Bargain Hunt chaos as couple take ‘stolen’ item to auction – and it seriously backfires
BARGAIN Hunt fell into chaos during one of this week’s episodes as one team ‘stole’ an item from their competition but they were left wishing they hadn’t even bothered after a dramatic twist.
On the BBC show, the Blue Team and Red Team were facing off in order to see who could make the most profit on their specially-chosen three items.
At an antiques fair in West Sussex, presenter Christina Trevanion kept a close eye on the goings-on of the day.
Competing for the Reds were mother and daughter duo Jacqui and Mollie, accompanied by antique expert Nick Hall.
Nick was able to offer up advice to the ladies and suggest which finds he thought would be the most successful at the upcoming Portsmouth auction.
Focusing on naval and maritime items, the girls came across an anchor that peaked their interest.
Commenting on the blue anchor, Mollie sang its praises as she said: “I really like the old vintage look of it as well, wear and tear.”
Turning to Nick for guidance, he admitted that whilst it was an impressive find, it was the sort of item that could be unpredictable when it came up for auction.
Being informed that the item was priced at £80 by the stallholder, Nick remarked: “You can stick it in an auction and people will just be indifferent to it, and it will make £25, or you could get maritime collectors who are all over it and it could make £100.”
Unhelpfully, he added: “I really don’t know.”
After being told that they could lower the price marginally to £75, they decided to come back later and pick it up with Nick offering up a pun, saying: “Right, my friend, if you could anchor that, we may well be back.”
However, the Blue team were hot on their heels and also felt compelled by the said anchor.
The Blue Team, composed of Mark and Lee, watched on as their expert Ochuko Ojiri haggled down the price to a better £60.
Disheartened at the Blues ‘stealing’ their item, Mollie said: “Oh no, heartbreaking.”
However, the Reds ended up having the last laugh when it came to the anchor, although not the contest overall.
At the auction house, it was a mixed bag of results.
For the Red Team, having spent £263, things quickly took a turn south.
The pair lost £48 overall and were left crushed to discover the Blue team had won, by a mere £2 profit.
Jacqui then said: “Oh no, it better not have been that anchor!”
However, in a slight win for the Reds, the anchor was the only item that the Blue Team made a loss on – meaning had they purchased it first, they would have lost even more money.
Summing up the up and down episode, Nick added: “You snooze, you lose. But, on the plus side, we palmed off that ropey old anchor onto the Blues.”