: Are we all done?

Last time... at £40.

TESSA: Get up, get up... VO: Well, it washed its face but not a patch on the plastic loo seat.

So can Greenwich do right by Robin's Georgian-style carved serving tray?

The one he didn't like much.

The bid is with me at only £12 on this tray.

15, 18, £20.

Come on, yes.

22, 25, looking for 28.

28, £30 on this.

32, five I want.

Come on!

Go on!

ROBERT: 35, looking at 38.

DH: Yes, go on!

ROBERT: At £38.

VO: Good result for Robin - and if you're going to trail behind Tessa Sanderson, it's nice to trail by a little less.

TESSA: I'm watching you.

VO: We're all watching, Tessa, and we continue with another proper antique - Team Sanderson's Victorian silver taper stick.

Start with a bid with me of only £50 on this.

Straight into profit!

ROBERT: Looking for 55.

ROBERT: Hello!

Has anybody looked at this?

TESSA: Yeah, come on.

ROBERT: 50, I'm looking for 55.

ROBERT: 55, 60 it is, 65, 70 with me.

DH: Woah!

ROBERT: Looking to 75.

ROBERT: 80 with me, looking for 85 anywhere.

Are we all done?

At £80 only.

Yes.

VO: Excellent.

Our retro star is still going for gold.

DH: Well done, well done.

VO: A sad moment for Robin: he must part with his dear Minton skating tile.

Let's hope it makes him a huge profit!

And I can see why somebody bought this, can't you?

Exactly.

Give him a round of applause on his own a minute.

He's a former world champion!

ROBERT: It's gotta start with a bid with me of £35 on this.

No!

Come on.

ROBERT: Looking for 30.

Are you coming in?

38, 40, two, five, eight, 50, five, 60, five, I'm out.

Who'll give me 70?

DH: Phone.

ROBERT: £70 on the phone, 75.

80 I need.

DH: Come on.

ROBERT: £80, 85.

90 I want.

DH: On the phone.

Come on.

95 there, looking for 100.

DH: Go on.

ROBERT: £100, looking for 110.

110, looking for 120.

£120, 130 I need.

DH: Go on!

Last time at £120.

VO: Not a total damp squib at all, but mildly moist, perhaps.

And the day so far is still Tessa's.

Now her 15th century, art nouveau-esque taper stick.

Straight in at £35 only.

Looking for 38 on these.

38, £40, 42 I'm out.

Looking for 45.

DH: Come on.

TESSA: Come on, give me a bit more.

DH: There's one, there's one.

52.

55.

58.

£60.

62.

65.

68.

£70 in the middle of the room, looking for 72.

ROBERT: 75 I'll take.

78 I need.

78 I've got.

TESSA: Come on!

ROBERT: £80, 82 I want.

ROBERT: 85 I want, 85 there, 88 there, looking for 90.

ROBERT: Last time at 88, you sure?

Right in the middle of the room at £88.

VO: Team Tessa is unstoppable still.

The Master has taught her well.

At least Robin's still got his devoted expert!

DH: We're doing well this time, aren't we?

DH: I must say.

TESSA: Oh!

VO: The diamond cluster ring is Robin's star buy, and last chance today.

And a bid's with me, straight in on this at £150.

ROBERT: Looking for 160.

170, looking for 180.

190.

200 anywhere on the ring?

210, 220 I'm out.

£220 there, give it 230?

DH: Come on.

Come on.

ROBERT: I've got 220, last time.

DH: Go on!

At £220.

VO: Well done, Robin - although after auction costs I'm afraid there'll be little left from that £14 profit.

The day already belongs to Tessa, but let's see by how much with her mystery brooch.

We have been able to do a little bit of research on this to find out who Rebecca was.

We almost, almost could prove, almost... Yeah?

..that Rebecca Inglis was the mistress of Horatio Nelson.

DH: Who died in 188...

I told you, I told you!

It was close.

It was H Nelson.

Really?

Yes, but it's Harry Nelson, guy from Elton.

VO: Sadly, Robert is joking.

If not, what an item to sell in maritime Greenwich!

And Tessa expects every man to do his duty.

It's a lovely, lovely piece this, and it's got to start with a bid with me of £70.

TESSA: Woo!

I like that.

DH: Win here.

Looking for 75.

I've got 75.

75, 80 with me.

I've got 85.

TESSA: Come on.

£90, thank you, looking for 95.

95 on the telephone, looking for 100.

ROBERT: Are we all done, you lot?

ROBERT: Are you sure?

At £95 on the brooch.

VO: Well, another Olympic profit for Tessa, and a triumphant finish.

Let's hope she can contain herself.

ROBERT: Give her a round of applause, please!

Big round of applause.

Thank you!

Thank you.

Well done.

Well done you.

Thank you.

Fantastic.

Well done.

Well done.

VO: Both teams began with £400.

Robin Cousins and his shopping partner did very well, making a profit, after auction costs, of £23.12.

Therefore, they walk away with a silver medal and a proud £423.12.

Yeah.

VO: However, this lady shot for gold and made an earth-shattering profit of £224.26.

Tessa and cuddly David can take the top podium with a golden £624.26.

VO: All the profits will go to Children In Need, so well done everybody.

Well done you guys.

I'm really proud of you.

Well done, it's been fantastic.

It's been gorgeous with you.

Thank you Robin.

Take care.

May I escort you to the car?

Yes, cuz look at this weather.

ROBIN: Bye.

Bye bye.

TESSA: Bye bye.

VO: Sadly, after falling ill during this program, David Barby later passed away.

He will be very greatly missed.

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