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

One big challenge - who will make the most profit buying and selling antiques as they drive around the jolly old UK?

DEALER: £6.

PHIL: £5.

Done!

Is that your very best you can do?

VO: At the end of their trip, they should've made VO: some big money.

ANITA: Yes!

VO: But it's not as easy as it sounds.

(GAVEL) And only one will be crowned champion at the final auction in London.

This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Kicking off the competition are antiques experts David Barby and Anita Manning - and lucky them!

They're driving the back roads in a 50-year-old Austin-Healey.

David's a freelance auctioneer and valuer and has specialist knowledge of porcelain.

DAVID (DB): You can tell by the weight, the glaze and the finish on the bottom... ..that this is a copy.

VO: Competing against him is Anita Manning.

Anita was Scotland's first-ever female auctioneer and has run one of the country's most successful auction houses for over 20 years.

ANITA (AM): I like these a lot but there's damage, and keep away from anything with damage.

VO: Each expert has got a budget of £200 to buy some killer antiques to sell at auction at the end of the program.

Whatever money they have after today's leg will be their budget for tomorrow's, and so on to the end of the week.

By then they should have a lot more than £200, but buying and selling antiques is a fickle old business.

I can carve your cows or sell your furniture - whichever suits you!

VO: This week, Anita and David's road trip will take them from the north-east of Scotland to Leyburn in North Yorkshire.

The first leg of the competition starts in Aberdeen and our experts are making their way to auction in St Andrews.

The Granite City - Aberdeen started off as a fishing settlement but thrives on other riches of the seas today.

The North Sea oil and gas industries fueled its regeneration in the 1970s, making Aberdeen Scotland's third-largest city.

DB: Ah, isn't this fabulous?

So where are these antique shops?

Well, let's have a look here.

AM: We have our A To Z. DB: Anita... AM: Good luck, darling.

DB: Best of luck.

AM: You've got your money.

DB: Should I have said that?

AM: (LAUGHS) DB: Bye.

AM: See you later.

VO: Our two experts have agreed a game plan to shop separately, and Anita's got another more ticklish tactic up her velvet sleeve.

AM: David loves porcelain.

I would like to buy a piece, just to annoy David Barby.

I really want to see what's available on the market.

That's going to be my plan of action.

Meet one or two dealers, see if they can advise me what to buy, and we'll go from there.

VO: Anita can't resist a bit of sparkle and makes straight for the jewelry.

AM: They say that diamonds are a girl's best friend but I favor this lovely Scottish jewelry.

We have this selection of polished stones here and we have the carnelians.

We have this nice banded agate here, where we have the black and this lovely beige coloring and nice stripe there.

I would say that this bracelet is probably late Victorian, early Edwardian, AM: around about the 1900s.

DEALER: Yes, circa 1900.

Yeah.

1900s.

I think it's very appealing.

The price on it is £95.

I can do a bit on it for you.

AM: Can you?

That'd be great.

DEALER: Yeah.

DEALER: Just a little bit.

AM: Just a little bit.

Aha.

What could you take off?

I can do it for 85 for you.

85.

VO: Interesting tactic.

Anita's prepared to blow nearly half her budget in the first hour of shopping.

AM: I think we'll have that.

DEALER: Fantastic.

VO: Oh, Anita, remember this is a competition and you're meant to make a profit at the auction.

David's been busy too.

That brown paper parcel suggests he's bought something.

We'll find out what it is later.

Well, Mrs Beeton's Book Of Household Management - new edition.

This is quite good.

This dates from the beginning of the 20th century, 1906, but it's a wonderful publication, and this was the Bible of chefs.

And the recipes are still used today.

But it's the illustrations all the way through, of how things were presented on the Edwardian tables of the day, late Victorian and Edwardian tables, like Dover sole and crab.

VO: Isabella Beeton's famous book was first published in 1861 when she was just 24.

It contained over 900 recipes but, amazingly, Mrs Beeton herself couldn't cook!

Her masterstroke was to compile a collection of recipes in one fat volume.

I like that immensely.

I'm just going to check on the price.

DB: Hello.

DEALER: Hello.

Hi.

Hi.

This wonderful book, Mrs Beeton.

It's a rather late edition, 1906.

DEALER: Yes.

DB: What sort of price is this?

Just check.

DEALER: I'm asking £40 for it.

DB: (INHALES SHARPLY) But I could do a little bit on that.

It's such a late edition.

What's the very best?

I could do it for 32.

DEALER: (LAUGHS) Is that your very best?

I think it's got to be tucked more towards the... ..25.

