The Bidding Room

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Factual: Antiques

Sellers come face to face with five dealers who battle it out to make the highest bid.

Nigel Havers presides as sellers come face to face with five dealers who battle it out to make the highest bid.

Nigel Havers presides as members of the public with interesting items to sell come face to face with five dealers who bid against each other to try to bag themselves a bargain.

Before facing the dealers, each seller has their item valued by auctioneer Simon Bower. Simon also gives them top tips on the history and key characteristics of their piece, so that when they enter the bidding room, they have all the information they need to try to haggle the best possible price from the dealers.

All the dealers are spending their own money but have no idea what the sellers have brought in.

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Nigel Havers

Simon Bower

Claire Egerton-Jones

Rob Butterfield

Emma Walsh

David Sayer

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The Bidding Room: Series 1: Episode 27

Episode 27

BBC One - The Bidding Room, Series 1, Episode 27

Wannabe dealer Alfie, aged 11, tries to sell his vintage scooter to the dealers.

Wannabe dealer Alfie, aged just 11, tries to sell his scooter to the dealers. They are also offered a unique maths tool, an unusual birthing chair and a 1930s shop till.

Nigel Havers welcomes four more sellers to the Bidding Room, where they try to sell items to five professional dealers who are on the lookout for interesting pieces, with help from expert Simon Bower. 

First in today is Justin, from the Lake District, with a highly decorated chair, thought to be from West Africa, with an unusual use. He knows what that use is, but he’s determined to keep the dealers’ guessing – as he’s convinced when they work out what it is, they’ll want to pay good money for it. 

Next up is Princess from Surrey, with another unusual item: a set of wooden carved apples that are cut into different numbers of sections to help children learn about fractions. Simon is amazed by the set, having never come across one so complete before. With a similar item having been sold for £600 at auction, can Princess sell for a tidy sum?

Our third visitor is Frank from Rochdale, with an old shop till he rescued from a tip and lovingly restored, adding a new layer of chrome along with a number of other new parts. He’s spent lots of time and money on the item, so he wants a decent cash return for all his efforts and is looking to sell for at least £700. 

Last up is the show’s youngest seller, 11-year-old Alfie, with his dad Paul. Alfie wants to be an antiques dealer when he grows up and has already started buying bargain pieces that he hopes to sell on for a profit. The first is a vintage scooter: Simon confirms it’s a unique hand-made item, so Alfie sells hard on that when he enters the bidding room. He soon has the dealers dancing to his tune – so can he ride off with a tidy profit on his scooter?

Today's dealers are Adi Higham, Ian Humphries, James Gooch, Jane Cave and Tash Francis.

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