DEALER: Really?

DB: Yeah.

If you give me £26, I'd make £1 profit.

At £26 I'll have it.

DEALER: Very good.

Deal done.

DB: Thank you very much.

Gosh, what have I done?

VO: Bled this poor man dry?

DB: That was an impulsive buy.

I was going to look at silver and jewelry and porcelain and ended up with a book on cookery, cuz I like cooking.

VO: And hard bargaining!

That's what this competition is all about.

So, the shopping is well under way and they haven't even left Aberdeen yet.

Time to hit the road.

(THUD) DB: BLEEP!

VO: Not literally, David.

And you'd better get a move on.

The weather's closing in.

Where's the little catch down now?

AM: (LAUGHS) David!

DB: What?

AM: Help me!

It's like The Generation Game.

Son and mother.

Done something wrong.

(THEY CHUCKLE) AM: Oh, there we are!

DB: Yeah, yeah.

Ooh, it's great having a man about the house.

VO: With the roof finally up, David and Anita are heading west of Aberdeen.

David's steering them towards the village of Dinnet, where he's heard there's a dealer worth visiting.

AM: Next stop, David?

DB: Well, this is my little outing, Anita.

VO: David's getting out here with difficulty - ha!

- while Anita heads to the next village.

There we are.

It's all yours, darling.

VO: They're really off the beaten track here.

Dealer Dave Hendry is a compulsive collector and it's a treasure trove inside.

DB: What a fantastic collection!

DEALER: Do you think?

DB: It's so eclectic, isn't it?

You've got something of everything here.

I love your Happy Hours clock.

Probably around about, what - 1900?

I would have thought about that, actually.

The internal movements, they've been restored and everything.

DEALER: So it works.

DB: And what's the price?

DEALER: What does it say on it?

DB: Oh!

£1.50!

DEALER: God, that's cheap!

DB: Isn't it?

I'll have it.

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: Nice try, David, but no-one's falling for that.

DB: How much?

DEALER: It says 150, but... DB: Oh, sugars!

DEALER: That's far too much money.

No, I would have said that a special today's price... DB: Yes?

DEALER: 40.

DB: (SIGHS) DEALER: I think he likes you.

DB: He does.

He's smiling.

I am charmed by it, I must confess.

Let's have a look what else you've got.

VO: It's clear that Dave has some unique stock, but then Dave's quite a unique guy.

He brought a lot of his stuff over from France, where he used to live in a hut in the woods.

Ha!

DEALER: It's a total shambles up here.

DB: Goodness me.

DB: So who comes up here?

DEALER: Well, nobody really.

DEALER: It's just a storeroom.

DB: Just a storeroom?

DEALER: I'm not very organized.

I buy something, I take it up, I find a space, I dump it down.

Then that goes in front of something, which goes in front of something.

And then I forget all about it.

DB: And discover it years later.

DEALER: Years and years later.

I say, "Oh my God!"

DB: (CHUCKLES) DEALER: That's the frame department.

DB: Isn't that interesting?

DEALER: Now that, I bought in auction in Elgin.

In actual fact, that's what's on the reverse.

I'll show you what's on the other side.

When the auctioneer held it up, he held it up like that.

DB: Right.

Then he moved round like that and that was behind it.

What a wonderful story.

Well, I think it's Glasgow school.

VO: But it's not just paintings.

Dave's attic is home to pretty much everything from porcelain to pendulums.

Oh, look at that pendulum!

DEALER: Isn't it fabulous?

DB: Isn't that absolutely unbelievably fabulous?

Mother-of-pearl.

Boxwood.

Can't believe this.

What was the motivation - to sell, to make a profit?

No, no.

I'm just an impulsive buyer.

You're rather like me actually.

I just... You know, and I like pictures, I like paintings.

DB: Yes.

DEALER: And something comes up, I've just got to have it.

David, what's that up there?

DEALER: That's my girlfriend!

Would you like to have... DB: Could I please?

DEALER: ..a more intimate...?

Yes.

I'd like to have a feel of the metal.

DEALER: There you are.

Now, why I wanted to have a feel of the metal was because of the nature of spelter.

It was one of these cheap man's bronze type figures.

You could feel all the bumps and the blemishes, but this is very smooth.

DEALER: It is.

DB: Very, very smooth.

It's got an extra polish on the backside, hasn't it?

DEALER: It's very strange.

Have you just done that?

What I like about this is that it's the epitome of art deco.

Er, this almost nubile figure.

Very much in the manner of the later Nazi movement, which was joy through health.

And we have this very iconic female figure that you would find in Hollywood and, in fact, right across the art world, where the female figure was glorified in all its nudity.

This one might have held up a huge circular glass panel with a light behind it.

But that fitment has gone.

Where did it come from?

I just don't remember.

I think I brought that back from France.

You brought it back from France?

I bought that in Brittany, yeah.

I think it's probably German-French origin.

Quite possibly, yeah.

DB: Yeah, yeah.

DEALER: Erm... How much is this?

Er... DEALER: (SIGHS) I could let you have it for about £80.

I would normally ask for a lot more.

But it hasn't got its fitment at the top.

DEALER: I know it hasn't.

DB: That does make a world DB: of difference.

DEALER: I know it makes a bit of a difference, yeah.

It's a world of difference.

Is that your very best you can do?

DEALER: Well... DB: She's crying for a new home.

DB: Heavens.

DEALER: Has she fallen DEALER: in love with you?

DB: Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, 65.

DB: 50.

DEALER: Hm.

DB: 50.

DEALER: 55.99.

DB: We'll go for 52.50.

DB: Done.

(THEY LAUGH) What have I done?

Oh!

An incomplete object.

VO: You were right to bargain hard, David.

It's risky buying an incomplete or damaged object.

DB: Hi!

Hi.

Oh!

AM: David, you haven't bought more stuff?

I have!

AM: You're a shopaholic.

DB: Absolutely.

DB: (LAUGHS) DB: Come on, let's go.

AM: Let's go, then.

I'll let you go up to 20 mph.

Come on!

Come on!

VO: But David's not the only one who's been buying things.

Anita has also made another purchase but they won't be showing each other what they've bought until they've finished all their shopping.

It's a beautiful, sunny morning in Angus as our two experts set off from Edzell and head south-west to Perth.

They'll finish up in St Andrews for the auction at the end of the show.

Anita still has £95 left from her £200 starting budget, while David's got £107.50.

Anita's great passion is Scottish glassware.

She especially loves Monart glass, which was made here in Perth, and the museum has a fantastic collection.

AM: This is what I wanted to see.

What a display.

The color!

I love Monart.

VO: Ironically, this iconic Scottish glassware was made by a flamboyant Spaniard, Salvador Ysart, and his family.

They worked in Scotland between 1924 and 1961.

The finest pieces are highly collectable, fetching up to £4,000.

So, the only way Anita's going to get her mitts on them is with protective gloves, under the watchful eye of curator Sandra Martin.

Do you have a favorite?

Erm, I think I'm particularly fond of the piece that's directly in front of me, just because there's quite a nice story that goes with that.

There are some silver flecks on the top of the piece here and these are actually from a local Woolworths store.

It was only available around Christmas time so I think that's a lovely story.

AM: I think that's lovely.

Well, my favorite is this one here.

In this one I see the fire and the color of Spain into the wonderful green of Scotland.

So that is telling me the story of Monart.

Yes, absolutely.

VO: While Anita is indulging her passions, David's heading for an antiques center in the village of Rait.

With eight shops, he's confident he's going to bag himself a bargain.

Remember, David, you've got £107.50 to spend.

DB: What a great place!

What sort of price is this?

DEALER: That is £785.

DB: £780, yes.

Which is great value for money.

DEALER: 1,200.

DB: 1,200?

That's very good.

VO: Come on, focus on your buyer.

What would they really want?

This is a must-have, except probably it's a little bit too big!

(CHUCKLES) VO: Anita's been inspired by the Monart collection and has gone in search of a piece she can afford.

AM: This looks promising!

Could I see this little one, please?

It just is so typically Monart, with the gold flecks.

And if we turn it over, we see this typical base of Monart, where we have the polished rim and the polished pontil there.

I think it's quite a sweet little pin dish.

HELEN: It's a beautiful color.

AM: Yes.

AM: How much, Helen?

HELEN: £30 for that piece.

That's not bad!

I mean, £30 for a piece of quality Scottish glass.

A piece of Monart.

I think I'll have that.

Good, sold to the lady.

I've still got a wee bit of money left.

Right.

Could I have a look at the pink one, please?

Ah, lovely.

Now, let's have a look here.

It's Strathearn glass, which is, I suppose, the grandchild of Monart.

This piece is pre-Second World War and this is post-'60s.

But, again, I love it with these whirls and swirls and little flashes of red and orange.

Dare I ask how much?

Well, that piece is £50.

£50.

I can still do it!

I'm going to have that as well.

I'll have both of them.

VO: Well, you can afford them, Anita, but I'm not sure there's a profit in them - and THAT'S the name of this game.

Now, how's David getting on?

That light-blue glass, purple to blue, DB: that's Monart glass.

DEALER: Monart, Perth.

Yes.

Could I have a look at that, please?

DEALER: Pleasure.

DB: Thank you.

VO: Monart glass, eh, David?

Oh, it's beautiful.

I love the subtle change from blue into purple.

It's very nice.

DEALER: The pinks and oranges tend to be more popular.

DB: That's right.

DEALER: The vibrant colors.

This isn't so common, not so popular, but, er... DB: Hence your price of £40.

DEALER: That's right.

What I like is this inclusion here, these, sort of, almost featherlike swirls.

DEALER: That's right.

If you get the light behind it, it comes through beautifully.

DB: That is exquisite.

So what's the date of this?

About 1948?

DEALER: Yes.

Late '40s, 1950.

What would be your best price on it?

I-I'm not going to pay £40 for it.

35.

I'm going to say 30.

Crisp new notes that you've made today?

Absolutely.

Go on, then.

We'll have a deal.

Thank you very much indeed.

Let me settle up.

Cor, that's how to negotiate a bargain, David.

Huh!

It's the end of the day.

Anita's spent out, and David doesn't want to spend any more.

So they're meeting up to show each other their purchases.

Hello.

It's Christmas time again!

(THEY CHUCKLE) Now, what have you got?

First item is a bracelet.

We have the carnelian in the center.

We have these polished...

BOTH: Moss agate.

DB: Yes.

AM: Yes.

And we have some striped agate here.

And these stones were found in the Highlands, round about here, sent down to Edinburgh, polished and then mounted in silver.

And this type of thing is popular just now.

Yeah.

And how much did you pay for that?

£85.

DB: Oh, that's very reasonable.

AM: Yeah.

VO: Are you sure?

AM: Let's see your first item.

Right, first item that I happened to find - a little engraving... ..of... St Andrews.

Ah, David's brown paper package, eh?

It contains an item cleverly bought with the auction location in mind - St Andrews.

AM: How much?

DB: £40.

David, I don't think that's bad at all.

Well done!

VO: Anita also bought a Copenhagen vase.

AM: Scandinavian, 20th-century design.

High glaze, well hallmarked, with this rather pretty iris pattern.

DB: How much was this?

AM: £20.

DB: Oh!

I can't match it!

VO: What will Anita think of David's antique cookery book?

It is a social history of culinary art.

Because there we have Mrs Beeton's Book Of Household Management and this is the new edition, 1906.

No home should be without one, David!

DB: This is true.

AM: Tell me how much you paid for it.

DB: I paid £26 for this.

AM: Aha.

Let's see your next piece.

Right, there we have a piece of art deco.

I find this quite exciting.

The point is, it was an electric light fitment at one stage.

Complete, I think it would be £150-£200.

He sold me this for £52.50.

I love the art-deco period.

It's where style met glamor.

And, David... DB: What?

AM: Sex always sells.

Oh, do you think she looks sexy?

DB: Your third item?

AM: This morning, David, I visited the Perth Museum with their exhibition of...

BOTH: Monart glass.

And I was so inspired that I've found this little pin dish.

Oh, that is so sweet.

Typical of Monart with the gold aventurine, the beautiful polished base.

It's such a sweet little thing and it's in the typical Monart green.

£30.

What a buy, David!

DB: Absolute bargain.

AM: But I looked down and lo and behold...

..I found another piece of Scottish glass.

AM: I paid £50 for it.

DB: Right.

AM: I couldn't resist it.

DB: You buy what you love.

So, you want to see my fourth object?

AM: Yes.

DB: Well, I had to buy this.

I fell in love with it.

Just as much as you like Monart glass, so do I. Oh, David, that's absolutely beautiful!

And it's bigger than mine!

DB: (LAUGHS) How much did you pay for this?

Tell me how much I should've paid for it.

I think that piece is worth £180.

AM: How much did you pay?

DB: 30.

AM: £30?

DB: Yes.

Did they know it was Monart?

VO: Jealous, Anita?

Our steely antique hunters have put their shopping behind them.

It's auction day in St Andrews, the home of golf.

St Andrews has been a magnet for hunter-gatherers for 8,000 years, and today they still come in every shape and form.

AM: Well, David, here we are.

I've got my fingers crossed and everything else.

AM: Let's go.

DB: (LAUGHS) VO: MacGregor's holds a general auction every two weeks, selling anything from porcelain to vacuum cleaners.

As for Anita and David's items, auctioneer Ian Urie has some bad news.

IAN: The biggest disappointment is going to be what you probably thought was the best, which is the blue and purple... IAN: Monart glass vase.

DB: Yes, yes, yes.

Which I'm afraid is damaged.

Damaged?

In what context?

At one time it's been bruised and cracked.

So it's going to affect the price a great deal.

DB: Cracked?

IAN: Yes.

DB: Is there a crack in it?

IAN: There's a crack.

VO: Unspotted by David, when he bought the vase, the hairline crack could be a disaster at the auction, so David wants proof.

DB: Is that it?

IAN: That's a crack, yes.

DB: Hardly noticeable.

IAN: Very tiny, aha, but... DB: Very, very tiny.

If this was perfect, what sort of price would it be?

About 180?

No, you might have got a little bit more for that.

Probably over 300 if it had a proper label.

Over 300?

So what do you think it's going to go for?

£30 may be pushing it a little bit.

VO: Crikey, Moses.

The tiny crack could shatter its value.

It's enough to bring a grown man or doll, like Barby, to tears.

The auction's about to begin, there's no going back.

Anita's expensive bracelet is up first.

IAN: The bidding is with me at £8.

Nine, 10.

11, 12.

13, 14.

VO: Och, that's a low start.

Looks like Anita could be in trouble here.

34, 36, 38.

42.

Any advance on £42?

AM: Oh, that's disappointing.

DB: How much have you lost?

AM: I've lost £43.

DB: £43.

VO: Well, it's early days, Anita.

Next it's David's Mrs Beeton's book.

IAN: And the bid is with me at £18.

18, 19, 20.

22, 24, 28, 30.

36, 38.

Any advance on £38?

DB: That's a £10 profit.

AM: Well done, well done.

VO: Actually, David, it's £12 profit.

Just as well one of us is counting.

Ha!

Next, it's Anita's Copenhagen vase.

IAN: The bid is with me at £6.

Any advance on £6?

Seven, eight, nine, 10.

Any advance on £10?

Bad luck.

What she needs now is a winner.

But it's her Strathearn glass bowl next and she's not hopeful of a profit.

And this is the one that I thought I'd go down on.

And the bid is with me at £12.

12!

13.

14.

Any advance on £14?

AM: God!

Anita!

How much did you pay for that?

50!

(THEY LAUGH) I think I'm better on the other side of the rostrum.

VO: Well, maybe.

She's now pinning everything on her little green pin dish.

But before that, it's David's incomplete art-deco figurine.

And the bid is with me at £48.

You've started well.

54.

56.

AM: You're doing well!

IAN: 70.

VO: That's a bit more like it.

98.

100.

DB: Yes!

IAN: 105.

110.

115.

Any advance on £115?

I'm not greedy but oh!

DB: That's good.

AM: You really are the master.

Well, I don't know about that.

VO: Next, it's David's cracked Monart vase.

This could be his downfall.

Any advance on £24?

26.

30.

32.

34.

36.

60.

62.

Any advance on £62?

Oh, David!

That was good!

Lady Luck is smiling on you today!

VO: She certainly is.

But it only takes one good or bad buy for everything to change, so will Anita's Monart pin dish rescue her fortunes?

Mere pound.

Pound I'm bid.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Any advance on £13?

AM: That's very cheap.

AM: That's very cheap, David.

DB: £13.

Their first auction has been a disaster for Anita.

Four losses in a row.

David's picture of St Andrews, bought with this sale in mind, is their last lot.

And the bid is with me at £24.

26.

Any advance on 26?

28... Could this be David's first loss?

28.

30.

32, 34, 36, 38.

Any advance on £38?

One more go!

DB: I've lost £2!

Oh, my heart bleeds for you(!)

Well, the only thing that I can say is I'll be paying less commission than you!

That's something.

So David goes straight into the lead.

David started with a budget of £200.

After he's paid the auctioneer's commission, he's made a profit of £60.83.

So David has a new total of £260.83 for the next leg.

Anita, meanwhile, has made the most frightful bog of it.

From her £200, she's now down to a paltry £80.37 to spend on the next leg.

I'm a bit disappointed, David, but I'm very pleased for you.

That's very nice.

I would like us both to have made some profit, quite honestly.

Next time, David, next time!

VO: In tomorrow's show, the pressure's on Anita to turn her fortunes around.

I'm thinking bargain basement price, perhaps.

VO: And David's lead is under threat.

Last call at 70.

(GAVEL) DB: Oh!

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